Hui a-tau – Ngā Kāreti Hauora me ngā Hunga Whai Pānga | Annual meeting - Medical Colleges and Stakeholders

A key agenda item was the proposed Expedited Pathway for Specialists (Provisional Vocational Registration), which was open for consultation until 30 July 2024. This pathway aims to streamline the specialist registration process for eligible International Medical Graduates (IMGs), enhancing efficiency and accessibility. Discussions focused on the scope of the proposal, including the areas of medicine and postgraduate qualifications that should be considered when implementing the pathway.

Dr Elana Curtis presented on proposed updates to Council’s Statement on Cultural Safety, and Professor Suzanne Pitama spoke about work underway to increase the emphasis of cultural safety, health equity and Te Tiriti in accreditation standards for medical education and training programmes. Attendees expressed their commitment to improving cultural safety standards by continuing to integrate cultural safety frameworks into training and professional development. The role of data in measuring the impact of these initiatives was highlighted, with a call for collaborative efforts across organisations.

A panel of stakeholders (listed) provided insights into medical workforce sustainability. Dr Andrew Connolly emphasised the importance of training and retention, Andrew Slater discussed current workforce challenges and the value of global comparisons, and Dr Samantha Murton stressed the importance of community experience for IMGs.

Next steps include reviewing consultation feedback on the Expedited Registration Pathway. We will also progress the development of the Statement on Cultural Safety, and the medical education and training recertification accreditation standards in advance of consultation with the profession and stakeholders.

We wish to thank everyone who attended for making it such a successful meeting.

Panel members were: 

• Dr Andrew Connolly, Chair Health Workforce & Systems Efficiency Committee, Acting CMO – Counties Manukau

• Andrew Slater, Chief People Officer – Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora

• Dr Samantha Murton, Chair Council of Medical Colleges, and President RNZCGP

• Dr Nick Baker, Interim National CMO – Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora

• Kirsty White, Director Accreditation and Standards – Australian Medical Council