Rural Hospitals Locum Service

Announcing our newest project - a free recruitment service for rural hospitals

Kia ora,

We are delighted to announce the Rural Hospitals Locum Service, a recruitment service that will support rural hospitals in attracting and recruiting rural hospital doctors.   

We will be working with you, our rural stakeholders in developing-up an end-to-end recruitment service that complements and supports already existing recruitment strategies and products in your sector.    

The project’s outcomes acknowledge the unique medical registration criteria required for rural hospital doctors, immigration processes such as validation from the Medical Council, time heavy onboarding processes including screening, interviewing, job matching, contracting, credentialling, settlement support, and clinical supervision. The project further acknowledges the heavy financial burden of recruiting medical staff both locally and internationally.  

I am looking forward to keeping you updated with progress on this project. I will produce regular communications which will be posted on this page and shared through our e-newsletters and stakeholder releases.

Here is a snapshot of what has happened so far:

• the establishment of the Implementation Advisory Group (IAG), a diverse group of sector experts providing advice and sector knowledge on the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the project, 
• presenting key success factors and seeking advice from Medical Council on what a streamlined process would look like, 
• including the unique needs of rural hospitals that service large rural and remote Māori, 
• hosting a summit for rural hospital decision makers to capture the voice and advice of the sector which in turn informed the service specifications. 

Don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or would like to receive regular communications from me.

Ngā mihi nui,

Heather

Heather Lang

Kaiwhakahaere Hōhipera ā Taiwhenua, te Ratonga Tākuta Rīwhi

Manager Rural Hospitals Locum Service

International Recruitment

Locum doctors in New Zealand rural hospitals play a vital role in bridging healthcare gaps and ensuring access to quality medical care. The term ‘locum physician’ is derived from the Latin term locum tenens, which translates to ‘place holder’ in English. As a locum doctor, you are essentially a substitute doctor within a health care setting; you’ll be used when permanent doctors take vacation, or sick leave, or if hospitals require extra doctors.

31st Rural + Remote Medicine Conference

John and Heather attended as an exhibitor for three days at the 31st Rural + Remote Medicine Conference in Edmonton, Alberta Canada in April. We were joined by Dr Andrew Laurenson, a rural hospital doctor hailing from the South Island. This year’s conference was the biggest and most well-attended conference yet.

The conference, an annual event, unites rural physicians’ residents and students advancing healthcare in remote areas. The conference provided was valuable enabling the team to showcase rural locum opportunities across New Zealand in both rural hospitals and family practice, additionally showcasing New Zealand. 

The conference itself was an extraordinary event to share and learn about rural health in the Northern Hemisphere. The conference was attended by 1177 attendees including a number of high calibre speakers, and exhibitors included NZ, Australia and Northern Ireland.

Our stand was well attended by eager participants as were the sessions both John and Heather attended.