NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE, No. 141 — 21 NOVEMBER 2014

the benefits and considerations for each proposal:

• Curriculum framework.
• Elements of assessment.
• Record of learning and e-portfolio.
• Required experience.
• Structure of clinical attachments, clinical settings, and accreditation standards.
• Requirements for PGY2.
• Requirements to gain a general scope of practice.

A comprehensive national roadshow took place during the months of March and April 2013 to discuss the proposed changes to prevocational training outlined in the consultation paper. The meetings were well attended, with a total of over 550 attendees.

The Prevocational Stakeholder Advisory Group comprising representatives from a range of organisations with an interest in prevocational training, including the New Zealand Resident Doctors Association, Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, the New Zealand Medical Association, Doctors in Training Council, the university medical schools, Ministry of Health, Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners, Council of Medical Colleges, New Zealand Medical Students’ Association, Health Workforce New Zealand, the national District Health Board chief executive officer, and chief medical officer groups, met after the close of the consultation process on 19 June 2013 and provided feedback to the proposed changes.

At its meeting on 10 July 2013, the Council received the 59 written submissions in response to the consultation and considered the key themes arising from these as well as the stakeholders’ meetings. Council made a number of decisions, each of which is described in detail, along with the reasons for Council’s decisions in the Report on the feedback and decisions following the consultation of: A review of prevocational training requirements for doctors in New Zealand: Stage 2. This report can be found at www.mcnz.org.nz.

The changes are being implemented in two main stages with the first interns to be affected being those who gain registration in a provisional general scope of practice from 24 November 2014. These interns will be required to meet the new requirements for registration in a general scope or practice from 23 November 2015.

While the changes come into effect in 12 months’ time, the Council is publishing these requirements now to ensure that good notice is given of the changes for those who will apply for general registration after November 2015, with particular focus on those who will shortly obtain provisional general registration and enter into the PGY1 year. These changes are in addition to new competence programme requirements also being implemented for doctors registered in the provisional general scope of practice.

New Zealand Registration Examination (NZREX)

The requirements to obtain general scope registration have been aligned for graduates of Council-accredited New Zealand and Australian medical schools and those who have obtained registration via the NZREX pathway. A consultation commenced on 1 August 2014 on whether the requirements should continue to be aligned. Specifically, Council proposed that the same new requirements should also apply to those who have obtained provisional general registration via the NZREX pathway. On 7 October 2014, following consideration of the submissions, Council resolved that the NZREX pathway requirements should be altered to be consistent with the changes for graduates of Council-accredited New Zealand and Australian medical schools.

Change coming into effect on 22 December 2014

In conjunction with its consultation on the alignment of requirements for NZREX graduates and graduates of New Zealand and Australian medical schools, Council also resolved to remove the option of completing the provisional general period in a primary care setting for doctors who pass NZREX Clinical. Council considered not only that this would be consistent with Council’s views on the global educational needs of PGY1s and PGY2s, but that the primary care alternative does not provide the structure and supervision that will be provided by the Council-accredited clinical attachments to be introduced as a component of the new prevocational training programme.

A pass in the NZREX examination remains valid for five years. As a result, doctors who have successfully passed the examination may apply for registration (including the primary care option) for up to five years from the date of their successful pass. Council wishes to preserve the existing rights of those who hold a current, valid NZREX pass and, accordingly, the primary care option will remain in place for any applicant for registration who holds a current NZREX pass as at 30 November 2014 and who applies for registration during the remaining currency of that NZREX pass. As the last NZREX examination was held on 9 August 2014, it is anticipated that this option will remain in effect for some NZREX graduates until August 2019.

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