With an increasing and aging population there will always be a demand for healthcare professionals worldwide. Technology is rapidly advancing in all fields and industries. In the past three years healthcare technology has advanced and is at the heart of health care delivery models (Deloitte: Perspectives: 2022 Global Health Care Outlook)* with remote monitoring of patients, electronic medical records on cloud servers and telemedicine to name but a few. Finding doctors and other healthcare professionals who can work in this changing world is a priority.
*https://www.deloitte.com/global/en/Industries/life-sciences-health-care/perspectives/global-health-care-sector-outlook.html
In New Zealand professionals in the healthcare sector are on the government’s Green List of highly in-demand roles in the country; from Anaesthetists and Cardiologists to Intensive Care Specialists and Registered Nurses, the list is quite extensive.
According to the New Zealand immigration website, the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS) estimates shortages at 24 per cent shortage with psychiatry, anaesthetics, dermatology and neurology particularly affected.’
What are the basic requirements?
To study medicine in New Zealand you could opt for starting at undergraduate level or if you already have a bachelor’s degree in medicine, you could consider a postgraduate degree in New Zealand.
- Undergraduate degree – Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS), (MBChB)
- Postgraduate degree – Doctor of Medicine and Surgery (MChD), Doctor of Medicine (MD)
You will also need to take the University Clinical Aptitude Test for Australia and New Zealand (UCAT ANZ). This is an admissions test / entrance exam that all international students must sit. New Zealand also accepts the Graduate Medical School Admissions Test (GAMSAT) for postgraduate study. At this level you will also need to have successfully completed the required core modules such as Chemistry of the Living World, Biology for Biomedical Science and Health and Society among others.
Best universities for Medicine in New Zealand
You can study medicine at some of the top-ranking universities in the country:
- University of Auckland – 107th in the QS World University Rankings 2023. Situated in Auckland in the country’s North Island.
- University of Otago = 128th QS World University Rankings 2023. The university has campuses on both North Island and in the city of Dunedin on the South Island.
The table below shows an overview of undergraduate and postgraduate medicine courses available at the two universities.
|
University |
Course |
Length |
Fees NZD – per year |
|
Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery MBChB |
6 years full-time |
||
|
Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery MBChB |
6 years full-time |
||
|
University of Auckland |
Doctor of Medicine |
3-4 years full-time |
|
|
University of Otago |
Master of Medical Science |
1 year full-time |
45,291 |
Other universities in the country such as the University of Waikato and Victoria University of Wellington also offer other Health Care degrees at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. There are many medical specializations to choose from anesthesiology to neurology and paediatrics. During the course of your studies, you will develop an idea of which area you’d like to pursue.
Once you graduate you will need to register with the Medical Council of New Zealand (MCNZ).
Medical graduate employment and salaries
As already discussed at the beginning of this article, healthcare professionals in New Zealand are in high demand. Providing you have the necessary requirements and registration, securing a job after you graduate shouldn’t be a problem. The University of Auckland ranked 68th place on the QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2022 .which ranks universities around the world based on the ones that are producing the most employable graduates. At the University of Otago 95 per cent of graduates go on to find employment.
The table below gives an idea of the health care salaries that could be earned in New Zealand. (Data from careers.govt.nz).
|
Job |
Trainee Salaries in NZD |
|
Anaesthetist |
86,000-197,000 |
|
Ophthalmogist |
58,000-195,000 |
|
Physician – medical specialist |
86,000-197,000 |
|
Registered Nurse |
61,000-74,000 |
|
Surgeon |
81,000-197,000 |
1 NZD = 0.62 USD *correct at time of writing
Useful resources
You may also find the following useful further reading:
Chat with Couru
