NZ RESIDENT DOCTORS ASSOCIATION MEDIA FACT SHEET

Transcription

1 NZ RESIDENT DOCTORS ASSOCIATION MEDIA FACT SHEET What are Resident Doctors (RMOs or Junior Doctors)? Resident Doctors, also known as House Officers, Registrars, Junior Doctors or Resident Medical Officers (RMOs), are registered medical practitioners, and range in experience from first year qualified doctors to those with more than 12 years experience. They work primarily in the public sector, and are employed by all 20 District Health Boards. RMOs typically spend up to 4 years as a house officer before qualifying as a registrar where they undertake ongoing vocational training in a specialist medical field e.g. surgery, paediatrics, pathology, general practice etc. This involves sitting further examinations in their specialist field as well as working in the specialty itself. Registrars can continue providing 24/7 medical services to patients in DHBs for more than ten years while they complete their training. The average age of Resident Doctors is 34, ranging from 22 to % are female and 49% male. Resident Doctors graduate with a sizable student debt of on average $80,000 - $100,000. Most Resident Doctors work between 55 and 60 hours a week. This is an average, with Resident Doctors working up to a legal maximum of 72 hours in some weeks and up to 12 days in a row without a break. Permanently employed Resident Doctors receive a flat hourly rate for all hours worked and do not receive overtime or penal rates of pay. Below is a table outlining the hourly rates for Resident Doctors.

2 Resident Doctor Hourly Rates of pay Resident Doctors who work in Urban centeres (Auckland, Waitemata, Counties Manukau, Waikato, Hutt Valley, Capital and Coast, Canterbury and Otago) receive an hourly rate of pay as follows (table 1): STEP Annual Salary Hourly Rate ($/ph) (40 hours) 1 $52,843 $ $57,204 $ $60,443 $ $63,679 $ $67,156 $ $70,758 $ $74,332 $ $77,928 $ $81,492 $ $97,894 $ $102,032 $ $106,316 $ $110,783 $ $115,435 $55.34 Resident Doctors who work in Non Urban centres (Northland, Lakes, Taranaki, Hawkes Bay, MidCentral, Wairarapa, Nelson Marlborough, South Canterbury, Southland and West Coast, Whanganui, Bay of Plenty and Tairawhiti) receive an hourly rate of pay as follows (table 2) step annual salary; 40 hours hourly rate: $ per hour 1 $54,957 $ $59,492 $ $62,861 $ $66,226 $31.75

3 5 $69,842 $ $73,589 $ $77,306 $ $81,045 $ $84,751 $ $101,810 $ $106,114 $ $110,570 $ $115,213 $ $120,053 $57.55 NZ vs Australian rates of pay Latest statistics as at 1 October 2009 demonstrates the gap in pay rates between Australian and New Zealand doctors. Fifth year registrars in New South Wales (NSW) earn A$102,833 a year, 57.7% more than their Auckland or Christchurch counterpart on A$65,194. The salaries are based on a 40 hour week. If this were to be calculated on a 50 hour week basis these gaps would widen as Australian doctors are paid overtime on a higher and variable rate, whereas in New Zealand overtime is paid on a flat fee basis. NZ NZ NSW VIC QLD SA WA TAS ACT NT Urban Base Salary ($NZ) Urban Base Salary ($Aus) House House House House House House House House House House Officer Officer Officer Officer Officer Officer Officer Officer Officer Officer 52,843 42,274 49,946 47,400 55,925 55,000 56,758 58,021 49,946 53,365 57,204 45,763 58,544 52,104 60,585 60,000 62,434 61,881 58,742 62,496 60,443 48,354 64,391 55,414 65,245 65,000 68,677 64,568 64,607 66,680 63,679 50,943 72,931 60,081 75,500 75,545 69,780 73,179 70,721 79,173 82,000 79,442 74,343 87,000 Registar Registar Registar Registrar Registrar 92,000 Registrar Registrar Registrar Registrar 67,156 53,725 72,931 73,267 80,392 97,000 79,322 75,106 73,179 74,343

4 70,758 56,606 79,173 77,084 82,722 83,288 79,721 79,442 80,564 74,332 59,466 85,441 81,490 85,052 Senior Registrar 89,535 84,800 85,734 83,668 77,928 62,342 91,458 84,592 88, ,000 94,012 89,150 91,766 86,787 81,492 65, , ,053 90, ,000 98,712 99, ,180 90,390 97,894 78,315 93, , ,276 97, ,032 81, , , , ,316 85, , , , ,783 88, , , ,435 92, ,977 Hours of work Resident Doctors have protections in their Multi Employer Collective Agreement (MECA) around the number of hours they can legally be required to work in a day, a week and the number of days they can work in a row. These protections are: No more than 16 hours in a day. No more than 72 hours in a week. No more than 12 days in a row (without a break). No more than 2 days in every 7 are allowed to be more than 10 hours in length. Medical Workforce Resident Doctors provide the backbone of medical staffing in NZ s 20 DHBs and also provide the future GP and specialist workforce for the country. Failure to retain this group of doctors will result in a shortage of other doctors across all fields in the future. In % of registered doctors in NZ were overseas trained. In 2008, 40% of registered doctors in NZ were overseas trained. By 2010, 43% of registered doctors in NZ were overseas trained.

5 Only 50% of overseas trained doctors are retained in the year immediately after initial registration. Whilst NZRDA welcomes our international colleagues, they do not constitute a sustainable medical workforce. We must retain our own graduates if we are to have a medical workforce now and in the future. So where have they all gone? In the Auckland graduating class of 1999, 40% were permanently overseas in 2008; in % were recorded as permanently overseas (and have ceased their registration as a doctor in NZ as a result). Between 2000 and 2006 (Australian immigration data), Australia recorded 2519 doctors moving permanently to live in Australia from NZ. NZ graduated approximately 2160 doctors from the Otago and Auckland medical schools during the same period. This is a net loss of 359 (or one entire year of NZ graduates).