Source: University of Waikato
The University of Waikato has today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop a third New Zealand medical school in the Waikato region.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Neil Quigley says the MoU, signed with the Ministry of Health, is a significant step towards addressing health workforce needs and reducing New Zealand’s heavy reliance on importing doctors from overseas.
“The University of Waikato has long advocated that an investment in a third medical school is part of the solution to our current and future health workforce needs. It will provide a new model of medical education in New Zealand, with new entry pathways attracting a more diverse range of students. It will be new approach to matching medical education with our actual workforce needs, and a new approach to integrating provincial and rural communities into the medical education programme.”
Professor Quigley says the University will now work with the Government to provide the business case for the medical school.
“We are committed to the medical school and to working with partners in other parts of New Zealand, as well as to building a full range of allied health programmes.”
He says the current situation is not going to materially improve if nothing changes. “We need to train more doctors, we need to select students from a wider range of backgrounds who are committed to long-term careers in primary care outside the main centres and we need to place these students in the regions where they are needed.”