General Practice Education Programme
Visit us here for information on the GPEP1 December 2013 intake.
The education and training programme for doctors becoming general practitioners is the General Practice Education Programme - GPEP. This programme is based on you working in general practice, with the opportunity to work in rural and/or urban practices and to experience a variety of practice environments. Throughout the programme you will undertake a learning programme supported by trained educators and teachers. This programme is the standard pathway to Fellowship and vocational registration as a general practitioner.
The standard full-time GPEP programme is 36 months and is completed in two stages. There are options available for completing this part time. If you have previous general practice experience this may be recognised and therefore shorten your time in the programme.
The first year is referred to as GPEP Year 1 and the second and third years are referred to as GPEP Years 2 & 3. You will sit the GPEP Clinical and Written Examinations at the end of GPEP Year 1, and then undergo the Fellowship assessment on the completion of GPEP2.
The following diagram gives an overview of how the training programme fits in your postgraduate years.
GPEP
Application forms for the GPEP Year 1 December 2013 start date will be here in April 2013.
Before starting work in general practice, it is important to have had experience in a wide selection of hospital specialties. Our vocational training programme entry requirements state that you need to have done runs in six of the following:
| Emergency Medicine | Dermatology |
| Ear, nose and throat surgery | General medicine (please specify) |
| General practice rotations | General surgery (please specify) |
| Geriatrics | Musculoskeletal |
| Obstetrics and gynaecology | Opthalmology |
| Orthopaedics | Paediatrics |
| Psychiatry |
Rehabilitation |
| Rheumatology | Palliative Care |
| Rural General Practice |
Information for applicants can be found here
Changes to GPEP
The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners (the College) and Health Workforce New Zealand (HWNZ) have been working in partnership on changes to the General Practice Education Programme (GPEP).
Registrars in GPEP Year 1 are employed by the College for twelve months under similar arrangements as other registrars.
Inside New Zealand: Practising Medicine
Thinking about general practice as a career option? Get some inspiration by viewing the general practice section of the Inside New Zealand's documentary called "Practising Medicine" which aired 22 August 2012 on TV 3.