Over 220 doctors start specialist GP and rural hospital medicine training today

The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners (the College) has welcomed a new intake of doctors beginning specialist training in general practice and rural hospital medicine, marking another important step towards strengthening Aotearoa New Zealand’s future health workforce.

Starting today, 225 doctors will begin training programmes that prepare them to work in communities across the motu. This includes 210 registrars entering the General Education Training Programme (GPEP) and 15 registrars starting on the Rural Hospital Medicine Training Programme (RHMTP).*^

College Chief Executive Toby Beaglehole notes that as many communities continue to experience workforce shortages and increasing demands for care, this new intake will be a welcome addition both to the workforce and patients.

“General practice and rural hospital medicine are the backbone of community healthcare in New Zealand. Welcoming this new intake into the College is encouraging, and it also highlights the ongoing need to invest in training in order to have a sustainable workforce for the future.”

College President Dr Luke Bradford says, “Building a strong, culturally responsive workforce that also reflects New Zealand’s diversity is essential to improving equity in health outcomes. In this intake we have the highest number of Māori registrars starting in the GP and RHM training programmes, 29 and 6 respectively, illustrating the College’s ongoing commitment to attract, recruit and retain Māori doctors into our training programmes.

“This year also sees 16 Pacific Peoples starting training, as well as other ethnicities spanning Asia, Africa, Europe, India, Latin America and the Middle East.”

The announcement to extend GPEP funding past the first year of training was a positive step, and one that removes some of the long-standing financial barriers for people wanting to specialise in general practice.

“This change aligns GP training with other medical specialty training programmes and we are optimistic that this will make general practice a more attractive and realistic career choice,” says Dr Bradford.

Discussions are also ongoing for similar funding support for the College’s rural hospital medicine trainees, recognising the urgent need to grow and retain doctors in the more rural communities in New Zealand.

“The general practice and rural hospital medicine workforces offer the opportunity to build trusted and long-term relationships with patients and communities, while making impactful and positive change to health outcomes every day.

“As a College, we are proud to support these doctors as they begin their journey towards Fellowship and specialisation in these incredibly rewarding vocations,” says Dr Bradford.

For more information about training as a general practitioner or a rural hospital doctor, including the Dual Fellowship pathway, visit the College website Study programme | RNZCGP

2026 DEMOGRAPHICS

GPEP registrars

Female = 135
Male = 73
Gender diverse = 2

Māori = 29 (13.8%)
Pacific Peoples = 16 (7.6%)
Not Māori or Pacific Peoples = 167 (79.5%)
Note: 2 registrars are both Māori and Pacific

Under 30 = 60 (28.6%)
30-40 = 107 (51%)
40-50 = 39 (18.6%)
50+ = 4 (1.9%)

College-employed – 112
Practice-employed – 97
Self-funded – 1

RHMTP registrars

Female = 11
Male = 4

Māori = 6
Not Māori or Pacific Peoples = 9

Under 30 = 10
30-40 = 4
40-50 = 1

* Registrar numbers correct at time of publication.
^ In 2025 the College introduced a second RHMTP application round and a mid-year intake. 14 applicants from the first round commenced training on the RHMTP in July 2025.