Employment and placements

Programme FAQs

• Can I undertake secondary employment during my training?

  Yes, you can. The College will approve secondary employment, should your teacher and medical educator both agree that undertaking secondary employment would not interfere with your performance while on the programme. We ask you to speak to your teacher and medical educator before completing the online application for approval to undertake secondary employment. Both Practice employed and College employed registrars are required to also contact the PC team at MCNZ and arrange an appropriate collegial relationship. For more information, please visit the MCNZ website.

• How much leave can I count towards my programme clinical time record, and does it change if I'm College employed?

  Your employment contract, whether with the College or a practice, determines how much leave you are entitled to as an employee. The Fellowship Pathways Regulations govern your programme as a learner, including how many days of leave taken may contribute towards your 36 months FTE clinical time.

  The 2026 regulations state “Leave taken may contribute to FTE time to a maximum of 20 leave days per year.”

  Regardless of how much leave you are entitled to under your employment contract, you may count 20 days of leave taken per year as clinical time towards your 36 months FTE clinical time required for Fellowship. This includes annual leave, study leave, and leave without pay. You may take more than 20 days of leave (if permitted under your employment contract), however, any leave taken above 20 days will not contribute to your clinical time and that time will need to be completed later in the programme.

• If my practice has both a GP clinic and an urgent care clinic, can I work across both?

  General practice and urgent care are two distinct specialties. If you are conducting any non general practice clinical work during your regular work hours or working any additional hours outside of those that make up your training programme tenths, you will need to submit a request for approval to undertake secondary employment. If any of those hours are spent conducting non general practice clinical work, you will also need to contact the PC team at MCNZ to establish an appropriate collegial relationship. Please refer to the section on Secondary Employment. Please note, only clinical time spent in unrestricted general practice at a College approved placement can contribute towards your 36 months FTE on the programme during GPEP year 1.

• Can I put my training on hold? What is the process and the implications?

  In GPEP year 1, you can request a deferral of training, which means your course requirements would be suspended for 12 months, once you are enrolled and active on the programme. To defer your GPEP year 1 training, please complete a Change Request. In GPEP years 2 onward you can have the option to place your training on hold for more flexible periods. For more information, refer to the College’s Fellowship Pathways Regulation document. Please email registrarsupport@rnzcgp.org.nz to discuss your options. During GPEP year 2 and GPEP year 3 the length of an ‘on hold’ period is more flexible as the programme requirements are more individually paced.

• I want to withdraw from the programme. What should I do?

  If at any time you would like to withdraw from the programme, the College requires all College and practice employed registrars to complete a Change Request.

• What happens if I need to change to a new practice during an attachment?

  Changes to placements must be pre-approved by the Admissions and Registrar Support team. Any application must allow at least four weeks’ written notice to ensure all parties involved are given time to prepare for any changes. Practices must be Foundation Standard certified, have a College approved teacher and provide adequate on-site supervision to be accredited for teaching GPEP year 1 registrars. This applies to both College and Practice-employed registrars. To request approval to change placements, please submit a Change Request.

• What does the practice have to provide (i.e. supervision and structured teaching time)?

  The College has a teaching contract with your practice to provide:

  • A teacher or College Fellow on site with you for supervision at all times.
  • Four hours of teaching and support time for full time registrars (pro-rated for part time), including a minimum of 90 minutes protected individual teaching time per week. The activities undertaken during teaching time will be structured, with a focus on the learning outcomes related to the GPEP curriculum and will include formal teaching activities, observed consultations, informal question and answer discussions, review of patients or problems and formal review of recorded consultation.
  • One day per week protected learning time for attendance at seminars, and other learning requirements.
  • Adequate time, particularly at the beginning of attachment one, to practise safely and enable learning to take place within the consultation. Registrars should start with five patients per half-day, in 30-minute appointments. When ready, and no sooner than week 4 of the attachment, the length of appointments may decrease, and the number of consultations will increase while ensuring no more than 11 patients are seen in any single session.

  Contact your LME or Registrar Support in confidence if you feel that your practice is not providing the expected supervision, teaching or consultation time.

• What can I expect heading into GPEP year 2 and beyond?

  The primary focus in years two and three of GPEP is to enable senior registrars to further develop their skills and knowledge in general practice. Years two and three provide you with self-directed learning activities and assessments, supported by medical educators (MEs), Fellow supervisor and mentors to enable you to reach your objectives, gain appropriate clinical experience, and consolidate your skills and knowledge sufficiently to achieve Fellowship. Most assessments are formative (F) and involve ongoing engagement with your MEs, concentrating on one or two learning aspects at a time.

  A more focused approach helps you to identify and work on areas that need more attention. All formative assessments need to be completed before becoming eligible for a Fellowship Assessment Visit, which is detailed in the Fellowship Pathway Regulations. Including the Fellowship Assessment, there are two summative (S) components. It is important that throughout your training you are familiar with the version of the Fellowship Pathway Regulations applicable to your programme. The regulations can be found here. (LINK).

  Guidance on seeking employment and transitioning into GPEP2 will be provided during the second attachment.