Ingrid(45)

I was a GP in Bergen op Zoom for fifteen years. The first ten were wonderful, but the last five got progressively harder. Patient numbers per practice grew, administration exploded due to the healthcare system, and I had an average of seven minutes per consultation. I became a desk clerk in a white coat. When I read about the GP shortage in rural New Zealand and the fast-tracked residence via the Green List, I took it seriously.

Registration with the Medical Council of New Zealand (MCNZ) was the longest process. As a Dutch GP I had to follow a Comparable Health System pathway, meaning my training and BIG-register registration were evaluated. I also had to take an NZREX exam (comparable to the medical licensing exam) and complete a period of supervised practice. The whole process took nine months, but doctors are on the Green List and get fast-tracked residence.

New Plymouth is a city of 60,000 in the Taranaki region on the North Island, dominated by the perfect cone shape of Mount Taranaki. My practice serves three villages in the hinterland — I drive past dairy farms and forested areas to my patients. Standard consultation time is twenty minutes. Twenty minutes! In the Netherlands I would have seen three patients in that time.

The New Zealand healthcare system works differently from the Dutch one. GPs are not employees but work as self-employed or in a Primary Health Organisation (PHO). The government subsidizes consultations through capitation funding — I receive a fixed amount per enrolled patient. Patients pay a co-payment of NZ$19-50 per consultation. My income as a rural GP is NZ$180,000-220,000 per year — significantly more than in the Netherlands.

Rural life in Taranaki is idyllic. I surf before work at Fitzroy Beach, hike on Mount Taranaki on weekends and my garden produces vegetables year-round. The community is close-knit — my patients are also my neighbors. There's an active Dutch community that organizes an annual Dutch festival. The only downside is the isolation: Auckland is four hours' drive and there's no train.

My advice to Dutch doctors: start your MCNZ registration now, because it's a long process. Consider a rural practice — the government offers extra incentives such as a rural retention allowance and housing assistance. The quality of medicine is high, the technology is modern and you finally have time for your patients. I got my residence after two years on the Green List and I'm not going back to the Dutch healthcare system.