2026 Training Year | Rural Hospital Medicine and Emergency Medicine

2026 Training Year | Rural Hospital Medicine and Emergency Medicine

Salary Band C – $130,566 - $194,820 + Kiwisaver

Lakes District Hospital, Queenstown

• Join us as we change the future of healthcare in Southern NZ
• Exciting opportunity to live in the adventure capital of the world

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is firmly grounded in the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and is committed to building a health system that serves all New Zealanders.

About the Role

Queenstown’s Lakes District Hospital has the exciting opportunity to hire fixed term 1.0 FTE registrars. We are accredited for Rural Hospital Medicine (RHM) and ACEM training.  You will be joining our team of enthusiastic Rural generalists and FACEMs who provide emergency and in-patient care to our community.  

At Lakes District Hospital you’ll be part of a team of 14 Rural Hospital Specialists /FACEMs, 6 Registrars and a house surgeon. In our busy rural ED, we see a variety of Adult and Paediatric Medicine, with trauma making up 40-50% of our 17500 presentations per year. Our in-patients constitute a mix of General Medicine, Geriatrics, Paediatrics, Mental Health, non-operative Surgical and Orthopaedics, Rehabilitation Medicine and Palliative care. The role is mostly ED based however there will also be shifts on the General Ward and we provide emergency back-up for the on-site primary birthing unit. We are a teaching centre for Rural Immersion undergraduate Medical Students and are accredited for 6 months of Rural Medicine training for RHM trainees and 6 months of Rural and Remote Skills for ACEM trainees.

Queenstown Lakes District has a permanent, rapidly growing, population of 30,000 and a large visitor population. Lakes District Hospital consists of 12 General Medical beds, five Maternity beds, a busy Emergency Department and a small out-patient department. There are no on-site speciality teams. Those who require urgent specialist care are transferred by road or helicopter to Southland or Dunedin. We work closely with St Johns, the Otago Trust Rescue Helicopter and the Dunedin ICU Retrieval service to navigate patient transfers. We have onsite Radiology, including a CT Scanner, access to an off-site Laboratory service and a limited supply of O negative blood.

This role belongs to the New Zealand Resident Doctors’ Association and Te Whatu Ora (Health New Zealand) Collective Agreement and Specialty Trainees of New Zealand (STONZ) and Te Whatu Ora (Health New Zealand) Collective Agreement

About the Location

Southern is world famous for its picturesque mountains, fiords, glaciers, coastlines, and lakes that are often depicted on postcards and movies. But that’s not all - it's also adventure-central with a great cultural and foodie scene. You can set your sights on Southern where you can truly have it all-advancing your career whilst living your best life amidst some of the most stunning scenery New Zealand has to offer.

For more information on living and working in Queenstown click here

About you

You will need to be PGY5 or more at the time you start with us, have prior experience in Emergency Medicine and be keen to be exposed to the exciting opportunities afforded by a busy rural health care facility in the adventure capital of New Zealand.   This includes hands on experience in Orthopaedics and Trauma, transfer and logistics and complex medical patients.  There is an opportunity to co-ordinate your training rotation with Dunstan hospital (RHM) and Dunedin and Southland Emergency Departments (ACEM). Key personal skills for this job are being a good team worker, flexible, hardworking, and good at problem solving.

It is requirement of the Medical Council NZ that your qualifications are approved through EPIC. If you have a commitment to working in New Zealand, it is highly recommended that you start this process as soon as possible to allow your subsequent registration to be undertaken in a timely fashion. For more information, please visit MCNZ website re EPIC Credentialing.

Working at Health New Zealand

Health NZ | Te Whatu Ora - Southern has the largest geographical coverage of all the New Zealand regions, providing services to 350,000 people. We embrace a workforce that is diverse and inclusive so that we are better positioned to understand and service our community. We welcome applications from our diverse Māori, Pacific, disabled, and rainbow communities.  

How to Apply

To apply please click “apply now.”  All applications must be submitted through our online careers’ portal by Monday 9 June 2025. If you have any questions about the role, please contact rmo.recruitment@southerndhb.govt.nz

We will review applications as received, you may be offered an interview during June or July, and you will be advised of the outcome of the application in August 2025. This application is part of the national annual recruitment round so timeframes are in line with the national scheme.