The Government's Voluntary Bonding Scheme is proving to be very successful in attracting medical graduates to work in hard-to-staff areas and specialties, including Rangitikei.
The scheme was introduced in 2009 to encourage graduating doctors, nurses and midwives to start their medical careers at home, by offering student loan write-offs or
cash incentives over a three to five-year period.
In return, the graduates work in hard-to-staff regions and specialties, including cardiothoracic, intensive care, theatre and surgical, mental health and aged care.
The latest figures show the scheme is proving successful in servicing communities, including Rangitikei which, like many rural communities, has traditionally struggled with higher vacancy rates, higher locum use, higher use of overseas trained professionals and longer waiting times.
There are currently about 1820 graduates in the scheme nationwide, including 1424 nurses, 220 doctors and 179 midwives - and for the third year in a row registration for the scheme has exceed expectations.
