An Interview with the Outgoing President: Dr. James Anderson

Since March 2023, Dr James Anderson has been the NZRDA President.
On 1 March 2025 James’s term comes to an end.
We caught up with James one final time in his role as President.

Who are you and where do you work? 

I’m the Paediatric Fellow working in Rotorua Hospital. I’m also the President of the NZRDA until 1 March 2025.

How long have you been a doctor?

I have been a doctor for just over 10 years. I spent 2 years working in Scotland before coming out to New Zealand. I spent 5 years working down in Dunedin where I started and finished my basic Paediatric Training. Then I came up the road to Wellington, where I spent 3 years working. And now I’ve just moved to Rotorua.

How did you get involved in the RDA?

So I’ve been in New Zealand about 8 years, and I’ve spent almost the whole time involved in the RDA. I came to New Zealand in 2016, just as we were in bargaining with the DHBs at that point with a focus for safer hours, moving away from 12 days in a row and 7 nights in a row, towards the 10:4 rostering pattern. The negotiations weren’t going well and the RDA was considering strike action at that point. I spoke to our local delegate, Nick Erskine, and he told me how things were going, what the RDA stood for.

I’d always been interested in union stuff, I think we are better and stronger together. And so I immediately joined up to the RDA and went on strike. I basically arrived in New Zealand, joined the RDA and went on strike.

The next year I went to delegates training because I wanted to be more involved. I wanted to know what was going on, but also be active in changes with our healthcare system. At that point the National Executive position for the Southern Region was open and I volunteered for that.

Why did you join the RDA?

I joined the RDA because I want to be able to know what is happening in the system we work in and I have observed it can be difficult for doctors to affect change in our system without having collective power. We are stronger together and we work better as a collective. I genuinely believe in one of the core RDA values – to make things better for those coming in after us. Many of the things we have bargained for in the last couple of rounds of bargaining won’t affect me at my stage in training. But I can see what we are safeguarding for the doctors after us.

What’s the best bit of your job?

It’s fun. I love my job. I enjoy the chat and conversation with colleagues, but to be honest the best bit is seeing the patients. A good day at work is minimal admin time and maximum clinical time. I really enjoy walking into a room and that level of trust where you engage with a whole family and they let you look after their child, the most important thing in their life. And then you get to go and play with a beautiful wee baby!

What’s the best bit of being about being the President of the RDA?

You get the opportunity to attend national level consultation processes and meetings and tell the key decision makers in the healthcare space what is important to the doctors we represent across the country.

What was the highlight for you of the 2024 RMO bargaining?

I’m proud we kept the exam step. Exams are a massive deal. They become the focus of a year of your life. At least. If you’re lucky and smart enough to get through them first time round. You gain a lot of knowledge but at the expense of a significant amount of protracted pressure on you and those supporting you. To have Te Whatu Ora try to take away that recognition step was absolutely devastating. I’m really proud that we kept that.

What do you think the success of the NZRDA came down to?

The membership. When it came down to it, our membership are the people who have strong values they will stand by and fight for. They have chosen to be a member of the RDA. Our RDA members know what it’s about and what’s important. With the backing of our membership, we were never going in 2024 to not get a good deal. That said, it also took a lot of hard work from all of the delegates and union staff. A strong core of membership and the hard work of the NZRDA team of delegates and staff go hand in hand.

What do you like to do outside of work?

Anything outside. I like mountain biking, which is excellent right now in Rotorua. I like going for runs, being in the mountains and getting off the grid.