An Interview with the New President: Dr. Rosa Tobin Stickings
4 April, 2025
Dr. Rosa Tobin Stickings has been involved in the RDA for the past 7 years, and on the National Executive for the past 4 – representing Southern and then the Auckland Region.
Her claim to fame amongst those who know her is that she had read the entire collective agreement, cover to cover, before she was even in medical school.
We caught up with Rosa in her first week as President.
Who are you and where do you work? 
I’m Rosa and I’m an advanced trainee in emergency medicine, working in the Auckland region. I am currently based at Auckland City Hospital and I’m on a run in anaesthetics at the moment before I get back to my homeland in the emergency department.
I’m a PGY8 now, so coming up 8 years I’ve been an RMO. I started my career down in Dunedin, which is where I did all my medical school. And then the first five years of my RMO life was spent in Dunedin Hospital before moving north as part of training.
What is the best bit of your job?
The best bit of working in emergency medicine for me is just the sheer variety of the clinical work we get to do, meeting people from all walks of life and engaging with them. I really enjoy getting to help them. On some of the worst days of their life you can do your bit to make their life a little bit better.
Why did you join the RDA?
I’ve got union activism in my blood. Both my parents were very involved in their unions, and I have always believed in the power of collective action. So, I knew I would join a union in my career, whatever that would be. And then when I was coming through fifth year and TI year, the RDA were campaigning and striking over safer hours. It was a natural progression to sign up and join the RDA as soon as I became a TI.
What is the best part of being a delegate?
I think the best bit of being a delegate is trying to make change for good in your workplace. And I think that goes along with the ethos of the RDA, which is trying to leave the workplace in a better place than it was before you got there. And so, some of the sorts of wins that I’ve been involved in have been about improving rosters or just even helping individual members actually on the ground with different issues. It’s always quite rewarding when you tangibly improve your workplace.
What are you most proud of coming out of the last round of bargaining?
I’m really proud of two things. First of all, we didn’t leave anyone behind, and we didn’t accept pay cuts. We all stood together and said, “no way, we’re not going to let these people suffer a cut”. It’s something I’m incredibly proud of. And then the other thing I’m pleased about is that we kept the exam step, because we all know how horrific the exams are, and how much sitting those exams and studying for those exams really does have an impact on your life. And keeping that step, keeping that reward, was a huge win for us.
What are you looking forward to with stepping into the role of President of the RDA?
I’m excited to step into the role of President and to take even more of a leadership role within the RDA and on the National Executive. Going forward I want to make sure that we get the ball rolling with the wins we had in our last round of bargaining, like the restrictions around double weekend long days for house officers. And then I want to start thinking about strategizing for our next round of bargaining next year.
What do you like to do outside of work?
I am a bit of a foodie, so I quite enjoy exploring new recipes to cook and exploring new restaurants to try. I also enjoy a bit of music, so I like going to the odd gig when I can.
