TIs + Students

In the hospitals we are well placed to advocate for better conditions in the hospitals for medical students, it’s what we’ve done for the past 35 years for RMOs. Be this rostering, behaviour towards you in the hospitals, or the stipend we want to support you as best we can.

With the professional conduct committee We also understand there is a need for advocacy in the university environment. The Professional Conduct Committee and its potential impact on your studies and future medical career can be huge. We are deeply concerned by students going into this process unprepared. We will provide you professional and experienced advice and advocacy should you find yourself in front of the committee to ensure your rights are upheld and due process is followed.

We want to ensure you are protected from all issues that could arise during your time in the hospitals. To this end, we would provide all members of the student chapter with free medical indemnity insurance in conjunction with NZMII.

Through our resources, training days, and advice we will give you a firm understanding of what to expect, and what your rights are, in your PGY1 year.

Scholarships and grants through the NZRDA Education Trust will be able to be applied for by clinical students.

Our advocacy team are able to offer advice and representation on issues you have when working in placements.

Please note that Clinical Student membership does not entitle you to voting rights.

You are entitled to six weeks of annual leave per year. If spread evenly (though you don’t have to do it this way), that’s one to two weeks per quarter!

Please try to take your leave at regular intervals and book it early. You work hard and need regular breaks to take care of yourself—so you can continue taking care of your patients.

When you apply for leave, submit your request in writing at least 45 days in advance, and keep copies of all leave request forms, as they have been known to go missing! “In writing” includes submitting a written form, sending an email, or using an online leave management system if your hospital has one. Your employer needs to respond in writing to your request within two weeks. If they fail to do so, you need to advise the RMO unit that you consider the leave approveded as they have not replied within the required notice period.

Depending on how many public holidays (statutory days) you work, you will get more leave, or “lieu days”. These are also known as “days in lieu”, “time off in lieu (TOIL)” or “stat days”. Essentially, for each public holiday on which you either work or are on call (which counts as work), you are entitle to a day in lieu. This leave cannot be declined by the employer if you have notified them within the correct timeframe. For a normal day, this is 14 days’ notice. For a long day, weekend or night shift, this is 28 days’ notice. Lieu leave cannot be used on public holidays.

Your sick leave entitlement is 30 days per year for the first four years, with 10 days a year accrued each year thereafter, plus any unused leave from your first four years.

Let the RMO unit know as early as possible if you cannot come to work due to illness. If you fall sick during normal working hours, call the RMO unit. If it is out of working hours, call the duty manager.

Don’t be pressured into working by the old “Well, how are we supposed to cover you?” argument. That is the employer’s problem, not yours. They must have plans in place to cover for sickness and – despite what you may think – you are not indispensable!

Also, remember that you will get sick – you are just as human as your patients. If you are unwell, do not come to work. You could spread your illness to your colleagues and patients, and no one will thank you for that!

Sick leave can also be used to care for your partner or dependents, or for planned medical leave (e.g. an operation, appointment or procedure).

If you have a planned medical appointment that will take less than two hours, you do not need to use sick leave—provided you have your employer’s agreement.

Work-related costs are all claimable, including the full cost of your Annual Practicing Certificate (APC) and some transfer costs from your medical school to your first hospital job. Courses or resources on your training pathway are also covered. There is a list of commonly claimed courses and resources, but this is not exhaustive. You can also claim other expenses, such as mileage for using your car driving to clinics (if a hospital fleet car is not available), and a telephone allowance if you are on call.

Your salary is determined by your run category which is based on average hours normally worked. For example, 55–60 hours a week on average is paid at a higher level than 50–55 hours a week. These calculations are based off an average of hours worked over the course of a run. There will be some weeks where you might work more than this range, but this should be balanced by weeks where you work fewer.

If you are offered and agree to work extra shifts, you are entitled to “additional duties payments” for those shifts.

If you are rostered on duty for more than 72 hours in any seven day period, a $550 penalty payment applies. For this penalty to apply, you must have let the RMO unit know you are rostered in excess of the 72-hour limit and allow them to attempt to reduce these hours (e.g. taking you off a long day).

Ultimately, the goal is to avoid working over 72 hours, and this penalty exists only for the scenarios in which no alternative solution is found.

When an RMO covers the duties of an absent RMO during normal working hours this is called “cross-cover”. By working cross-cover, you accept full professional responsibility for the patients you are covering.

Cross-cover is entirely voluntary – you cannot be volunteered by your fellow house officers, registrars, consultants, or the RMO unit. Why? Because covering for a colleague is potentially unsafe. You should only cross-cover if your clinical workload allows it. A payment of $165 per day applies when you carry out cross-cover; however, for many doctors, this is not enough for the associated responsibility that goes with the extra work on top of the existing workload, and they refuse to do it.

As a first-year, you should, as a matter of course, refuse cross-cover. Whilst the pay may be attractive, you will already have enough on your plate.

Cross-cover is prohibited outside of ordinary hours because we already have skeleton staff at this time. Having any fewer is incredibly unsafe and a complete breach of your contract. You should never cover for an absent person outside of 8.00 a.m. – 5.30 p.m., Monday through Friday, regardless of how much money is offered. If you find yourself in this situation., call the RDA and report it here.

It depends. If it is a rostered shift and you get paid for it, then yes. Remember – you must get every second weekend completely free from duties, regardless!

“A man who represents himself has a fool for a client.”

This adage also applies to doctors who prescribe for themselves. Prescribing for yourself, your family or colleagues is generally against medical council guidelines, except in specific circumstances (which do not apply to hospital doctors).

Remember: you lose objectivity and have no means of keeping an accurate clinical record if you do this. See your own GP (and if you don’t have one – get one!). Always advise your friends and family to see their own GPs.

You are entitled to a meal when you are working over a recognised meal period, i.e., lunch on a normal day and dinner on a long day (or breakfast if you have been on nights and no meal was provided at night). While you do not pay for this meal, it is not “free” – it was fought for by a generation of RMOs and the RDA in the 1990s and is an incredibly important clause in the contract.

The cafes cannot significantly change what they offer resident doctors without genuine consultation with RMOs and the union. Those with dietary requirements need to be catered for appropriately.

You cannot take a meal to have at home, take meals for others (including students, nurses, or consultants), morning tea, afternoon tea, or snacks between meals.

You can join the RDA as a member at any time as a student or TI. Membership is free for students or TIs, and your membership will carry over when you start work as a PGY1 (you will be sent a prompt to start payments) which makes you a full member.

As part of the onboarding process, the RMO unit will send you a form once you have accepted your job, where you can indicate which union you have chosen. However, ticking the box on this form alone isn’t enough to make you a member eligible for assistance if issues arise. Make sure you also sign up on the website and pay the membership fees.