Other Trainee Organisations

The ANZCA Trainee Committee (ATC) and the ANZCA New Zealand Trainee Committee (NZTC)

These have been in existence since 2005.  Each region in Australia has a committee, as do New Zealand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore.  Their role is to provide a link between trainees and the core functions of ANZCA, as well as look after the welfare of trainees.  They are governed by an ANZCA document. 

2010 marks the first time that an election has been required for any of the ANZCA NZ Trainee Committee areas; this has occurred in our own back yard, with the NZ Trainee Committee of ANZCA.  It is indicative of the enthusiasm with which the concept has been embraced in New Zealand.

The major work of the NZTC has been to produce the trainee handbook, Anaesthesia Training in New Zealand Made Easy, which aims to guide trainees through their anaesthesia courses.  It is an excellent publication and recommended reading.

The NZSA Trainee Representative is an invited observer to the meetings of both the ATC and the NZTC.

The Group of Australian Society of Anaesthetists Clinical Trainees (GASACT)

GASACT was formed in 2000 as a body within the ASA to address the needs of trainees within Australia.

In their own words:  “GASACT is the representative body for trainee anaesthetists and aims to give trainees an official independent voice and a forum for discussion. GASACT is dedicated to understanding and meeting the needs of trainee anaesthetists. GASACT seeks to assist trainees industrially, socially, with health and lifestyle issues, educationally, scientifically, with practice matters, and politically.”

They have produced a bi-yearly handbook for trainee members for several years.  2009 marked the first time that this was sent out to all ANZCA trainees, as a collaborative project between GASACT, the ATC, and the NZSA.  It is anticipated that the 2010 handbook will contain useful information on New Zealand (a noted deficiency previously) which will be contributed by the NZSA.

The Doctors in Training Council (DiTC) of the New Zealand Medical Association (NZMA)

The DiTC is the organisation which links all future consultants and GPs in New Zealand. They have members from diverse backgrounds, at different stages in their careers.

Each year there is a Trainee Forum, in which trainee representatives from every college and organisation representing trainees and medical students in New Zealand meet to discuss issues which affect us all. This is a very important mechanism of cross-fertilisation between specialities, as well as an important guide to the NZMA. It is attended by the NZSA Trainee Representative and the ANZCA New Zealand Trainee Committee chair as representatives of all NZ anaesthesia trainees.

The New Zealand Resident Doctors Association (RDA)

The RDA is the major representative association for Resident Medical Officers (RMOs) in NZ. Most RMOs are members of the RDA. The most important role of the RDA is the negotiation of the Multi-Employer Collective Agreement (MECA) which covers RMOs employed by DHBs throughout New Zealand.