The university on Friday confirmed the intake would not increase. The government-set cap on domestic admissions stays at 282 students a year, a figure that last rose in 2015.
Last year, the university told the minister of health, senior health officials, and the Tertiary Education Commission it could take on 18 more students.
Medical school acting dean Prof Tim Wilkinson said the university had been prepared to increase its intake to 300 students this year or next, depending on what was preferred.
Whether the cap rose next year was not a university decision.
"Any increase in student numbers is contingent on the Government increasing the cap and our cap was not increased for 2023.
"Otago has indicated a willingness to increase the student intake and any such decision would be welcomed."
Any rise would require co-ordination to ensure adequate access to clinical training, but the university did not expect that to be a major issue for 18 more places, he said.
Association of Salaried Medical Specialists executive director Sarah Dalton said the decision was counter-intuitive. New Zealand needed to co-ordinate and invest in training more doctors.
"It’s absolutely disappointing given the known pressure on the health sector," she said.
New Zealand Resident Doctors’ Association national secretary Deborah Powell said 18 more medical students was not enough, but would have been a start.
"Our medical pipeline is failing," she said.
There was a critical shortage of resident doctors and senior medical officers’ heavy workloads were causing burnout.
About 40% of the country’s medical workforce was recruited from overseas, she said.
"Enabling more of our own citizens to train as doctors to meet patient demand, be it in primary care or elsewhere, simply makes sense."
The General Practice Owners Association of Aotearoa New Zealand (GenPro) also stressed the importance of training more students.
Southland GP and board member Deborah Johnstone said lifting the cap was a long-term solution in creating a sustainable health workforce.
Increasing the number of medical graduates was "of critical importance" to community health, along with encouraging graduates to work in primary care through better pay and conditions.
Retiring general practitioners was a factor behind this.
The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners’ workforce survey 2020 report showed 49% of participants intended to retire within 10 years.
Another 31% intended to retire within five years, and 31% rated themselves as high on the burnout scale.
Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand did not answer questions on the issue.
