''It is a competitive process - it is not just like if you decide you want to do it, you can do it,'' Dr Samantha Murton said.
''But we have good numbers wanting to belong, and a good number of those who miss out come back and have another go next year.''
This week, many of the country's GPs return to the city where they trained, as Dunedin hosts the RNZCGP annual conference.
''This an opportunity for us to get together and remind ourselves of the importance we have in the delivery of healthcare, and also letting any ministers and anyone else hanging around know that is the case, too,'' Dr Murton said.
''I hope we are heading in a direction where primary healthcare will be boosted up, because I think foundationally it needs to be bigger than it currently is because of the way we are heading with greater health needs, more co-morbidities and the ageing population.''
It is not just the patients who are ageing but their doctors; a recent RNZCGP workforce survey predicted 47% of GPs would retire within 10 years.
Dr Murton, a working GP who is also a senior lecturer at University of Otago, Wellington, said she was confident that, with careful planning, New Zealand could educate enough GPs to replace those soon to retire.
Those future GPs would be likely be working in healthcare homes and hubs, a modernised, tech-led version of general practice in the process of being introduced in the WellSouth region.
Dr Murton's own practice became a healthcare home a year ago, and she was now a firm supporter of the model.
The RNZCGP conference begins tomorrow with a pre-conference workshop, and the main event runs from Friday to Sunday.
Health Minister David Clark and Ministry of Health chief executive Ashley Bloomfield will speak to the conference on Friday.
