Extra places for medical students next year at the country's two medical schools, including more positions earmarked for rural students, were announced by Health Minister Tony Ryall this week.
The news was welcomed by the New Zealand Rural General Practice Network as well as Otago rural hospital managers and health companies.
Mr Ryall said research showed students who grew up in rural areas were more likely to go back and work in those areas. The extra places at medical school would help encourage more doctors to work in rural areas, he said.
An additional 34 places will be available next year, with half the positions offered to rural students through the rural subcategory at the University of Otago (five places) and the regional and rural admissions scheme at the University of Auckland (12 places).
The other 17 places will be offered to students through the universities' other application routes. Mr Ryall said since 2009 the Government had funded 170 extra medical school places.
Central Otago Health Services Ltd runs Dunstan Hospital in Clyde and general manager Karyn Penno said the extra placements were ''fantastic news'' and would benefit the community hugely.
''Within Dunstan's catchment, which includes Wanaka and Central Otago, we're really reliant on GP [general practitioner] access in the first instance. Dunstan doesn't have an open emergency department so GPs are the first half of emergency care.''
Dunstan had the distinction of being the furthest hospital from a base hospital in New Zealand and Lakes District Hospital in Frankton ''was not far behind''. The remoteness of the rural hospitals underlined the important role fulfilled by rural doctors, Ms Penno said.
Maniototo Hospital is run alongside the Chalet Home for the Aged in Ranfurly and both facilities are managed by Maniototo Health Services Ltd. The company's general manager, Geoff Foster, said the focus on rural students at medical school was a positive move.
''Anything that improves the possibility and capability of having more doctors wanting to work in rural areas has to be a good thing,'' he said.
The Maniototo was served by one GP, Verne Smith, who was also the hospital's medical officer, and it was difficult to attract locums to cover the area, Mr Foster said.
The hospital hosted medical school students ''and we hope that them being here, and talking to members of the community, opens their eyes to the potential of being a rural GP and how rewarding that can be'', he said.
The Teviot Valley also has one doctor to serve the area. Dr Eric Wegener resigned earlier this year after almost a decade in the role, and the Roxburgh Medical Services Trust has been seeking a replacement.
''It takes a special person to be a sole practitioner.''
The trust would support any initiatives which supported and encouraged medical students to become rural GPs, he said.
The rural general practice network praised the additional medical school placements.
Network deputy chairwoman Sharon Hansen said it was a challenge to train, recruit and retain rural doctors and targeting some medical school places for students wanting to work in rural areas would help address that problem.
''However, it is a long way from medical school to having a general practitioner working in the rural sector, and support will be required beyond medical school,'' she said.
It was equally important to expose students to rural-based eduction throughout their training years, Ms Hansen said.
