Dear Colleague
Congratulations on getting towards the end of the grind that is medical school and on your upcoming entry into the medical workforce. Now, as they say, the real work begins!
We invite you to join the New Zealand Resident Doctor's Association (NZRDA), also known as 'the RDA' for short. As a Trainee Intern, it only costs $10 to join, and once you become a House Surgeon, it's $480 per year (payable as $40 per month).
NZRDA is run by resident doctors for resident doctors; one of our main roles as ensuring that our working conditions are safe and therefore we can care for our patients safely and to the best of our abilities. Through collective advocacy NZRDA has improved RMO working conditions to be the envy of many of our overseas colleagues - just ask most overseas doctors working here and they will say they can't believe how good our conditions are. Much of this is down to we doctors having a strong collective voice - the NZRDA. In addition NZRDA provides legal advice and advocacy for its members as well as a range of other services such as income protection, professional indemnity insurance (a requirement of practicing in New Zealand) and much more. Personal and professional support can be accessed 24 hours / 7 days a week.
But that is not all we do. As the Resident Doctors representative organisation, we are active politically lobbying for our members interests, commenting publicly where appropriate and communicating with other medical organizations both in NZ and overseas. NZRDA is the Resident Doctors.
The NZRDA is a strong association and we are celebrating our 25th anniversary next year. We are a registered union under the Employment Relations Act (2000) and therefore negotiate the terms and conditions of our employment with the District Health Boards (DHBs) and ensure your employment contract is honoured by your DHB.
To join, call 0800 803 993 and speak to one of the team, or download the form here http://www.nzrda.org.nz/Site/Forms_2.ashx. Alternately, you can ask most of the house officers or registrars in the wards - they should be able to point you in the right direction. Once you join, you get full access to the website, regular TI updates concerning what is going on in hospitals as you consider your options and start preparing form November, our regular newsletters and of course we'll send you a copy of the MECA (Employment Contract) under which you'll soon be working.
If you have any further questions, please let us know - the National Executive are always happy to keep everyone in the loop, up to date and - that most precious commodity - informed. We take pride in communicating individually to our members. Welcome once again to your career as a doctor. We again invite you to join NZRDA, the collective voice of New Zealand's resident doctors. We believe it's one of the best investments in your professional future.
Best wishes,
Dr Curtis Walker
NZRDA President
On Behalf of the National Executive
