American doctor Dusty Bratton recently relocated to Palmerston North, where he says he doesn’t think any of the doctors in the Emergency Department are New Zealand-born.
Photo: Jimmy Ellingham, RNZ
Anti-immigration sentiment is in the news again, but without foreign doctors, New Zealand’s healthcare system ‘would be more on our knees than we already are’
American emergency doctor Dr Dusty Bratton arrived in New Zealand in January, chasing a lifestyle he’d flirted with during his honeymoon here in 2018.
“We fell in love with the country and started a dream of one day living here, and about a year ago, the jobs we were both at, we were ready for a change… and here we are,” says Bratton, who enjoyed his job back home but acknowledged the long hours and high stress.
He secured a position at the emergency department at Palmerston North Hospital and was struck by how instantly at home he felt, in part because of his working crew of foreigners.
“In the US, where I practised, everyone was from the US for the most part, versus here in Palmy – I do not believe there is a single New Zealand-born emergency medicine doctor in our department,” he tells The Detail.
He says the city has whipped out the welcome mat, recalling a visit to the local Bunnings to buy a measuring tape, only to be asked by a staff member if he would prefer to borrow one, since it was for a one-off job.
“Me and my wife just looked at each other and laughed, because you would never get asked that in a hardware store in the United States, if you could just borrow something and bring it back
“I have had so many experiences like that here – whether it be in the city or in the hospital, everyone has been really lovely and welcoming.”
This attitude, along with the Kiwi lifestyle, has seen New Zealand attract one of the highest proportions of internationally trained doctors among developed countries.
And the trend of American doctors like Bratton moving here has become so significant that The Wall Street Journal recently splashed the story across its front page – focusing on the South Island town of Timaru and the wave of American doctors relocating there.
The doctors spoke of leaving behind crushing workloads, endless administration and a healthcare system increasingly driven by insurance companies and pressure.
Bratton also believes the current political situation in his home country will lead to an increasing number of American doctors moving here.
“It’s really concerning and also just really embarrassing seeing how our country is behaving sometimes right now. And I do think that will probably drive more people to other countries, whether it be New Zealand or other places.
“So I do expect to see an uptick in American-trained and American-working doctors looking for an escape path and having places like here – which I cannot think of a better landing spot if anyone is looking for a place to come than New Zealand.
“So, I expect to see a lot more in the coming years.”
‘Unmet need vacancy rate’
Without these international doctors, our health system “would be more on our knees than we already are,” says Harriet Wild, policy director at the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists.
A recent ASMS survey revealed “an unmet need vacancy rate of 32 percent” she tells The Detail.
The survey – Recruited Globally, Neglected Locally – also asked overseas-trained members about their biggest challenges.
“One of the things that really struck us about this survey was how doctors who had been here for some time saw an erosion in the healthcare system that they arrived into.
“So when they came here, they found that they felt privileged to be here and privileged to be working in such a system, and now they see a system that is underfunded and increasingly run down, and it doesn’t have the resources needed to treat the needs that they see every day.
“So that was a real shift, and it wasn’t one that we expected.”
Medical Council data found 60 percent of overseas doctors do leave after two years compared to six percent of New Zealand-trained graduates.
But Wild tells The Detail that “the members that are coming to join ASMS – we are the unions for senior doctors and dentists – they tend to stay for a longer time, by and large.
“And the ones in our survey, and while it was an opt-in survey, the majority of them had been here for more than 10 years. They are looking for a complete lifestyle transformation… to build a foundation here.
“There will always be a group that is more transient and will continue to look for other opportunities, and that may be to do with their particular specialities or research opportunities.”
While it’s only early days, Bratton doesn’t plan to leave anytime soon. He’s keen to stay in New Zealand and make this his long-term home.
Like his international colleagues, he wants to practise medicine without losing himself in the process.
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