It is possible to take a break from urgent care clinical practice and pause your training. In all cases, registrars should inform us in writing as soon as they know that they intend to pause their training. We cannot backdate the start date of your pause in training or cancellation of membership.

Request to pause or withdraw

Send an email to the office TPC (alex@rnzcuc.org.nz), indicating your intentions. Include the date you intend to pause your training and your planned date for return to training. If you do not provide a return date, we will assume that you have paused training for six months and one day (a ‘long pause’).

While paused

  • If you intend to practice outside of urgent care for this period you must be enrolled on another recertification programme or contact MCNZ to arrange registration with InPractice. 
  • We send reminders shortly before any planned return date, or on the anniversary of the start of your pause, until we consider that you have withdrawn from the programme (see below).
  • Clinical time that would have otherwise be approved for clinical hours in urgent care may NOT be recorded for annual requirement purposes unless previously agreed with the DCT.
  • Courses that fulfil the Fellowship criteria may be allowed to be counted towards the training programme, though prior approval should be sought from the DCT.

Returning

When you wish to return to the training programme, email the TPC asking to return to the programme.

On behalf of the Education Committee (EdC), the Director of Clinical Training (DCT) will review your training programme progress and compliance with the annual requirements at the date you put your training on hold. The DCT will inform you of any activities to be completed either before returning or shortly after recommencing training.

If the DCT considers that your prior progress would meet the criteria for poor performance in the registrar performance policy, or your absence is for more than three years, the Board of Censors considers your request to recommence membership and return to the programme.  The BoC may stipulate additional requirements, and we may require you to provide a recent certificate of professional status (COPS)¹.  The member bears the cost of activities stipulated by RNZCUC.

Pause classifications

These help guide the office and you about what services and actions occur while paused. Subject to DCT approval, someone may be on a ‘short pause’ for longer than six months though there must be significant extenuating circumstances and a firm plan for return by an agreed date.

Short pause

If your absence from the programme is for six months or less (in addition to the information on returning above):

  • We classify you as on a ‘short pause’
  • We will note that you have paused your training activities
  • You remain a member of the College
  • We will continue to provide you with services (website access, urgent care course access, lightbox, ECGWeekly, and UCCIS)
  • You may be permitted to attend short courses or events, subject to availability
  • On return, annual targets for clinical hours, supervision meetings, and peer group hours MAY be adjusted, subject to EdC approval, but note that Fellowship regulations stipulate a training year must contain 400 hours of approved urgent care clinical practice
  • We will inform MCNZ that you have paused training.

Long pause

If your absence from the programme is for more than six months (in addition to the information on returning above):

  • We classify you as on a ‘long pause’
  • If necessary, we inform MCNZ that you have paused training
  • You cease your membership of the College
  • You cease to use the post-nominal letters MRZNCUC if a senior registrar
  • We arrange a pro-rata² refund of membership/programme subscription fees
  • We pause all services (website access, urgent care course access, lightbox and ECGWeekly, UCCIS write access)
  • You continue to have read-only access to your UCCIS account
  • Training programme components completed during the pause are not covered by health workforce funds
  • We pro-rate your current-year annual requirements on return.

Withdrawn

If your absence from the programme is for more than three years (in addition to the information on returning above):

  • We consider you to have  ‘withdrawn’ yourself from the programme (unless you specifically advise us otherwise)
  • We carry out all actions described by ‘long pause’
  • We remove ‘read only’ access to UCCIS
  • We cease sending reminders to return to the training programme.

Healthworkforce funds

The registrar bears the cost of any CPD or return-to-work programme. The use of health workforce funds will not be permitted for a return-to-work programme unless those activities are part of the training programme and not previously completed by the registrar. When on a long pause, or withdrawn from the programme, you are not eligible for health workforce funding. HWNZ eligibility criteria include completing the training programme within four years. An allowance of up to 2 years away from the programme extends completion time to 6 years from start of training.

Footnotes

1. The certificate of professional status (COPS) may be requested from MCNZ (verification@mcnz.org.nz).

2. The pro-rated refund (if applicable) is calculated from the latest of either the date of when we are informed or the start of the pause, through to the end of the membership year. If you pause for six months or less, then inform us that you wish to extend this pause beyond six months, we use the date that you informed us of the new circumstances.