MEDICAL REGISTRATION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19889, 7 March 1928, Page 13

MEDICAL REGISTRATION.

APPLICANTS FROM ABROAD. "NO HARDSHIP INFLICTED." "The letter is misleading," said Dr. W. H. Parkes, a member of the New Zealand Medical Council, last evening when invited to comment on the complaints voiced by "Traveller" in the British Medical Journal concerning the treatment meted out to medical men from other countries who seek registration enabling them to practise in New Zealand. "No hardship is inflicted upon applicants for registration who furnish satisfactory evidence that they are of good repute and possess the necessary qualifications," said Dr. Parkes. "Pending replies from personal referees, who may be in Britain or elsewhere abroad, provisional registration is granted applicants entitling them to commence practice. Should there be unusual delay in replying, the provisional registration is continued and is made permanent when satisfactory evidence is forthcoming." Dr. Parkes said that in the case quoted in the letter in the British Medical Journal, the applicant was entirely to blame for the inconvenience suffered, as he ignored repeated requests from the Medical Council for important information which was essential for registration. Past experience emphasised the necessity for extreme care in the admission of applicants to the medical register, for it was a difficult and tedious process to have a name erased if the applicant proved to be unsatisfactory. An important function of the council was to safeguard the health and interests of the community. No difficulty wa3 experienced by practitioners from overseas who wei-e suitable and who conformed to the regulations.