About NZPAS

New Zealand Physician Associate Society is a board of Physician Associates currently working in New Zealand. 

Our Purpose

The New Zealand Physician Associate Society (NZPAS) was incorporated in 2014 in order to represent and promote physician associates (PAs) employed within New Zealand. The Society’s primary objective is to promote the Physician Associate profession in New Zealand and to provide quality medical care to the people of New Zealand by supporting dedicated, experienced PAs in their work.

Work in New Zealand will be with a particular focus on those patients living in rural and underserved areas. These PAs working and familiar with the New Zealand medical community have a passion for living and working in New Zealand and want to support patient care by filling the current rural GP shortage. The NZPAS supports efforts for Physician Associates to become a regulated work force, provide advocacy for prescribing and ordering privileges, support the development of a New Zealand Physician Associate training program, and promote services of PA’s in New Zealand.

Our Mission

We work to promote the profession and continue to advocate to get regulation of Physician Associates. This will give PAs the ability to work at their full capacity in NZ. PAs are one of the solutions that will help fill the shortage that currently exists in the New Zealand GP workforce.

To provide an organization to which Physician Associates can look for leadership, strength, education, communication, and assistance. Our priorities are:

  • To educate the public and other health care workers regarding the role of the physician associates
  • To propose and further legislation which affects the evolution of the physician associate as a health care practitioner and ultimately a registered and licensed prescriber
  • To provide a forum where physician associates can meet and share experiences, concerns, and plans
  • To support the medical community in working towards Physician Associate training here in New Zealand by working with the medical school community
  • Promote the PA profession to the New Zealand lay and medical community