The University of Waikato and Waikato DHB are applying to the Government to get a graduate entry medical school for the Waikato.

The Waikato is making a bid for the country's third medical school in a move that could put more doctors into rural areas that struggle to attract them.

The joint proposal by the University of Waikato and the Waikato District Health Board was put before government ministers on Monday and is a potential major shake-up in the way doctors are taught.

Contrary to the traditional medical training model, the school would take graduates with a degree in any discipline and who are from the communities that need them and put them through four years of training, with a large dose of it on the job in their hometown.

CHRISTEL YARDLEY/FAIRFAX NZ Waikato University Vice Chancellor Neil Quigley, left, and health board chief executive Nigel Murray made the announcement of the proposal on Monday.

The aim is to steer students towards general practice or another specialty the country is short of, such as psychiatry and geriatrics.

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It would be a new way of becoming a doctor, university Vice Chancellor Professor Neil Quigley said.

CHRISTEL YARDLEY/FAIRFAX NZ "I know the future forecasts. We need to do something," says Waikato District Health Board chief executive Dr Nigel Murray.

"It opens the gates wider for entry to a medical education programme."

And it's important for the country as a whole, he said, as New Zealand's second medical school was set up 50 years ago in Auckland.

"It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for both the university and the DHB, but most importantly for the people we're here to serve," Waikato District Health Board chief executive Nigel Murray said.

CHRISTEL YARDLEY/FAIRFAX NZ "It opens the gates wider for entry to a medical education programme," University of Waikato Vice Chancellor Professor Neil Quigley says.

New Zealand brings in more than 1000 overseas-trained doctors a year, and about 40 percent of GPs are due to retire in the coming decade, according to the business case.

A third medical school is needed to plug that gap, the proposal says, and would focus on doctors for the rural communities which need them most.

The Waikato plan - to cater for 60 students a year for each of the four years - is to choose trainees from those areas who will go back to serve them.

MARK TAYLOR/STUFF The proposal is "something bold for the region", says National MP David Bennett.

"As an employer of doctors and provider of health services, I know the future forecasts. We need to do something. We won't have enough doctors," Murray said.

"The key is that these people are embedded in their communities, and we know from international experience that's a really good thing to ensure that when they're fully fledged doctors, they actually come back and practise in the communities that helped create them."

If the plan goes ahead, it will take about seven years for the Waikato medical school to produce its first graduates.

ROBYN EDIE/FAIRFAXNZ Ministers Steven Joyce, pictured, and Jonathan Coleman arel considering the business case.

Those accepted into the programme could have an undergraduate degree from any field, but must also show characteristics such as empathy and communication skills.

And the number of Māori students in the cohort will be at least representative of the general population, the business case said.

They should be ready to hit the ground running once they graduate, too, as much of their placement time will be spent in rural communities, not hospitals.

"In this model, the medical students get right into the coal face of working with patients faster than they do in the traditional medical school," Quigley said.

"We're not making all of this up. It's a well-established model in Australia, the US and Canada, and even now in parts of the UK as well."

The intention is for the Waikato students to study on the Waikato Hospital campus, as opposed to the University of Waikato site.

But come placement time, they will fan out to one of about 15 rural education centres around the central North Island.

There, they will work alongside GPs, social services, and other health professionals, as well as with a medically trained academic co-ordinator and other tutors.

The Waikato District Health Board and University of Waikato will each contribute financially, but the organisations are asking for funding from the Government.

That would include funding for medical student places at Waikato — 60 a year, 240 all up — and to help create the rural education hubs.

National Party Hamilton East MP David Bennett is backing the concept. He said Murray and Quigley deserve credit for getting the idea to a firm proposal.

"It's a new initiative, it's something bold for the region," he said.

The business case will be considered by Government ministers in the next stage — a difficult one to get through — but had the potential to help people in hard-to-staff areas in and beyond the Waikato.

It was an interesting proposal, Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Steven Joyce said in a statement.

"Minister [Jonathan] Coleman and I have just received the business case. We'll take some time now to assess it before any decisions are made."

What would make this medical school different?

Takes graduates of any three-year university degree

Currently students must first take medical sciences at Auckland or Otago

Currently students must first take medical sciences at Auckland or Otago Four years of training

Five at Auckland or Otago

Five at Auckland or Otago Partnerships with iwi

Aim to have 60 percent of graduates specialising as a GP

15 percent of current graduates choose to become a GP

15 percent of current graduates choose to become a GP Placements in regional training centres around the central North Island

Students selected on basis of: results, commitment to community

Number of Māori students in cohort in line with percentage in population

3.5 per cent of GPs were Māori​​ in 2014

How will it work?

Broadly speaking, each year will have a different focus.