36.1 Professional Development
(a) The employer recognises the importance of actively encouraging their employees to undertake professional development and education.
(b) Clinical leaders (including Clinical Directors / Heads of Department, Chief Medical Officers) are critical to good engagement as clause 1.1 of this document. When the employer requires an employee covered by the collective agreement (who is formally engaged in a clinical leadership position) to complete training, the employee will be entitled to undergo suitable funded training for such roles in addition to the allowances in 36.2 below.
Where an employee covered by the collective agreement expresses an interest in training for a future role in a clinical leadership position and such training is agreed by the employer the employee will be entitled to undergo suitable funded training in addition to the allowances in 36.2 below. A contribution to the costs of this training, in whole or part, from the SMO’s CME entitlement may be agreed.
(c) Employees are entitled to use their accrued continuing medical education expenses to support secondments (Clause 36.4) and sabbaticals (Clause 36.5).
(d) Where the employer agrees that employees may use their accrued CME expenses to purchase and own laptops and electronic aids this shall be where the main purpose is to support their continuing medical education and not provided under Clause 53.
(e) The provisions of this clause shall not apply to locums or fixed term employees who are engaged for six months or less.
36.2 Continuing Medical Education
(a) The employer requires employees to be fully informed, and where possible, practised in developments within their profession. To facilitate this, employees will be entitled to leave for 10 working days (pro rata for part-time employees) continuing education each financial year (1 July – 30 June), plus any agreed reasonable travelling time.
At the end of each financial year an employee will carry forward any unused leave days (not exceeding 30 days) from one financial year to the next, which can then be used in conjunction with the current year’s entitlement.
This amount of leave carried forward from the last financial year may be increased from 30 days to 50 days (to be used in conjunction with the current year’s entitlement) subject to submission of a specific plan for the utilisation of the accumulated period and the approval of the employer which should not be unreasonably withheld.
On appointment new employees will be granted a pro-rata allocation of CME days (not exceeding 10 days) calculated as 1 CME day multiplied by the number of months or part months between the date of appointment and the end of the financial year (30 June).
Note: Effective from 1 July 2024 CME will be allocated at the commencement of each financial year (1 July).
(b) Employees shall be reimbursed actual and reasonable expenses of up to $16,000 per annum (GST exclusive) and accumulated on the same basis as the working days (a) above. This reimbursement is pro rata for part-time employees except that part-time employees whose only income from medical or dental practice is derived from their employment with one employer shall be entitled to the full reimbursement.
(c) Employees who are enrolled in two or more maintenance of professional standards (MOPS) programmes shall be reimbursed up to an additional $500 per annum (i.e. $16,500).
(d) Employees shall receive time-in-lieu for each day on which they undertake approved continuing medical education or professional development on a weekend, a New Zealand public holiday, rostered day off or on a day that they do not work for the employer. The granting of a day in lieu will result in the deduction of an equivalent time from the employee’s CME leave entitlement as per 36.2 (a).
36.3 Calculation of an individual employee’s entitlement to the expenses shall be on the following basis:
(a) Full-timers shall be entitled to the full amount;
(b) Employees who work for more than one employer party and whose combined job size with those employers is full-time (as defined under this Agreement) shall be reimbursed the full amount, with each employer sharing that amount in the same proportion that their employee’s job size bears to the employee’s total job size with all employers;
(c) Employees who work for more than one employer party and whose combined job size with those employers is less than full-time (as defined under this Agreement) and who have no other medical or dental practice shall be reimbursed the full amount, with each employer sharing the amount in the same proportion that their employee’s job size bears to the employee’s total job size with all employers;
(d) Part-timers who are employed by only one employer party and have no other medical or dental practice shall be entitled to the full amount;
(e) Other part-time employees shall be entitled to the full amount pro rata, according to their job size.
Note: CME expenses will not exceed 100% of entitlement.
36.4 Secondment
Employees may apply for a secondment of two weeks every three years to a recognised unit or posting for the purpose of professional development and upgrading skills which is relevant to their duties and responsibilities.
36.5 Sabbatical
(a) After every six years of service, an employee may apply for sabbatical leave of three months, or other agreed period, on full pay, whether as a continuous period or a series of separate periods, to spend time at other clinical units or centres, universities or research institutes or working (or volunteering) for a medical charity for the purposes of strengthening or acquiring clinical knowledge or skills or undertaking an approved course of study or research in matters relevant to their clinical practice.
(b) “Service” for the purpose of sabbatical leave entitlement means service as a senior medical or dental officer in New Zealand with the employer.
(c) Applications for participating in the programme in advance of the standard eligibility criteria (in other words, attaining six years of service) can be considered by a sub-committee of the Clinical Board (or equivalent body) which will include a nominee of the Senior Medical Staff Committee that is recognised in this role by the Association. The sub-committee will make a recommendation to the Chief Executive. In making a recommendation to the Chief Executive, the sub-committee will consider the relevance of the application to the employee’s job description, service requirements, funding arrangements and the time at which such a programme can be taken.
(d) The approved sabbatical programme is to be taken within six years of it becoming available, and where practical the planned dates for the programme must be agreed with the employer at least one year in advance.
To facilitate this, applicants may apply for a sabbatical in advance of meeting the service eligibility requirement.
(e) The programme intended by the employee will be subject to approval, which will not be unreasonably withheld, by the relevant clinical director and service or group manager.
36.6 Professional and Organisational Leadership
Employees may receive leave with pay to participate in programmes, courses, conferences and other activities related to the development of professional or organisational leadership as approved by the employer.
36.7 Professional Development Review
(a) Employees are entitled to, and the employer may require, a regular professional development review with the applicable clinical director or equivalent. This will usually occur on an annual basis.
(b) The review should consider such matters as development opportunities for the employee including how these meet their duties and responsibilities (including service needs), any professional compliance matters, plans for the use of professional development including continuing education leave and sabbaticals, and work schedules including the balance between clinical and non-clinical time and the outcomes expected of both.