Development of the Rural Immersion Programme for 5th-year medical students at the University Of Otago.

Aims: To report the development of the first Rural Medical Immersion Programme (RMIP) of the University of Otago in New Zealand.

Method: We review medical education trends and challenges for educating New Zealand's doctors and recruiting them to careers in rural practice. We describe key features of the RMIP developed in response to these challenges.

Rural hospitals in New Zealand: results from a survey.

Aim: To describe the variety and range of work that New Zealand rural hospitals perform, and to examine the factors that might influence either of these, including: the characteristics of the doctors who work in rural hospitals; the facilities available; and environmental factors (such as geographical isolation and the size of the catchment population).

Method: Structured postal questionnaire.

Results: There are about 44 rural hospitals in New Zealand, depending on definition.