Eighteen fifth-year University of Auckland medical students will soon be working at Whakatane Hospital and in local GP rooms.

Their placements are part of a new Regional-Rural Programme jointly run by the university and Bay of Plenty District Health Board and will be officially launched in Whakatane next Monday.

In total, 58 medical students from the university will work in the Bay this year, with the group consisting of 24 fourth year, 18 fifth year and 16 sixth year students.

It's the first time BOPDHB has had medical students from all three clinical training years for the full academic year.

The Auckland students will spend nearly three months at Whakatane Hospital and the balance of the year at Tauranga Hospital's Bay of Plenty clinical school.

BOPDHB Clinical School head professor Peter Gilling says the new programme will be significant, as it will be the first year that Whakatane Hospital will have a group of fifth year medical students present as part of their academic year.

'The clinical teaching staff at Whakatane Hospital are excited at the prospect of having a group of fifth year medical students. This enables the students to have a stronger bond with the workforce, the community and patients.

'Experience suggests that some of the students will return to the area and other rural regions later on as graduate doctors and this will enhance the medical workforce in the Bay of Plenty and rural New Zealand.”

In recent years, University of Auckland students have taken part in a six-week rural health immersion programme based at Whakatane Hospital.

This is the second Regional-Rural Programme jointly operated by the university, with the first based at the Northland DHB and includes training for medical students at Whangarei Hospital and rural hospitals around that region.

'The expansion of our Regional-Rural programme into the Bay of Plenty demonstrates our commitment to giving our medical students training in the regions and rural areas with many returning to those areas later on,” says the University of Auckland dean Professor John Fraser.

Guests at the powhiri include East Coast MP Anne Tolley, the university's vice-chancellor Professor Stuart McCutcheon, and Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences dean Professor John Fraser.

They'll join BOPDHB Board chair Sally Webb and CEO Helen Mason, plus members of local iwi Ngati Awa and other dignitaries to welcome the first group of 18 students to Whakatane.