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Encompassing a generalist skill set, general practice is the first point of contact with the health system for patients in New Zealand.

A leading academic unit within the Dunedin School of Medicine, the Department of General Practice and Rural Health was the first university department of general practice in New Zealand and one of the oldest in the world.

The study of general practice at an academic level involves:

  • Understanding the context of general practice within medicine, the primary healthcare sector, and the community
  • The practice itself from practitioners' and patients' perspectives
  • The clinical issues commonly managed in general practice
  • Training the next cohort of general practitioners

With an active research and teaching community, the Department of General Practice and Rural Health trains undergraduate medical students as well as offering an engaging postgraduate programme including Diploma, Master's, and PhD study opportunities.

Coming from a wide variety of disciplines and actively involved in teaching and research, the Department's leading health practitioners and social scientists work on issues in primary care that are informed by multidisciplinary perspectives and methodologies.

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