Sexual health medicine is challenging, interesting and very
rewarding. The work usually involves young adults who are otherwise
healthy and in most cases it is possible to make a tangible
difference to patients’ lives. Since sexual health is a developing
area of medicine there are excellent opportunities for research.
You need to be open-minded and have a sense of humour. Communication
skills are vital in this specialty since patient interactions are
usually fairly intense and demanding.
A typical for a full time specialist involves up to seven clinics
sessions and about three non-clinical sessions. Clinics
involve consultations with patients presenting with a wide range of
conditions and some specialist run subspecialty clinics for specific
areas of sexual health medicine. Non-clinical duties typically
involve administration related to patient care, teaching and
research.
Problems with government funding mean that sexual health medicine is
undervalued and under resourced. There is poor workforce development
and the specialty has not achieved the full recognition and respect
it deserves from medical peers and the public.
Consultant positions are scarce in New Zealand, although Australia does offer a greater number of
opportunities and the situation in New Zealand should improve over
the next few years.
It is relatively straightforward to take time out during training
and as a consultant. Overseas work during training is
encouraged and registrars are able to attend courses and conferences
internationally.
The hours for registrars and consultants are very reasonable. During
the week you might expect to work from 9.00am until 5.00pm with occasional
late nights. There is no weekend or overnight on-call requirement. It is
common to have clinics for 7/10 of the week, allowing time to complete
paperwork.
Contributors commented that the training programme is excellent: it
is well structured with a high standard of teaching, and the level of
consultant input is substantial.
