A word about our sponsors.

     Ok, reality check.  We do not really have any sponsors. 

     Feeling somewhat like this statuesque swimmer overlooking Wellington harbor, we have jumped off into New Zealand relatively bare.  Neither Kim nor I had ever been here before, and yet we were taking the plunge. It took quite a bit of effort to rent out our house, move out, figure what to pack for a year, drop off our dog, and say goodbye to family and friends for an unknown duration of time.  Throw in some angst of putting our children in a new school, starting work and living in a community about which we only knew details from the internet, having never met my new colleagues in person, no guranteed job when we return, some boundaries on financing, etc... I would have to say that my lower abdomen felt alot like this guy will when he hits the cold water.

   So far, all of the great things we have heard about New Zealand have been true.  The scenery is beautiful, the people have been wonderful, and it definitely is a great place to be.  The water is warming up and the angst and chill in my lower abdomen has been quickly resolved.

   Now back to the title of this post.  I have set some links, not really sponsors, under our picture at the top of this blog.   Their explanation is as follows:

     1.  NZLocums.com:  for family physician colleagues who may want to create their own medical working trip in New Zealand, this is a great place to start.  For my ER boarded colleagues, the sister organization NZMedics.com can help get you here.  They helped match me to a compatible practice, and helped organize all the paperwork.  You can work with Global Medical or Vista Medical out of the States, but understand that they tend to charge the local physicians a much higher price to bring you here for work.

    2.  Immigration.govt.nz:  For anyone who wants to visit, work, or travel in NZ, go through here first.  Even if on holiday, you need to let them know when you are coming and especially, when you will be leaving. 

    3.   Bill Yeaton Travel Photography:  Many of you may want to see some photos of our experience here in New Zealand.  During my first weeks of work at Broadway Healthcentre, I was lucky to overlap with Dr. Bill Yeaton as he finished his locum stint.  A fellow US physician, Bill is a seasoned world traveler and amazing photographer.  So if you want to see amatuerish pictures of our family in NZ, bear with Kim and I and follow our blog.  If you want to see some amazing professional photos of all the beauty of NZ and other countries, check out the link to Bill's site.

    4.  A sailing doctor's adventure:   At 4am when between patients in the ER, this is the website I would check out for inspiration.  Steve is a medical school classmate from Minnesota and fellow family physician who has taken his family on an even more amazing journey since 2007.  If all goes well, we will get a chance to share some time sailing on their boat Uliad once they make their way to NZ.

    5.  kiwisecondopinion.blogspot.com:  It is always good to get a second opinion. Dr. Ken Fabert, who has twice my years of experience in family medicine, has shared his experience of working in NZ.  A good reference to make sure that I am not making this stuff up. 

    6.  Teamhealth.com:  If you want to join a great group of ER docs on a part-time basis, check out this site.  Northwest Emergency Physicians, part of Teamhealth, provides physician staffing to the hospitals in Redmond and Prineville, OR.  I say check it out for part-time work, since I hope there is room for me to come back to work in a year.

    7.  Payette Lakes Medical Clinic:  The integration of the hospital, physicians, administration and medical providers in this beautiful community in Idaho provides the basis for alot of my comparisons in medicine.  Kim and I met, married, had our children, and have left our dog behind in McCall, so it still has ties for us, hence a link to this blog.

   I did have a couple of law offices, a medical malpractice insurer, and a health insurance company lined up to be our sponsors since they had provided some of the inspiration to leave practice in the States.  In the end they all declined.  Too bad, because the profile view of the above statue, which actually makes the guy look like he is preparing for his morning micturation and not a swim, would have looked great above their logos!