Featured region: The Hawkes Bay
We talked to Dr Anoek Dechering-Raes, Consultant Psychiatrist at the Hawkes Bay DHB about living in the Hawkes Bay region. Anoek is originally from the Netherlands and gives her unique insight in to living and working on the other side of the world..
How long have you lived in New Zealand?
I have lived in Hawkes Bay since June 2006 when we arrived in New Zealand. The 'we' is my husband and our two children who at that time were aged 2 and 4.
What are the top 3 things that you love about living in the Hawkes Bay?
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I love the laid-back life style, the weather [the Hawkes Bay is known for its temperate weather – not too cold and not too wet]
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The overall very friendly people.
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It is a great place to raise your kids and to enjoy life. We are close to beaches, mountain bike tracks, wineries – it is a beautiful region.
What, if any, do you view as downsides?
The downsides are that other than my immediate family, we have no local family support. There are many ways to keep in touch with family thanks to modern technology – and we do look forward to our visitors. The Hawkes Bay has a community feel about it which helps also.
Working in a smaller DHB has challenges in terms of having to be flexible and adaptable about workload and being able to provide a wide range of assessments and treatments, particularly in rural areas. However, this has enabled me to develop a broad range of skills and is great experience.
Why would you recommend that a Psychiatrist moving to New Zealand relocates to The Hawkes Bay?
We have a small team of psychiatrists, 11.4FTE in total presently, and the population of the region is 162,000. The team is friendly and supportive of each other: we are open to creative solutions and looking at different ways of doing things. We are looking for good team players, that want to help us develop our service further into the future. It would be great to be a part of this team and live the lifestyle that the Hawkes Bay offers.
You trained in the Netherlands, was registration easy for you with the Medical Council of New Zealand?
I have full vocational registration and I did a vocational practice assessment at the end of a one-year period of supervised practice. It was a straight forward process. When you are transitioning from one country’s system to the other it is different, but on the other hand, the work itself is, and has remained, surprisingly similar whether you do it in NZ or at the other end of the world.
Click here to learn more about the Hawkes Bay region
