How do I choose my surgeon?
Surgery involves many choices. The first and most important is selecting a qualified surgeon who can work with you to deliver the care required to meet your goals and the high trust expected by the New Zealand public. It is therefore important to understand how Plastic Reconstructive surgeons are trained and certified in New Zealand, and to understand who is NOT a Plastic Reconstructive Surgeon.
All recognised Plastic Reconstructive Surgeons in New Zealand hold “vocational scope of practice” in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery with the Medical Council of New Zealand (MCNZ). A surgeon’s status should be checked at https://www.mcnz.org.nz/registration/register-of-doctors/ as this is the only way to ensure they hold the correct qualification.
MCNZ vocational scope of practice is granted in two ways:
The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) is the only entity recognised by the Medical Council of New Zealand as able to provide specialist training and qualification in plastic and reconstructive surgery. While RACS also governs other surgical specialities, each is apart from the others and their qualifications and training do not cross over.
New Zealand trained Plastic Reconstructive surgeons undergo extensive training, including a minimum of 5-6 years of basic post-graduate medical training and hospital experience, followed by an additional 5 years of specialist training. This rigorous training program, known as the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Surgical Education and Training (SET) program, is overseen by the New Zealand Board of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (NZBPRS) on behalf of RACS. Upon completion of training and passing all requirements, surgeons are awarded the Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in Plastic Reconstructive Surgery (FRACS Plas) and are recognised by the Medical Council of New Zealand with vocational scope of practice in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. FRACS in other specialties cannot be and are not recognised as such.
Not all specialist plastic surgeons in New Zealand are locally trained. Overseas trained surgeons can apply to register with the Medical Council of New Zealand for vocational scope of practice as Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons. However, this is not granted lightly and certainly not automatically.
These surgeons with a substantially comparable qualification to FRACS may be permitted to go through an equivalency process with MCNZ. These qualifications can include Fellowship of the College of Surgeons (FRCS) of England, Ireland, Scotland or Canada, or American doctors who are Board Certified in plastic and reconstructive surgery. These surgeons undergo extensive audit of their surgical training, and where necessary undertake additional training under the supervision of New Zealand registered specialist plastic surgeons to bring them into parity. Once this is complete, they are considered equivalent to their FRACS trained counterparts and will be registered with the New Zealand Medical Council as having “vocational scope of practice” in plastic and reconstructive surgery.
Those surgeons whose overseas qualification is not substantially comparable to FRACS will not be allowed to go through an equivalency process towards MCNZ vocational scope of practice.
There are no other surgical qualifications that have meaning in New Zealand. Do not be confused by other official-sounding qualifications and certifications, or other types of non-specialist registration with the New Zealand Medical Council. If a surgeon does not have FRACS in Plastic Reconstructive Surgery, or vocational scope of practice as a specialist plastic surgeon with the Medical Council of New Zealand, they are not recognised as a plastic surgeon in New Zealand and cannot practice or represent themselves as such.
Unrecognised doctors may try to pass themselves off as qualified plastic surgeons with confusing terms and disingenuous use of language. These may include but are not limited to “cosmetic surgeon”, “skin specialist”, “skin surgeon”, “surgeon with an interest in plastic surgery”, “facial surgeon”. They may claim to be extensively trained or experienced, but without correct MCNZ vocational scope of practice this is meaningless and does not constitute a proper qualification.
Patients should also be aware that surgeons who hold FRACS in a specialty other than plastic surgery, while fully trained in their own surgical field, are not trained or qualified as plastic surgeons.
The New Zealand Association of Plastic Surgeons is a not-for-profit, professional association devoted to the maintenance of excellent ethical and professional standards within the field of aesthetic and reconstructive plastic surgery. It is the Speciality Society that represents our profession to the Ministry of Health and its associated entities, the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, and other agencies as advocacy demands. NZAPS also administers the New Zealand specialist training programme through the New Zealand Board of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.
Members of the New Zealand Association of Plastic Surgeons are required to adhere to a Code of Practice governed by the Guidelines for Professional Conduct, as well as the regulations and guidelines of the Medical Council of New Zealand (MCNZ) and the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.
