The $400,000-a-year job that no one wants

£190,000 a year, three months of holiday doing whatever the hell you want, and life in one of the most idyllic countries in the world, New Zealand – so why has no one taken the job? At this point you’re probably wondering what the position actually is. It must be something pretty horrific that such a contract can’t tempt a single person – the advert has been live for 2 years now. Clinical drug guinea pig? Crime-scene cleaner? Pet food taster? Sewer diver? None of the above. The actual job? A rural GP at a practice in the town of Tokoroa on the North Island, which boasts a modest population of 13,600.

Dr Alan Kenny, originally recruited from the UK, has seen his practice “explode” in popularity, with 6,000 patients now on the book, but is overworked because of it and is in need of some help, which is becoming rather difficult to find. Not only does the package include the salary (twice the average by the way) and holiday above, Dr Kenny has promised candidates no night or weekend work and a half share in the practice – yet, inexplicably, he’s not received an applicant for 4 months. For reference, if you needed more convincing, this is the kind of scenery North Island is home to, and within driving distance of the job on offer:

(Image: Daniel Peckham)

The New Zealand Rural General Practice Network’s deputy chief executive, Linda Reynolds, has said that contributing factors for the rural GP shortage are the isolation involved, lack of schooling and social options and very poor access to broadband.

All sounds pretty manageable to me, and with most of these rural positions filled by international medical graduates, it might be time to think about a career change…