What Is Urgent Care?

Welcome to an insightful exploration of Urgent Care, a medical specialty that plays a pivotal role in our healthcare system. This article, crafted by Medfuture's team of expert recruitment consultants, aims to guide aspiring medical professionals like you in making informed decisions about choosing a specialty in medicine. Urgent Care is a branch of medicine that addresses the immediate medical needs of patients with non-life-threatening injuries or illnesses, distinguishing itself from Emergency Room care.

While these practitioners may collaborate with other specialists, they primarily handle ambulatory cases and refrain from performing surgeries or supervising inpatients. Urgent Care shares similarities with family practice and emergency medicine but maintains its unique knowledge base, skill set, and patient care experience. Throughout this article, we will delve deeper into the world of Urgent Care, shedding light on the vital role it plays within the medical field and helping you understand whether this specialty aligns with your medical career aspirations.

Urgent Care is a branch of medicine that caters to those in need of immediate medical attention, but with injuries or illnesses that are not life-threatening, and do not justify a visit to the Emergency Room, as they would not be considered a priority over those with much more serious conditions.

Majority of the time, patients that are in ambulatory medicine settings can usually be taken care of by urgent care medicine specialists, either in collaboration with another specialist, or even by themselves. Apart from minor operations such as performing stitches, repairing wounds and removal of skin lesions, urgent care specialists generally do not perform any surgeries. They also do not engage with or supervise inpatients, as they typically only treat minor or one-time medical issues.

In comparison to all of the existing practices of medicine, urgent care is the most similar to family practice, and emergency medicine. However, as much as it is similar, urgent care has its own distinction in the knowledge base and skill set expected of the practitioners, and the experience necessary for the practice.

Urgent care practitioners are generally specialised mostly in acute care, but not in the same way as family practice practitioners, as the objective of the latter is to support patients continually.

The Importance of Urgent Care

When someone is faced with an illness or injury that is life-threatening, they rush to an Emergency room, where patients are treated in order of the severity of their condition. When an individual is faced with an accident or illness that requires immediate attention, possibly within 24 hours, but there are no appointments available with their primary care physician, or it is after / before work hours, their next best course of action would be to find the nearest urgent care clinic.

Urgent care clinics take in walk-in clients, and do not require the booking of an appointment prior to the visit. They function even after work-hours, and priority is given to clients on a first come first served basis.

Benefits of Working in Urgent Care

Working as an Urgent Care doctor can be a rewarding and fulfilling career choice, offering several benefits:

1. Diverse Patient Population: Urgent Care centers see a wide range of patients, from pediatric to geriatric, with various medical needs. This diversity can keep your work interesting and allow you to apply your medical knowledge to a broad spectrum of cases.

2. Work-Life Balance: Compared to many other medical specialties, Urgent Care doctors often enjoy better work-life balance. Most Urgent Care centers have regular business hours and may not require on-call duty, allowing you to maintain a more predictable schedule.

3. Less Stressful Environment: While Urgent Care doctors handle a variety of cases, they typically see less critical, life-threatening situations compared to Emergency Room doctors. This can result in a less stressful work environment.

4. No Overnight Shifts: Unlike Emergency Room physicians, Urgent Care doctors usually do not work overnight shifts. This can lead to a more stable and predictable lifestyle.

5. Faster Paced Practice: Urgent Care settings tend to be fast-paced, making the work dynamic and engaging. You'll need to think on your feet, diagnose quickly, and provide immediate treatment.

6. Immediate Impact: Urgent Care doctors often experience the satisfaction of providing immediate relief and care to patients. This can be personally rewarding and fulfilling.

7. Variety of Cases: The scope of cases in Urgent Care is broad, ranging from minor injuries and infections to more complex issues. This variety can keep your medical skills sharp and broaden your experience.

8. Competitive Compensation: Urgent Care physicians generally receive competitive compensation packages, making it an attractive choice for many medical professionals.

9. Collaboration Opportunities: Urgent Care doctors may collaborate with other specialists, which can provide opportunities for learning and networking.

10. In-Demand Specialty: With the growing need for accessible and timely medical care, Urgent Care is a high-demand specialty. This can result in abundant job opportunities and job security.

11. Potential for Part-Time Work: Many Urgent Care centers offer part-time positions, making it suitable for doctors seeking flexibility in their schedules.

12. Entry Point for Primary Care: Some Urgent Care doctors use this as a stepping stone to transition into primary care or family medicine practice if they desire.

It's important to note that while there are numerous benefits to working in Urgent Care, this specialty may not be suitable for everyone. Your choice should align with your career goals, personal preferences, and medical interests. Consider your own priorities and the specific opportunities available in your region when deciding on your medical career path.

Impact of Urgent Care on New Zealand

RNZCUC states that there are approximately 2.5 million consultations for urgent care patients a year in New Zealand, accounting for about 15% of total primary care doctor presentations.

The increase in the number of urgent care clinics in New Zealand has led to urgent care becoming the second largest branch of medicine in terms of face to face consultations.

New Zealand has the lowest rate of emergency attendance worldwide, and Auckland, which is New Zealand’s largest city with the highest number of urgent care clinics in the country, simultaneously has a substantially lower emergency department attendance count than the rest of the country.

Demand for Urgent Care in New Zealand

Similar to other developed countries, the urgent care industry in New Zealand is steadily growing, alongside the demand for it. This is mostly because of the growing and ageing population, as well as the rapid increase in long-term conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

There is also an expectation that many of the existing workforce will have to stay on for an extended period of time due to the fact that many general practitioners and nurses will have to retire over the next 10 years. At the same time, demand is expected to surge in the next 10 years. To combat the lack of resources, New Zealand is trying to encourage urgent care clinics to identify other methods of working in order to effectively manage the demand.

While new strategies alone will not suffice, New Zealand is also taking initiatives to boost their workforce by providing physical and financial support for internationally qualified nurses, while also taking care of the salaries of doctors during internships and induction courses.

Auckland, New Zealand’s biggest city with the highest number of urgent care clinics is facing a massive shortage of urgent care clinic employees, and are having to close down as they do not have the resources to continue. Due to the shortage of staff, a number of clinics all over New Zealand have been forced to send clients away to emergency rooms as a last resort, being unable to accommodate patients themselves due to lack of resources. These are some of the circumstances that have further pushed New Zealand to bring in international medical graduates to add to their workforce.

There are a number of ways in which international medical graduates can become urgent care practitioners in New Zealand. To begin with, they would need to apply for vocational training in urgent care. They can successfully acquire it if they hold at least one of the two qualifications - The FRNZCUC [Fellowship of the Royal New Zealand College of Urgent Care], The FCUCP [Fellowship of the College of Urgent Care Physicians] or the FAMPA [Fellowship of the Accident and Medical Practitioners Association] - OR if they have an international postgraduate medical qualification in urgent care. In the case of the latter, the standard of an individual’s qualification, experience and training will be assessed against that of RNZCUC.

Medfuture, a renowned leader in medical and healthcare recruitment, serves as the bridge between highly skilled healthcare professionals and exceptional career opportunities worldwide. Explore our website to discover a multitude of compelling openings in healthcare administration. Your future in healthcare begins here.

While these practitioners may collaborate with other specialists, they primarily handle ambulatory cases and refrain from performing surgeries or supervising inpatients. Urgent Care shares similarities with family practice and emergency medicine but maintains its unique knowledge base, skill set, and patient care experience. Throughout this article, we will delve deeper into the world of Urgent Care, shedding light on the vital role it plays within the medical field and helping you understand whether this specialty aligns with your medical career aspirations.

Urgent Care is a branch of medicine that caters to those in need of immediate medical attention, but with injuries or illnesses that are not life-threatening, and do not justify a visit to the Emergency Room, as they would not be considered a priority over those with much more serious conditions.

Majority of the time, patients that are in ambulatory medicine settings can usually be taken care of by urgent care medicine specialists, either in collaboration with another specialist, or even by themselves. Apart from minor operations such as performing stitches, repairing wounds and removal of skin lesions, urgent care specialists generally do not perform any surgeries. They also do not engage with or supervise inpatients, as they typically only treat minor or one-time medical issues.

In comparison to all of the existing practices of medicine, urgent care is the most similar to family practice, and emergency medicine. However, as much as it is similar, urgent care has its own distinction in the knowledge base and skill set expected of the practitioners, and the experience necessary for the practice.

Urgent care practitioners are generally specialised mostly in acute care, but not in the same way as family practice practitioners, as the objective of the latter is to support patients continually.

The Importance of Urgent Care

When someone is faced with an illness or injury that is life-threatening, they rush to an Emergency room, where patients are treated in order of the severity of their condition. When an individual is faced with an accident or illness that requires immediate attention, possibly within 24 hours, but there are no appointments available with their primary care physician, or it is after / before work hours, their next best course of action would be to find the nearest urgent care clinic.

Urgent care clinics take in walk-in clients, and do not require the booking of an appointment prior to the visit. They function even after work-hours, and priority is given to clients on a first come first served basis.

Benefits of Working in Urgent Care

Working as an Urgent Care doctor can be a rewarding and fulfilling career choice, offering several benefits:

1. Diverse Patient Population: Urgent Care centers see a wide range of patients, from pediatric to geriatric, with various medical needs. This diversity can keep your work interesting and allow you to apply your medical knowledge to a broad spectrum of cases.

2. Work-Life Balance: Compared to many other medical specialties, Urgent Care doctors often enjoy better work-life balance. Most Urgent Care centers have regular business hours and may not require on-call duty, allowing you to maintain a more predictable schedule.

3. Less Stressful Environment: While Urgent Care doctors handle a variety of cases, they typically see less critical, life-threatening situations compared to Emergency Room doctors. This can result in a less stressful work environment.

4. No Overnight Shifts: Unlike Emergency Room physicians, Urgent Care doctors usually do not work overnight shifts. This can lead to a more stable and predictable lifestyle.

5. Faster Paced Practice: Urgent Care settings tend to be fast-paced, making the work dynamic and engaging. You'll need to think on your feet, diagnose quickly, and provide immediate treatment.

6. Immediate Impact: Urgent Care doctors often experience the satisfaction of providing immediate relief and care to patients. This can be personally rewarding and fulfilling.

7. Variety of Cases: The scope of cases in Urgent Care is broad, ranging from minor injuries and infections to more complex issues. This variety can keep your medical skills sharp and broaden your experience.

8. Competitive Compensation: Urgent Care physicians generally receive competitive compensation packages, making it an attractive choice for many medical professionals.

9. Collaboration Opportunities: Urgent Care doctors may collaborate with other specialists, which can provide opportunities for learning and networking.

10. In-Demand Specialty: With the growing need for accessible and timely medical care, Urgent Care is a high-demand specialty. This can result in abundant job opportunities and job security.

11. Potential for Part-Time Work: Many Urgent Care centers offer part-time positions, making it suitable for doctors seeking flexibility in their schedules.

12. Entry Point for Primary Care: Some Urgent Care doctors use this as a stepping stone to transition into primary care or family medicine practice if they desire.

It's important to note that while there are numerous benefits to working in Urgent Care, this specialty may not be suitable for everyone. Your choice should align with your career goals, personal preferences, and medical interests. Consider your own priorities and the specific opportunities available in your region when deciding on your medical career path.

Impact of Urgent Care on New Zealand

RNZCUC states that there are approximately 2.5 million consultations for urgent care patients a year in New Zealand, accounting for about 15% of total primary care doctor presentations.

The increase in the number of urgent care clinics in New Zealand has led to urgent care becoming the second largest branch of medicine in terms of face to face consultations.

New Zealand has the lowest rate of emergency attendance worldwide, and Auckland, which is New Zealand’s largest city with the highest number of urgent care clinics in the country, simultaneously has a substantially lower emergency department attendance count than the rest of the country.

Demand for Urgent Care in New Zealand

Similar to other developed countries, the urgent care industry in New Zealand is steadily growing, alongside the demand for it. This is mostly because of the growing and ageing population, as well as the rapid increase in long-term conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

There is also an expectation that many of the existing workforce will have to stay on for an extended period of time due to the fact that many general practitioners and nurses will have to retire over the next 10 years. At the same time, demand is expected to surge in the next 10 years. To combat the lack of resources, New Zealand is trying to encourage urgent care clinics to identify other methods of working in order to effectively manage the demand.

While new strategies alone will not suffice, New Zealand is also taking initiatives to boost their workforce by providing physical and financial support for internationally qualified nurses, while also taking care of the salaries of doctors during internships and induction courses.

Auckland, New Zealand’s biggest city with the highest number of urgent care clinics is facing a massive shortage of urgent care clinic employees, and are having to close down as they do not have the resources to continue. Due to the shortage of staff, a number of clinics all over New Zealand have been forced to send clients away to emergency rooms as a last resort, being unable to accommodate patients themselves due to lack of resources. These are some of the circumstances that have further pushed New Zealand to bring in international medical graduates to add to their workforce.

There are a number of ways in which international medical graduates can become urgent care practitioners in New Zealand. To begin with, they would need to apply for vocational training in urgent care. They can successfully acquire it if they hold at least one of the two qualifications - The FRNZCUC [Fellowship of the Royal New Zealand College of Urgent Care], The FCUCP [Fellowship of the College of Urgent Care Physicians] or the FAMPA [Fellowship of the Accident and Medical Practitioners Association] - OR if they have an international postgraduate medical qualification in urgent care. In the case of the latter, the standard of an individual’s qualification, experience and training will be assessed against that of RNZCUC.

Medfuture, a renowned leader in medical and healthcare recruitment, serves as the bridge between highly skilled healthcare professionals and exceptional career opportunities worldwide. Explore our website to discover a multitude of compelling openings in healthcare administration. Your future in healthcare begins here.