There’s going above and beyond for a job… and then there’s relocating 17,750 km away from Denmark with your husband and three kids to a region and city you’ve never been to before!
But this is exactly what Dr Katrine Konggaard has done to take up her new role of General Practitioner (GP) at Tui Ora.
Dr Katrine answered the job advert because the organisation aligned with her interests in holistic health, and the role was based in New Zealand – a country she and her family fell in love with after a holiday here in March 2024.
The role was one of four GP positions she was offered when looking to make the move to Aotearoa, but the kaupapa Māori ethos was what helped cement her decision to come to Tui Ora. “I felt that the holistic view and way Tui Ora works was something I wanted to be a part of. Even though we’d never been to New Plymouth before, I just had to trust my gut feeling that this was the right role and move for our family.”
Reflecting on whether she still feels that way now the move is complete, she beams when saying “It really feels like this role at Tui Ora has been a call for me, I’m very thankful and feel very privileged to do this work here. It’s been a really lovely start for us, we really feel that people want us to settle in well.”
Dr Katrine always knew she would become a doctor, “I’ve known what I wanted to be my whole life, from the age of about six, I knew I wanted to be a doctor, and I can’t imagine being anything else.”
Graduating from medical school at the University of Copenhagen in 2016, she interned before starting her General Practitioner specialist training in January 2019. “Early on at medical school, I knew that being a GP was the right shelf for me.” she says.
“I found I can tick every box by becoming a GP. I really enjoy working with the whole person, everything from mental health to toenails, and I really enjoy the prevention aspect of GP work and just getting to know your patient, their family, and knowing where they’re at and how they can prevent their illnesses.”
Since starting her GP training, she has experienced working in locations such as Greenland, The Faroe Islands, Norway and volunteering in Vanuatu, but moving to New Zealand is the first time she and her family have moved permenantly for work.
“This is the first time we’ve emigrated, this role is not just a locum vacancy, we’re going to stay here. We had a wonderful life in Denmark, but there was something drawing us to New Zealand and I felt I needed to pursue this role.” she says.
Tui Ora has successfully hired many new doctors over the past year due to a successful recruitment drive to entice healthcare talent to Taranaki to help with the GP shortage.
“Nationally there is a chronic shortage of GPs, and these shortages have significantly impacted access to primary healthcare and subsequently hauora outcomes for whānau. Tui Ora has a unique offering and holistic approach to healthcare that resonates with GPs both domestically and internationally. This is reflected in the success of our recruitment activity.” says Alf Robson, Tui Ora Pou Whakahaere Pūmanawa Tangata (People and Capability Lead).
“Now Dr Katrine has joined us, we have all the GPs we need to ensure we provide the continuity of care our whānau have longed for and deserve. This is a great place to be after a lot of hard mahi from the team to recruit.”
Dr Katrine Konggaard is based full time at Hauora ā-Whānau in Ngāmotu. Recent hires at Tui Ora’s Whaitara Health Centre also mean that there are no current vacancies for GPs within the organisation.
Tui Ora Pou Whakahaere Tākutatanga (Clinical Director) Bernard Leuthart is ecstatic to have a full team of General Practitioners and what it means for the hauora of whānau.
“It’s a fantastic outcome for whānau to have experienced, talented doctors coming to Tui Ora. Whānau get access to a doctor that knows them, their whānau, and their hauora history and needs. I’m delighted to welcome Dr Katrine to Tui Ora and already we’re seeing that delight in the patients that are getting in and coming under her care.”
When it comes to whānau, Dr Katrine wants them to know “That they can talk to me about anything, nothing is too big or too small! And if I’m not the right person to help, we can find that right person together.”