How to become a public health medicine specialist
Official title: Public health medicine specialist
Also called: Public health physician, Medical officer of health, Epidemiologist
Public health medicine specialists aim to prevent or reduce risks of disease, injury, disability or death at a population level.
Main tasks
- Direct health care delivery programmes
- Develop health policies and strategy
- Manage health care operations
- Assess health and health care needs
- Communicate health information to communities
- Design health programmes
- Conduct research into medical issues
- Develop health assessment programmes
How to become one
You need more than one qualification to become a public health medicine specialist. You need University Entrance to do the study or training for this job. Required: to complete the Health Sciences First Year programme at the University of Otago OR the first year of the Bachelor of Health Sciences, Bachelor of Biomedical Science or Bachelor of Science with a health major at the University of Auckland; a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery or other recognised primary medical degree; a minimum of 2 years of postgraduate clinical experience; a Master of Public Health, completed as part of New Zealand College of Public Health Medicine (NZCPHM) training or before entering Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine (AFPHM) training; to complete 45 months’ training to become a Fellow of the NZCPHM OR 3 years’ training to become a Fellow of the AFPHM; an Annual Practising Certificate; to pass a police check. Other requirements: to pass a medical assessment and drug test; a driver licence. Registration body: Medical Council of New Zealand.
Ways in
- University: Medicine & Dentistry degrees, Offered by 2 universities in New Zealand
- University: Health & Public Health degrees, Offered by 6 universities in New Zealand
- Registration or licence: An Annual Practising Certificate. Registration body: Medical Council of New Zealand (https://www.mcnz.org.nz).
Pay · Past change
- Most common pay: $206,030 to $247,330 a year (median $226,680), a TEC estimate before tax.
- Lower: $185,380 a year · Upper: $267,980 a year
- TEC's pay figures are estimates only. TEC says they must not be used to set pay, in pay negotiations or in visa applications.
- Change in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses: Decrease (TEC). This is past change, not a forecast.
Who does this work
- About 27 people did this job at the 2023 Census (TEC).
Related jobs
- Surgical assistant
- Neurologist
- Obstetrician and gynaecologist
- Oral and maxillofacial surgeon
- Physician associate
- Anaesthetist
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Questions people ask
How do I become a public health medicine specialist?
You need more than one qualification to become a public health medicine specialist. You need University Entrance to do the study or training for this job. Required: to complete the Health Sciences First Year programme at the University of Otago OR the first year of the Bachelor of Health Sciences, Bachelor of Biomedical Science or Bachelor of Science with a health major at the University of Auckland; a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery or other recognised primary medical degree; a minimum of 2 years of postgraduate clinical experience; a Master of Public Health, completed as part of New Zealand College of Public Health Medicine (NZCPHM) training or before entering Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine (AFPHM) training; to complete 45 months’ training to become a Fellow of the NZCPHM OR 3 years’ training to become a Fellow of the AFPHM; an Annual Practising Certificate; to pass a police check. Other requirements: to pass a medical assessment and drug test; a driver licence. Registration body: Medical Council of New Zealand.
How much does a public health medicine specialist earn in New Zealand?
The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $226,680 a year, before tax. Most common pay is $206,030 to $247,330 a year.
Has the number of people working as a public health medicine specialist grown in New Zealand?
It has shrunk: TEC records a decrease in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses. This is past change, not a forecast.
Sources
- Tertiary Education Commission (Tahatu Career Navigator): Tahatu career ideas: descriptions, tasks, pay estimates, people employed, employment change 2018 to 2023, entry requirements, registration, interest scores (Site scrape 2026-10 (816 career ideas, sitemap lastmod 2026-10-01)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
This content is sourced from the Tertiary Education Commission through the Tahatū Career Navigator website (www.tahatu.govt.nz) and used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. All or some of the information has been modified by Peernovo. TEC has not approved, endorsed or tested these modifications. TEC will not be held accountable for any errors within this content.
Qualification information from NZQA, used under CC BY 3.0 NZ.
This work is based on/includes Stats NZ's data which are licensed by Stats NZ for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Census data via Figure.NZ.
Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.
Sources: Tertiary Education Commission, Tahatū Career Navigator (career ideas, pay estimates, entry requirements and study options, CC BY 4.0, modified by Peernovo); Stats NZ, 2023 Census (via Figure.NZ) and the National Occupation List (CC BY 4.0); NZQA qualification information (CC BY 3.0 NZ); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Links between career ideas and ANZSCO groups, degree fields and broad job groups are Peernovo's.
These results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.
Graduate outcomes: these results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.
Updated 4 October 2026