Ryan - Physiotherapist, Hamilton

"My Name is Ryan I am a Physiotherapist and I came to NZ from the UK in March. The process to come to NZ took me 9 months from start to finish.
The easiest part of the process was finding a job - Merryl seemed to have all the right connections and found us a great employer 4 months before we even arrived in NZ, having a job secured 4 months before we had even packed our bags took a huge strain of our minds

The most challenging part of the process was getting Physiotherapy registration.

My first impressions of NZ were: Where are all the people and the traffic?  This place is great.  The scenery is unreal, I have never been anywhere in the world with as much a diverse landscape as NZ

The best parts of NZ are: the outdoors, the relaxed way of life, less traffic on the roads outside of Auckland

What I miss the most is: the family and UK Bisto gravy granules the Bisto out here in New Zealand just isn't the same, apart from that there is nothing drawing me back to the UK any time soon

My advice if you are planning to come to NZ is: start the registration as early as possible - It will have you pulling out your hair from time to time, get it done early then you can enjoy the fun parts of packing and travelling, I would not advise making the long trip to NZ in one go, go travelling for a month or 2 beforehand

Anything else you would like to say: A massive thanks to Merryl, your hard work made moving to a strange new country surprisingly easy.

QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR NEW WORKPLACE:

Are there any major differences between your current role in NZ and your previous role in England?
The healthcare system takes some getting used to especially the ACC, it’s a fantastic system but takes time to understand all the inner workings.

Are there any similarities that have helped you orientate/transition easily?
Patients are very similar and injuries are the same.

Is there anything specifically done differently in NZ that has interested you and the way you practice your profession?
There is more emphasis on inter-professional working which gives you more opportunity to take time out to meet with surgeons, GPs, OTs etc."