Dr Penny Woods, Director of Training, Psychiatry

I am responsible, along with Dr Chan, in overseeing psychiatry registrars training experience.  

I originally trained in general practice and obtained fellowship of the Royal College of General Practice in the United Kingdom. However, I soon realised my heart was not in this work. Spending an average of 7 minutes with a patient left me dissatisfied, knowing there was more “going on” but being unable to explore this. I turned to psychiatry on coming to Aotearoa New Zealand and have loved this specialty. It allows the doctor to develop an in depth understanding of their patients, and for patients to feel fully heard. There is an opportunity to work with acutely unwell people and their families through to those needing brief and longer-term psychological interventions.  

I chose to train in Psychiatry in Tamaki Makaurau Auckland because I fell in love with the “City of Sails” and the colourful and diverse cultural makeup of the city. My peer group remains one of my greatest supports, and I met these fellow psychiatrists through the day release teaching of the Auckland training programme. The training programme here continues to offer a full day of protected teaching time, in person, provided by local experts in their fields. This gives an opportunity for the cohort of trainees to get to know each other and establish their own lasting friendships, as well as connections with the local community of psychiatrists. There is breadth and depth to the teaching and training experiences offered here. Trainees have the opportunity to work in different geographical areas, and different psychiatric fields, gaining experience in cultural diversity, and common and less common psychiatric presentations.  

Having trained here, it is a privilege to now be one of the directors of this training programme.