Dr Buzz Burrell

Buzz completed general physician training in the United Kingdom before coming to New Zealand as a respiratory research fellow and lecturer for the University of Otago.

The opportunity of rural hospital medicine and primary care was too irresistible, as was the South Island’s West Coast, occasionally the Chatham Islands, and then remote rural hospital and general practice in Western Australia followed.

Unexpected achievements include Lecturer of the Year in Dunedin 1993, and runner-up New Zealander of the Year in 1997.

In 2012, Buzz established a semi-rural general practice in Renwick, near Blenheim, and was the doctor for the chronic pain service in Nelson.

He is currently a pain specialist in Auckland, and regional coordinator and senior lecturer for the University of Otago Rural Medical Immersion Programme.

He is a very slow ocean swimmer and a Harley rider – (hopefully not at the same time).

After the liquidation of the NZMA, the serious need for an advocacy group for doctors working in General Practice was created. With a fantastic and dedicated team, General Practitioners Aotearoa has been established.