A NSW hospital system will pay rural generalist trainees to divide their time between hospitals and GP practices as part of an initiative to boost its workforce.

Currently, rural generalist registrars in the state are employed under separate contracts for their hospital and general practice work, meaning they can miss out on accrued benefits compared with doctors working in hospitals full time.

But under the new arrangement, Murrumbidgee Local Health District, in southern NSW, will pay some rural generalist registrars for their entire training, including time spent in GP practices, allowing them the same salaries and entitlements as hospital-based trainees.

As a result, doctors in their third year after graduating medical school could expect to see before-tax annual salaries of $99,000, or $25,000 higher than the minimum wage for a first-year GP registrar.