The New Zealand Medical Association (NZMA) was formed in Otago in 1886. Ten years later, the Association became affiliated with the British Medical Association (BMA), and remained a branch of the BMA until 1967.
A year after regaining its independence, NZMA received a grant of arms from Her Majesty's College of Arms. The shield shows the staff with the single serpent that represents the Rod of Aesculapius, the Greek God of Medicine, a fleam, which the medieval physician used to open veins for blood-letting, and the Southern Cross. The Association's motto is Scientia et Concordia: Knowledge and Accord.
NZMA retains strong links with the British, Australian and many other medical associations throughout the world and is also a member of the World Medical Association.
NZMA had published the peer-reviewed New Zealand Medical Journal since 1887. However, it was sold to the Pasifika Medical Association Group (PMAG) in July 2022, when the parent body, NZMA services, was put into liquidation.