Senior doctors and their employers say pay talks in Wellington have gone well.
The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists met district health board negotiators on Wednesday to continue pay negotiations.
The meeting came as both sides openly criticised the other over issues connected to the talks.
Doctors said they will meet the DHBs again on 7 May. The health boards said they hope to get closer to a deal at that point.
A row between DHBs and the union representing senior doctors and dentists erupted earlier this week with claims by the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists of bullying and mismanagement by the chief executives of two boards.
The DHBs say the comments were aimed at getting better terms for the doctors in the pay talks.
They say the union has already rejected a $49 million deal over the next three years that would have lifted the annual base salary of top specialists by $9000 a year by mid-2015.
