Any rural nurses out there?

Hi Kerry

Nice to hear you are thinking of going rural as it is difficult to recruit and retain in rural areas. Many of us have been out here a long time and are unlikely to move (it is difficult to pick up 1000 acres and move on!!), thus having new and fresh ideas brought into the workplace is a pleasant change. As a rural nurse you would be a registered GENERAL nurse in the true sense. In one shift you may be a recovery nurse, a surgical nurse, a medical nurse, a cardiac nurse, a midwife, a mental health nurse and so the list goes on. It is challenging and, I believe, quite misunderstood by our metro counterparts who tend to specialise in one area. We are like GPs, we know a little bit about lots of things. There are many rural regions setting up GNP programs so you may like to look into that. Good luck and I hope to see your fresh face and ideas around the rural traps!!

Deb

Hi Kerry,Im another rural/remote nurse, so far it has provided me with many opportunitues/choices and autonomy not to be found in the metro area, and the nursing is great too!Are there any country nurses out there considering or interested in bvecoming a nurse practitioner or would like to know more about it, or discuss its position in the health care team in the bush or city.I know the GP's are pretty opposed to it in most areas, Any comments?Michael

Hi, This is my first post so excuse me if I do anything wrong. I am a rural nurse but not in a hospital, I work in an Aboriginal Medical Service, and while we are classed as rural, we aren't really isolated. Although it often feels like it. I guess time is the hugest factor for me as well as the lack of services. I was a metro nurse a year ago and then moved to greener pastures and a slower pace of life, or so I thought. I have found it a wonderful experience although filled with daily challenges.

Hi all,

I am also a nursing student studying fulltime as an external student from the Whyalla campus of Unisa, and working a fulltime job in a non related industry.The Whyalla campus has a rural focus that I hope will help me when qualified and working in a rural area. I would like to know from any experienced RN's how important choosing the right sites for clinical placement is. Belle, you mentioned that you would have liked to do your GNP in a metro hospital, do you think that this would have prepared you better for practice as a rural RN? I am currently in second year and have chosen my placements in the metro area as I feel I will get to see many of the same things over and over again allowing me to develop and gain some of the skills I will need when qualified. I was worried that due to the large variety of work seen in a rural location it may not allow me to see the same thing many times over and will not give me the opportunity to practice and become competent at many of the skills I will need to be able to use in rural practice. As our clinical experiences are limited it is difficult, with so many choices, to decide on what types of wards my placements sould be taken. I would like to think that the ones I do chose will be of use to me later when working in country areas. Any thoughts on this would be appriciated.

Regards, Shaun.

Hi! Im from rural NSW and have recently moved away to study nursing at Armidale. I have, however, done both of my pracs in rural areas (Moree & Coonamble) and loved them both! Im not too sure if I'll go back to rural areas when I finish my degree as Id like to work in Acute Nursing but coming back to smaller places to work has definately been an eye opener for me and I would suggest people to take the opportunity!

Hi There,

I'm new to this site, and couldn't figure out how to message you all individually :)

I'm a student Enrolled Nurse, and I'm keen to head Rural for my placements, if possible ... I was hoping to maybe hear from some of you who are working 'out there' - where you are and how it is, and whether or not an Enrolled Nurse is useful Rurally (or are only RNs employed?) ... I'm in QLD, and would love to hear any stories, suggestions, etc!

Cheers :)

Tanya

I've been a nurse in a rural area and it's not bad at all.

It is worth it in being a rural nurse.  In fact, we need rural nurses in order to travel to nursing communities that are rural.  My friend is a nurse and she also lives in the rural areas.  She travels a lot to rural areas that do not have lots of people and she also does healthcare in those areas.  All of this is made possible by the traveling nursing van that takes the nurse to each rural area and do healthcare in the van.  This is very important because people in rural areas do not have access to healthcare and the van makes healthcare easily accessible.  I am so glad that there are van's available in the rural areas.

Follow your heart, if it has one. Your head is higher than your heart. What you need is the reverse. Think of the sun, the surf, and the people you know.

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