If my time here on Earth ends, how do I want to be remembered?  What is the best way to use my career to help the individuals I look after?   As someone who has spent five years living in rural Australia, I have learned to value the areas natural beauty and abundance and the strong bonds that bind its people.  However, I have also noticed that the rural populations healthcare needs leave much to be desired as opposed to their urban counterparts.   According to one research, people in rural and isolated regions of Australia live shorter lives than people in cities.

Additionally, they have lower utilisation of primary health care services, increased hospitalisation rates, injuries and deaths, and unequal access to these treatments.   Although these figures are depressing, they have inspired me to engage in rural nursing to contribute to slowing these trends.

Being able to be a “generalist nurse” is one of the main reasons I want to work as a rural nurse.   Various skills are needed to address a wide range of clinical and primary healthcare demands because of the nature of rural locations and occasionally, the absence of health resources.   Every presentation is a opportunity to expand and develop my practice, pushing me beyond my comfort zone and helping me to acquire invaluable experience.  Every day presents a new challenge.   I get to use the best nursing practice – holistic nursing to provide care for patients in ways that will have the most significant positive impact.

I also appreciate rural nursing because of the intensity of this rural-specific interpersonal dynamic.  Because nurses are probably directly acquainted with every9one in their immediate vicinity, including patients and co-workers, there is a deeper level of connection and a constant sense of responsibility for interpersonal communications.