Growing up in a regional community I have seen first-hand the importance and impact that rural hospitals have on communities.   They have demonstrated that there is more to healthcare then just providing medical services; that it provides community support.   The sense of community is an important factor for me as I have grown up assisting the community through many services projects, such as Lions Australia and the Australian Mentoring Experience (EIME).

It was through these programs that I demonstrated my passion for serving others and was inspired to become a health professional.  the community has attracted me into rural nursing as it demonstrated a holistic approach to health and the benefits a community can have on an individual’s health and well being.  As a nurse intending on specialising in Indigenous Care, a holistic approach and sense of community is key for their spiritual connection to improve health outcomes.   Being given this opportunity will allow to be more involved in the Indigenous community and improving the lives of Indigenous People.

In addition, I would like to become a rural nurse as it has shown that rural and region hospitals suffer from reduced resources.   The reduction in resources can be seen as a benefit for a developing nurse as it can provide me with the opportunity to be resourceful and increase my critical thinking skills in unique circumstances.   Further on, rural hospitals with limited space can provide me as a rural nurse the opportunity to analyse, assess and treat varying health conditions.

As a rural nursing student within a Regional University, I have spent many placements over the course of my study within rural and regional hospitals in various departments; some that have made a great impact on me is the renal ward, dialysis and emergency. Each of these departments are unique in there own way and provide challenging circumstances for a developing nurse. These departments also provided me with the opportunity to learn different types of nursing and experience different learning situations. For example, the emergency department provided me with the opportunity to learn about stenosis and aortic dissections; these are two conditions that I did not learn within the classroom and felt terrified on how to help when I came across them. These conditions were a challenging situation for me but the staff I worked alongside were terrific in providing me with the knowledge on the conditions, the examinations that needed to be conducted and the treatment. Dialysis made a great impact in my nursing career as it is an area where as I student my practical skills were limited due to safety but the knowledge that the staff provided was impeccable. Learning about dialysis and chronic kidney disease demonstrated a value to learning and developing as an inspiring Indigenous Care nurse and gave me the opportunity to practice a holistic approach with patients.

It was moments like these in the emergency and dialysis departments that demonstrated that nursing has many layers and that there is more to learn with health as we progress and develop as nurses. It is a career that we can continue to learn and adapt in our changing world. It demonstrated that just because we have graduated, it does not mean we are done learning. I am eager to see what my graduate year has install for me and hopeful that it will give me challenges that I can utilise as a developing nurse.

The past 3 months I have be allocated to the rehabilitation ward at Bairnsdale Regional Health Service. In this time I have been able to focus my attention to the basic nursing skills, which at times I struggled with as student as I was unable to gain the experience.

Performing basic nursing skills demonstrated to me the great impact these basic needs can assist and enhance the healing process for an individual. For example, sitting down and taking a moment to chat with a patient demonstrated improved health because they felt heard thus improving their mood and willingness to participate in treatment. Another basic nursing skill that I struggled to develop as a student that I have been able to develop as a graduate nurse is my time management skills. The patient to nurse ratio is greater than I was trained as a student, this gave me the opportunity to work on my time management, this includes bunching care together when I am with patients and if I am struggling throughout the day I feel confident and supported by my co-workers to speak up.

Although, I am on a rehabilitation ward I still have been able to work with acute patients and increase my knowledge, particularly around stomas. As student we did not have the opportunity to learn about stomas and the best practice for caring for an individual with a stoma. Since being at Bairnsdale Regional Health Service I have the multiple opportunities to learn about stomas in order to provide impeccable care for my patients and I am continually enhancing this knowledge.