Rural Placements

Rural healthcare professionals practise outside of metropolitan areas, often in hospital and community settings providing services to people with limited access to health services. Critical thinking and decision making skills are required. Working with the community and with other allied healthcare professionals, rural medicine is an integral part of maintaining a comprehensive health service within rural communities. To become a rural physio / occupational therapist, nurse or midwife you should first gain experience in a variety of practice areas to assist you in preparing for rural nursing and midwifery practice. Areas of practice which would provide great benefits are emergency nursing, mental health, paediatrics and midwifery.

Opportunities as Vast as the Landscape

Australian Nursing Network has a range of short term opportunites available. To discover what opportunites are waiting for you, complete your details under contact us or call our Sydney office during business hours. If you want to get a feel for what it's like to practise in rural and remote health, this publication is filled with personal accounts from health professionals working in rural and remote regions across Australia.

National Rural Health Alliance

The National Rural Health Alliance is the peak body working to improve the health of Australians in rural and remote areas. This website may be of interest to a range of health professionals including nurses and midwives.

Remote Area Nursing and Midwifery

Reaching into the geographically isolated areas of Australia, a remote area nurse or midwife may practice in communities such as aboriginal communities, mining sites, tourist resorts, pastoral properties and satellite clinics. A remote area nurse or midwife may work as part of a small team, even if team members are geographically separated from one another, or independently, referring patients when further intervention is required. Often remaining accessible for 24 hours a day, seven days a week the position requires a broad scope of skills. A remote area nurse or midwife is generally regarded highly within remote communities. In order to work in a remote setting in Australia, most services will require you to have worked for at least three years gaining generalist experience. This may not always be the case as employers may provide preparatory courses, orientation programs and other supports you may require. Midwifery is not mandatory to work in a remote setting but it is certainly beneficial.

Council of Remote Area Nurses of Australia

For further information on remote nursing and midwifery, please visit the Council of Remote Area Nurses of Australia.