Students
More student nurses needed for the bush
New efforts to promote nursing careers outside the main cities are needed to encourage graduates to work in rural areas according to new research.
Nursing students know little about initiatives and incentives aimed at reducing the shortage of rural and regional health professionals according to a study commissioned by Rural Health Workforce Australia.
Universities should increase the number of places in their nursing and allied health programs for rural and remote students to help tackle the shortage of health professionals outside metropolitan Australia, it says.
The report calls on universities to boost the number of rural clinical placements available to students and the amount of rural health practice content in curriculums reported The Australian.
Researchers claim there is a lack of awareness of the practice opportunities in rural areas among students and teaching staff at urban universities.
They point out that the federal government does not fund rural placements for nursing and allied health students to the same extent as it did for medical students.
“Doctors are important but they’re not the only answer to addressing the disparity in health outcomes between rural and metropolitan Australia,” says Dr Tony Smith, deputy director of Newcastle University’s Department of Rural Health.
Experts say the recent $4.2 million cut to annual Commonwealth scholarships for allied health will exacerbate the shortage of health professionals in the bush.
It’s not a case of “Universities boosting the number of rural clinical placements available to students”. It’s about rural and remote facilities offering more placement positions to the Universities and nursing organisations offering financial support so these placements can be undertaken. The lack of affordable, if any, accommodation for students in these areas is also a major hurdle. Along with the fact that students have to self fund their travel to and from these locations, while still paying rent and utilities back at home and supporting their spouses and children while not getting paid a wage. I am embarking on my 3rd rural/remote placement of my degree next week for a 6 week block to Blackall, QLD. Next semester I’m off to Alice Springs, NT for 8 weeks on the final placement of my degree. I’m road tripping from Cairns for both. I’m a Veteran living off a Military pension while I study, with no employment or a spouse for extra income. Access to a bit of support in the way of fuel or grocery vouchers or scholarships would be an amazing incentive for students whose end goal is to go straight into rural and remote health upon graduation. The only current funding available is the CRANA Plus bursary, which is only granted after the placement and the student has to find the initial funds. I have to somehow make it work on my limited budget to get the experiences and placements I need to make me competitive and stand out from the crowd for a rural/remote graduate program. Whereas our Med student counterparts are generally offered guaranteed, free accommodation and multiple scholarships to go rural and remote for placements and have the John Flynn and Rural Generalist Programs to apply for. I’d like to know who the researchers are who are not referenced correctly in this article and discuss the reality of the situation facing nursing students.