Introduction of Rural and Remote Area Nursing
Remote area nurses work in a range of setting across Australia and the region with an emphasis on remote indigenous communities. They certainly cover mining, agricultural, tourism refugee and international communities and many more. It is essential for the nurses to update their skills and knowledge level so that the minimum standard of working can be maintained. In Australia, a significant minority of health care professionals work in locations that are at a distance from major cities; therefore it sometimes lacks in diverse specialist services. Rural practices followed in clinics differs markedly from the practice of metropolitan clinicians and it also requires greater diversity skills and knowledge. This is also essential for the registered nurses to undergo with professional development so that numerous skills can be developed for the purpose of delivering the best services to the patients.
Nurses in Australia are experiencing several issues in the realm of professional development especially because of non-availability of resources (Hungerford and et.al., 2016). Training is regarded as best way through which individuals can learn many things regardless of their job roles and responsibilities. Registered nurses in Australia are those graduates who have completed nursing programs and met the requirements outlined by a country, state and province for the purpose of obtaUKining a nursing licence. Since, their scope of practice is determined by the legislation; therefore it is essential for them to consider all the framework so that they can manage all their work practices in the best possible manner.
For instance- nurses do not have the availability of continuous professional development sources which further affects their job roles. Nurses are having major issues in professional and knowledge development because they are not having suitable opportunities for training and learning. Lack of training not only affects the work practices; but also it impedes the learning and growth prospects (Professional issues in nursing: challenges and opportunities. 2014). This is the major drawback which hampers the professional development aspects of nurses working in remote areas. Registered nurses working in rural and remote areas are required to have more opportunities for training and development so that they can learn new and different aspects; however unavailability of such thing creates several constraints in the practice.
While working in remote area, it becomes impossible for registered nurses to attend such sessions and at the same time, it also affects the work practices. In rural areas, nurses are also having many problems among which a few have resolution and a few does not have any resolution. In rural areas, there is unavailability of clinics; hence this affects the practice of working in which they are unable to conduct their duties.Therefore, it can be said that these issues greatly affects the service delivery aspects and ultimately that hampers service capability provisions. Having clinics can enhance the practices of registered nurses and this can also assist them to identify their own areas of improvement. Further, issues and constraints also generate at the time when registered nurses are unable to get feedback and suggestions from the care users. This in turn impedes the way of managing own development and growth perspectives. At the same time, it is also witnessed that several registered nurses are leaving their job roles because they do not get any sort of development opportunities while working in remote areas (Advanced nursing practice in rural and remote areas. 2005). Registered nurses in Australia are those graduates.
In most of the areas, some hospitals reported that staff turnover is increasing every year because they have greater amount of issues related to the work processes. Example – nurses working in remote and rural areas do not have proper resources; hence this impacts their financial capability and in terms of consequences, they face several issues in managing their practices. Further, it has also been ascertained that in this area, investment is not properly made; hence this declines the chances of growth and prosperity (The challenges confronting clinicians in rural acute care settings: a participatory research project. 2012). Registered nurses have to work according to legal framework and unavailability of such thing could lead to development of a lot of issues. However, while working in remote areas, registered nurses do not find the appropriate ways through which they can uplift their skills and capabilities. However, in order to minimize such issues, health and community centre have taken varied measures for the purpose of enabling and accessing better health care in rural and remote areas. Proper allocation of resources is required both in rural and urban areas so that challenges related to professional development may not arise (Schoo, Lawn and Carson, 2016).
For instance – the study done by the Bruce K Armstrong (2007), states that the next Australian government will confront major challenges in the funding and delivery of health care and this might also impact the practices of rural working. In the study, it is mentioned that nurses are experiencing major issues and challenges due to changes in demography and disease patterns. This develops numerous issues related to burden of chronic illness. At the same time, it is also ascertained that in remote areas, nurses have major problems because they are unable to deal with technological aspects due to non-availability of resources. Similarly, in the study it is also discussed that in remote areas, nurses are unable to render prominent services to the patients because they do not have any sort of accessibility to diverse health care provision.
Registered nurses are required to remain highly updated about their skills and knowledge so that they can manage all their practices and job roles in effective way. In this way, it is essential for the nurses to make arrangement of different learning and development opportunities so that even in remote areas, they can manage their professional development aspects. Unavailability of professional development aspects can affect the practicing of nurses and this can also change the way of delivering health care services. Most often it creates constraints in health and social are sector. Further, this also impacts the controlling and monitoring aspects wherein registered nurses are unable to manage their own area of development (Rural and remote health. 2014). Working in remote area is a difficult task that needs to be managed in effective manner so that patients can be delivered appropriate services.
Registered nurses are required to take care of their own development and for that they need to access different resources so that they can grab knowledge on all those areas that requires further development. In order to maintain professional development in remote areas, registered nurses should maintain professionalism while delivering the services (Pearson, Hegney and Donnelly, 2016). At the same time, registered should also emphasize on CPD (continuous professional development) in which certainly they should undergo different courses and training sessions for more learning and development. With the help of continuous professional development, the areas of improvement and modification can be identified and at the same time, the practice of nursing can be strengthened. This is also essential for the purpose of maximizing the standards of health care sector (Remote Area Nursing. 2016). In rural area, professional development is required on higher extent because of the need of better health care services. However, at the same time government and health care community should also develop the opportunities of training and development session so that new practices and functions can be adopted for better service delivery (Currie, Chiarella and Buckley, 2016).
At the time of working in remote areas, it is crucial for registered nurses to adopt updated practices in which they should deal more with technological aspects. Every health care practitioner needs to ensure that they have the capability to deal with latest technology because through that only, they can maximize the potential of service provision. Moreover, it is also essential for the purpose of reducing all the constraints that might prevail in the same domain. Further, there should be suitable level of investment in professional development practices so that registered nurses can learn and develop more. Hence, it can be said that it can contribute more in enhancing the standard of health care services (Mandatory continuing professional development requirements: what does this mean for Australian nurses. 2013).
Lack of development opportunities sometimes affects the motivation and encouragement level and this also changes the efficacy of service delivery aspects (Gwynne and Lincoln, 2016). Therefore, all the issues prevailing in health care sector needs to be sorted out as early as possible so that service effectiveness can be amended similarly. Thus, in terms of conclusion, it can be said that government and health care community of rural area should promote the health care standard on maximum extent so that people can derive better services (Action on Nursing in Rural and Remote Areas 2003-2003. 2002). This is also crucial for the purpose of reducing all such prevailing challenges with registered nurses.
References
- Currie, J., Chiarella, M. and Buckley, T., 2016. Workforce characteristics of privately practicing nurse practitioners in Australia: Results from a national survey.Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.
- Gwynne, K. and Lincoln, M., 2016. Developing the rural health workforce to improve Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health outcomes: a systematic review.Australian Health Review.
- Hungerford, C and et.al., 2016. The Australian ‘grey nomad’and aged care nurse practitioner models of practice: a case study analysis.Rural and remote health.16(3647).
- Pearson, A., Hegney, D. and Donnelly, P., 2016. Serving the community: the rural general.Nursing Practice, Policy and Change. pp.143.
- Schoo, A., Lawn, S. and Carson, D., 2016. Towards equity and sustainability of rural and remote health services access: supporting social capital and integrated organisational and professional development.BMC health services research.