Developing the future rural nursing workforce: report on a nursing roundtable

Abstract

Background: There are ongoing health workforce shortages in rural Australia with nurses a major component of the provision of health care. Training for nursing students in rural areas is one strategy to overcome this. Aim: To explore possibilities for nursing student rural clinical placements, with a view to increase the length of placements and strengthen the future rural nursing workforce. Methods: A Nursing Roundtable was held in regional Western Australia (WA) with representatives from five Western Australian universities, tertiary providers and service clinical stakeholders. Participants attended site visits to local facilities which included primary, community and hospital-based facilities. Findings: Major issues identified included short length of nursing placements; inflexibility of bookings via centralised placement databases; financial and family responsibilities inhibiting students taking up placements; quality of on-site supervision; and the availability of graduate programs after qualifying. Participants agreed longer student clinical placements reduced workload for academic and clinical staff allowing students to settle and be industry ready. Discussion: There was a strengthening of goodwill and willingness of university and clinical stakeholders to work collaboratively to lengthen student placements and consider placements in non-traditional settings to expand student understanding of career possibilities, rural and Indigenous communities, and the underpinning determinants of health. Conclusion: Back-to-back practicums or potential to share placements between different organisations were recognised as opportunities for further development. Efforts to increase placement length, broaden experiences and overcome financial barriers need to be addressed. Production of a marketing video to include job potential post-graduating was suggested to attract students.

Studying nursing at Australian satellite university campuses: A review of teaching, learning and support

“…Australia's health workforce is distributed unevenly, with the vast majority of health professionals working in metropolitan areas, while rural and remote regions are underserved 1 . Nurses and midwives form an integral part of the rural and remote health workforce, accounting for 68% of registered health professionals in remote and very remote areas 2 . However, difficulties in recruitment and retention of nurses in these areas have a direct effect on health care outcomes for rural and remote populations, who face higher rates of mortality, chronic diseases and total disease burden compared with their metropolitan counterparts 2‐4 .…”

“…1 Nurses and midwives form an integral part of the rural and remote health workforce, accounting for 68% of registered health professionals in remote and very remote areas. 2 However, difficulties in recruitment and retention of nurses in these areas have a direct effect on health care outcomes for rural and remote populations, who face higher rates of mortality, chronic diseases and total disease burden compared with their metropolitan counterparts. [2][3][4] These health outcomes are influenced by reduced access to specialist health services, increased social disadvantage and higher prevalence of health risk factors including smoking, alcohol consumption and obesity.…”

“…2 However, difficulties in recruitment and retention of nurses in these areas have a direct effect on health care outcomes for rural and remote populations, who face higher rates of mortality, chronic diseases and total disease burden compared with their metropolitan counterparts. [2][3][4] These health outcomes are influenced by reduced access to specialist health services, increased social disadvantage and higher prevalence of health risk factors including smoking, alcohol consumption and obesity. 4,5 High turnover rates of nurses and other health professionals, and a reliance on temporary staffing such as agency staff contribute to poorer continuity of care, reduced health outcomes and decreased staff safety.…”

Whole of Community Facilitators: An Exemplar for Supporting Rural Health Workforce Recruitment through Students’ Professional Experience Placements

“…Australia is not unique regarding the challenges to rural health services. Research suggests that, internationally, rural health services struggle to maintain sustainable rural healthcare workforces [ 6 , 7 , 8 ]. Jones et al (2019) estimate there is currently a shortage of an estimated 10.3 million workers from the global healthcare workforce, with at least 7 million of these from the rural healthcare sector [ 7 ].…”

“…This supervision usually occurs on a 1:1 or 1:2 basis, and preceptors act as role models and guides to students [ 20 , 21 ]. This model can be labour-intensive and increases the work and emotional demands for staff in supervisory roles, making it problematic for already understaffed rural facilities [ 1 , 6 , 21 ]. Moreover, staff in rural facilities are often part-time or casual, and students can have different preceptors or supervisors with each shift.…”