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Nursing in a different world : Remote area nursing as a specialist–generalist practice area
McCullough, Kylie Bayes, Sara Whitehead, Lisa Williams, Anne Cope, Vicki
McCullough, Kylie
Bayes, Sara
Whitehead, Lisa
Williams, Anne
Cope, Vicki
Abstract
Objective
Remote area nurses provide primary health care services to isolated communities across Australia. They manage acute health issues, chronic illness, health promotion and emergency responses. This article discusses why their generalist scope of practice should be formally recognised as a specialist nursing practice area.
Design
Constructivist grounded theory, using telephone interviews (n = 24) with registered nurses and nurse practitioners.
Setting
Primary health care clinics, in communities of 150–1500 residents across Australia.
Participants
A total of 24 nurses participated in this study.
Results
Nurses' perceived their clinical knowledge and skill as insufficient for the advanced, generalist, scope of practice in the remote context, especially when working alone. Experience in other settings was inadequate preparation for working in remote areas. Knowledge and skill developed on the job, with formal learning, such as nurse practitioner studies, extending the individual nurse's scope of practice to meet the expectations of the role, including health promotion.
Conclusion
Remote area nursing requires different knowledge and skills from those found in any other nursing practice setting. This study supports the claim that remote area nursing is a specialist–generalist role and presents a compelling case for further examination of the generalist education and support needs of these nurses. Combined with multidisciplinary collaboration, developing clinical knowledge and skill across the primary health care spectrum increased the availability of health resources and subsequently improved access to care for remote communities. Further research is required to articulate the contemporary scope of practice of remote area nurses to differentiate their role from that of nurse practitioners.
Keywords
advanced practice nursing, health services, Indigenous, nurse practitioners, primary health care, rural nursing
Date
2022
Type
Journal article
Journal
Australian Journal of Rural Health
Book
Volume
30
Issue
5
Page Range
570-581
Article Number
ACU Department
Faculty of Health Sciences
Collections
Relation URI
Source URL
Event URL
Open Access Status
Published as ‘gold’ (paid) open access
License
CC BY 4.0
File Access
Open