As part of the Australian Rural Health Education Network, researchers from UCRH have joined with colleagues from across the country to publish new insights around changes to rural nursing and allied health placements during the latter stage of the COVID-19 public health emergency.
Their work, published in the Australian Journal of Rural Health, was focused on nursing and allied health students with a scheduled University Department of Rural Health (UDRH) facilitated rural placement between 1 January 2022 and 31 October 2022.
They found that despite changes, most students found rural placements undertaken during this time to be quality learning experiences which left them satisfied and wanting to work rurally.
The authors noted that UDRHs should advocate for longer placements, improve remote supervision and accommodation infrastructure, and help prepare and support students for challenging learning environments to promote positive rural training experiences during public health emergencies.
