Nursing
Nursing is a noble profession at its core. Once you’ve committed to becoming a nurse, there are many factors to consider when going forward with planning your professional future. Even if you’re in the early planning stages and considering becoming a nurse online, you might be wondering what your career options are. Just like every major life decision, you must understand all the benefits and potential challenges that will affect you. In this article, we’ll cover some things to consider if you’re thinking of going into rural nursing – let’s get into it.
The Benefits Of Rural Nursing
Whether you’re a current nursing student or a registered nurse looking for a change, rural nursing could be the pathway for you. So, what exactly is it? Rural nursing involves providing healthcare services in remote, low-population areas where access to medical facilities, specialists, and resources may be limited due to location. There are many benefits to working as a rural nurse, including;
Fosters a Sense of Community
If you find yourself looking to feel a sense of community in your professional life, rural nursing allows you to create more personal connections/relationships with patients due to the tight-knit communities often found in rural settings. While rural nursing is a demanding profession, it is deeply impactful and has a great positive impact on the community you are caring for.
Encourages Professional Autonomy
Rural nursing is much more dynamic compared with regular nursing at a large medical facility. Because rural nurses have to meet the needs of diverse patients by themselves, it allows them to have a greater influence on the medical practices and policies at the place they’re employed, giving them more autonomy and influence over learning, responsibility, and the overall operations of the hospital.
Provides Diverse Experiences
While regular nurses typically work in big medical facilities with hundreds of staff members working in very specific roles to achieve success for the wider team, rural nurses get to take on a lot of different tasks and are exposed to a wide variety of medical conditions and patient needs. This exposure enables them to have continuous learning experiences as the lack of specialist services gives nurses a set of medical skills needed to treat such cases themselves to the best of their ability.
While this may be an aspect of rural nursing some find daunting, those who would like to expand and refine their skills, and constantly challenge themselves, would find this a great avenue to pursue.
Rural nursing and urban nursing each require a different mentality and set of skills in order to excel. Overall rural nursing is a profession that is always in need of people, as they become the backbone of rural communities.
Challenges to Consider
While rural placement has its benefits, it also comes with some challenges you’ll need to consider before deciding to embark on this career.
Technology
The medical profession is constantly changing, with new technology being continuously developed and new practices and different procedures being introduced into the field annually; the reality is, rural hospitals would have access to this last. Even telehealth services can hinder the professional lives of rural nurses, as areas with poor internet limits their ability to continue their education or help patients with online healthcare services.
Rural nurses must be aware of the fact that limited access to medical resources, like advanced diagnostic tools or treatment equipment, can limit the care of their patients and most likely affect their medical outcomes, leaving nurses having to find resourceful ways to manage such setbacks with only the support of their fellow staff.
Workload and Emotional Strain
Rural hospitals often have fewer nurses, leading to a higher patient-to-nurse ratio that can often require nurses to work long shifts, cover multiple roles, and manage a very broad range of tasks to keep the hospital running smoothly. A workload like that can take a toll on the body and mind of someone who is not prepared to do so. While this is not the case in all rural hospitals, it’s important to consider if you’re the type of person who can be many things at once; not only a caregiver, but a health educator, coordinator, and even administrator.
On top of the task overload, emotionally this profession can leave you very strained, especially when the community fosters close patient-to-caregiver relationships, so when something goes wrong, you may find yourself emotionally strained. Rural hospitals usually find themselves understaffed, making the nurses cover shifts, and work long hours, and due to the placement of such hospitals, commuting to and from home may be a struggle.
The Noble Call of Rural Nursing
Nevertheless, despite its challenges, rural nursing may be a career you can enjoy and find fulfilling. By undertaking this profession, it can offer you unique opportunities to make a profound difference in underserved communities. Nurses in rural areas often become trusted community leaders, providing vital care where it’s needed most; the responsibility and care you may provide will give you a meaningful and deeply impactful career. With close-knit teams and a great community, this career path may lead you to a fulfilling profession you can take pride in.
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