Rural health career pathways: research themes in recruitment and retention

2010 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karin A. Fisher ◽  
John D. Fraser
Keyword(s):  
Rural Health ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Career Choices ◽  
Allied Health ◽  
Medical Profession ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Rural Practice ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Recruitment And Retention

Objective.This paper describes stages in the research literature related to recruitment and retention of health professionals to rural health careers. Data sources.Electronic databases accessed included Medline, CINAHL, Social Sciences and Humanities. Key search terms included ‘high school’, ‘career choices’, ‘rural’, ‘attachment’, ‘recruitment’ and ‘retention’. Data synthesis.We identified four stages: (1) making career choices; (2) being attached to place; (3) taking up rural practice; and (4) remaining in rural practice. This is termed the ‘rural pipeline’. However, as some stages of the ‘rural pipeline’ refer specifically to the medical profession, we propose an extension of the notion of the medical ‘rural pipeline’ to include other professions such as nursing, midwifery and allied health. Conclusions.Utilising the ‘rural pipeline’ as a template for medicine, nursing and allied health would strengthen current approaches to the recruitment and retention of professionals in rural areas and provide a consolidated evidence base that would assist in policy development to improve availability and service provision of the rural health workforce. Future research that utilises a multidisciplinary approach could explore how the role and relationship between place and identity shape needs of career choices and would provide important information to advance the practical aspects supporting rural health career pathways. What is known about the topic?A universal shortage of rural health professionals is a significant issue and is becoming critical in rural areas of Australia. Although there have been many studies, internationally and in Australia, there are several gaps in recruitment and retention of rural health professionals that require further attention. What does this paper add?This paper examines workforce studies related to recruitment and retention of health professionals to rural health careers. The pipeline, however, refers mainly to the medical profession. The stages in this paper extend the notion of the medical ‘rural pipeline’ to include other professions such as nursing and allied health. This paper focusses on literature concerning developed countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Europe, the USA and Canada and identifies several proposed areas of future research. What are the implications for practitioners?The literature clearly identifies important issues for the rural health workforce. Having an understanding of the key issues underpinning the recruitment and retention of health professionals in rural areas allows the development and enhancement of appropriate workforce strategies. Utilising the ‘rural pipeline’ as a template for medicine, nursing and allied health would strengthen current approaches to the recruitment and retention of professionals in rural areas and provide a consolidated evidence base.

scholarly journals Recruiting and Retaining Allied Health Professionals in Rural Australia: Why is it so Difficult?

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet Struber
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Allied Health ◽  
Health Service Delivery ◽  
Rural Practice ◽  
Allied Health Professionals ◽  
Attrition Rates ◽  
Recruitment And Retention ◽  
Health Related

Rural communities in Australia have particular health needs, and the recruitment and retention of Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) is a significant concern. Despite the increasing number of AHPs being trained, vacancy and attrition rates in rural areas continue to rise. Professional and social isolation combined with rapidly changing health service delivery structures are identified as major deterrents to long-term rural practice. While strategies are now being implemented, endeavours to resolve the issues lag well behind initiates offered to Medical and Nursing staff. Given the wealth of political, professional and health related issues underlying the recruitment and retention of AHPs to rural areas, total resolution of this issue may not be possible. A unified approach by AHPs combined with concerted effort and collaboration on the part of all the stakeholders may, however, allow management at a level required to sustain a viable rural AHP workforce.

Why did they leave and what can they tell us? Allied health professionals leaving rural settings

2010 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin O'Toole ◽  
Adrian Schoo ◽  
Andrea Hernan
Keyword(s):  
Health Professionals ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Allied Health ◽  
Management Style ◽  
Work Experiences ◽  
Allied Health Professionals ◽  
Recruitment And Retention ◽  
Work Arrangements ◽  
North East ◽  
Personal Community

The aim of this paper is to explore the lack of retention of allied health professionals in rural areas in Victoria, Australia. A structured telephone interview was used to elicit responses from 32 allied health professionals from south-west, central-west and north-east Victoria about their working experiences and reasons for resignation. The data revealed that work experiences in rural areas can be summarised within three domains: organisational, professional and personal/community. Under the organisational domain the participants were mainly focussed on the way in which their work arrangements require them to be both more generalist in their approach to day-to-day work, and more expansive in shouldering management style functions in the workplace. Under the professional domain there were three major issues; clinical, career and education/training. The personal/community domain focussed on issues to do with their affinity for their workplace as well as their location in a rural place. The attempts by government to address some of the leading factors for retention of allied health professionals are perhaps too narrowly focussed on the public sector and could encompass a wider approach. What is known about the topic?Although recruitment and retention of allied health professionals in rural areas is widely discussed, the professionals have not been interviewed about their experiences once they have left rural employment. What does this paper add?This paper provides detailed insights into the reasons why allied health professionals leave their positions in rural areas and the positive and negative aspects of living and working in a rural area. The results of this study contribute to the development of better policy models for recruitment and retention of allied health professionals in rural areas. What are the implications for practitioners?The factors that influence whether allied health professionals stay or leave rural areas is of concern for health policy makers at state and federal levels. This paper provides information for the extension and development of programs to attenuate rural leakage of professionals.

Rural midwifery practice in Aotearoa/New Zealand: Strengths, vulnerabilities, opportunities and challenges

2020 ◽  
Vol 56 ◽  
pp. 17-25
Author(s):  
Rea Daellenbach ◽  
Lorna Davies ◽  
Mary Kensington ◽  
Susan Crowther ◽  
Andrea Gilkison ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Rural Women ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Rural Practice ◽  
Midwifery Practice ◽  
Adverse Weather

Background: The sustainability of rural maternity services is threatened by underfunding, insufficient resourcing and challenges with recruitment and retention of midwives. Aims: The broader aim of this study was to gain knowledge to inform the optimisation of equitable and sustainable maternity care for rural communities within New Zealand and Scotland, through eliciting the views of rural midwives about their working conditions and practice. This article focuses on the New Zealand midwives’ responses. Method: Invitations to participate in an online questionnaire were sent out to midwives working in rural areas. Subsequently, themes from the survey results were followed up for more in-depth discussion in confidential, online group forums. 145 New Zealand midwives responded to the survey and 12 took part in the forums. Findings: The New Zealand rural midwives who participated in this study outlined that they are attracted to, and sustained in, rural practice by their sense of connectedness to the countryside and rural communities, and that they need to be uniquely skilled for rural practice. Rural midwives, and the women they provide care to, frequently experience long travel times and distances which are economically costly. Adverse weather conditions, occasional lack of cell phone coverage and variable access to emergency transport are other factors that need to be taken into account in rural midwifery practice. Additionally, many participants noted challenges at the rural/urban interface in relation to referral or transfer of care of a woman and/or a baby. Strategies identified that support rural midwives in New Zealand include: locum and mentoring services, networking with other health professionals, support from social services and community service providers, developing supportive relationships with other rural midwives and providing rural placements for student midwives. Conclusion: Midwives face economic, topographic, meteorological and workforce challenges in providing a service for rural women. However, midwives draw strength through their respect of the women, and the support of their midwifery colleagues and other health professionals in their community.

Evaluation of pharmacy students' rural placement program: preparation for interprofessional practice

2015 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 85 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Khalil ◽  
A. Leversha ◽  
J. Walker
Keyword(s):  
Rural Health ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Pharmacy Practice ◽  
Pharmacy Students ◽  
Social Awareness ◽  
Interprofessional Learning ◽  
Holistic Management ◽  
Job Opportunities ◽  
Few Data

Objective To date, there are few data on pharmacy-specific placement programs and their impact on students’ work after graduation. The present study evaluated an innovative rural pharmacy placement program targeted at influencing students to work and live in rural areas after graduation. A secondary aim of the study was to explore the students’ intentions to come back and practice in rural areas as a result of their involvement in the rural pharmacy program. Methods A questionnaire was distributed, by hand, to a total of 58 third and fourth (final) year pharmacy students undertaking their rural placement in the Gippsland region, in rural Victoria in 2011 and 2012. Results Fifty-seven responses were returned (response rate = 98%). Students stated that understanding pharmacy practice from a rural perspective, visits to rural health professionals and sites and the attitude of their preceptors were essential to their satisfaction with their rural placements. A significant number of students (72%) intend to seek employment in rural areas if opportunities arise as a result of their increased rural awareness. The key components for a successful rural placement program were described by the surveyed students as social awareness, recognising job opportunities and interprofessional learning. Conclusion The evaluation of the rural placement program revealed that students valued their visits to rural sites and their interaction with other rural health professionals the most. What is known about the topic? Rural undergraduate student programs have been initiated as a result of several Australian government strategies to address shortages in rural health workforce. Subsequently, various rural placement programs have been integral parts of several disciplines, including medicine, dentistry, nursing, occupational therapy and pharmacy among others. To date, there are few data on pharmacy-specific placement programs and their impact on students’ work after graduation What does this paper add? The rural pharmacy program is important in influencing students’ perceptions and interest in a career in rural areas. The key components for a successful rural placement program were described by the surveyed students as social awareness, recognising job opportunities and interprofessional learning. What are the implications for practitioners? Interprofessional learning and collaboration are inevitable due to the shortage of health professionals and the move towards holistic management of patients in healthcare settings. The development of an interprofessional rural education that combines rural medical and pharmacy students together highlights the importance of an interprofessional approach to preparing students to work in rural areas.

Future of specialised roles in allied health practice: who is responsible?

2015 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth H. Skinner ◽  
Kimberley J. Haines ◽  
Kate Hayes ◽  
Daniel Seller ◽  
Jessica C. Toohey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Patient Outcomes ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Allied Health ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Allied Health Professionals ◽  
Clinical Placements ◽  
Effective Manner

Allied health professions have developed specialised advanced and extended scope roles over the past decade, for the benefit of patient outcomes, allied health professionals’ satisfaction and to meet labour and workforce demands. There is an essential need for formalised, widely recognised training to support these roles, and significant challenges to the delivery of such training exist. Many of these roles function in the absence of specifically defined standards of clinical practice and it is unclear where the responsibility for training provision lies. In a case example of physiotherapy practice in the intensive care unit, clinical placements and independence of practice are not core components of undergraduate physiotherapy degrees. Universities face barriers to the delivery of postgraduate specialised training and, although hospital physiotherapy departments are ideally placed, resources for training are lacking and education is not traditionally considered part of healthcare service providers’ core business. Substantial variability in training, and its evaluation, leads to variability in practice and may affect patient outcomes. Allied health professionals working in specialised roles should develop specific clinical standards of practice, restructure models of health care delivery to facilitate training, continue to develop the evidence base for their roles and target and evaluate training efficacy to achieve independent practice in a cost-effective manner. Healthcare providers must work with universities, the vocational training sector and government to optimise the ability of allied health to influence decision making and care outcomes for patients.

Rural health enterprises in the EU context: a systematic literature review and research agenda

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 563-582 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikolaos Apostolopoulos ◽  
Vanessa Ratten ◽  
Stavros Stavroyiannis ◽  
Ilias Makris ◽  
Sotiris Apostolopoulos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Rural Health ◽  
Systematic Literature Review ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Health Providers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Entrepreneurial Activities ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu

Purpose The COVID-19 crisis has brought to the forefront the importance of rural health enterprises (RHEs), the peculiarity, in these terms, of rural areas, and the impact of rurality on health entrepreneurial activities. This paper aims to undertake a literature review regarding RHEs in the EU, identify research gaps and set future research directions. Design/methodology/approach A systematic literature review was conducted and the key aspects coded across four thematic areas – after examining 68 papers. Findings The findings reveal that more intense research should be conducted across four area which emerged; rural health providers vs urban health providers; RHEs and rural development; RHEs and quality of life; and social RHEs. Research limitations/implications Future research avenues were identified and suggestions for further research on RHEs were provided. Practical implications The paper provides insights into how rural areas can attract health enterprises and how health enterprises can operate in rural areas. Originality/value This research expands on the limited existing knowledge of RHEs and sets the foundations for further research.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document