An unusual occupation

Abstract

A number of single nurse remote clinics exist in Australia in remote Indigenous communities, fly in mine sites or small isolated towns. Included in this category are privately employed and State Health employed nurses. Work issues including safety, provision of acute care, trauma, and chronic diseases leave little time for primary health or preventative care. The practice is marked by issues of education, distance from referral centres and limited access to medical assistance. The study was a study of social justice, inequity, shortage and burnout. This paper reports on the social impacts of single nurse clinics in relation to job satisfaction and the impacting factors and outcomes.