Abstract
BackgroundThe successful recruitment and retention of health professionals to rural and remote areas of Australia is a health policy priority. Nursing or allied health professional students’ learning placements in the Northern Territory (NT) of Australia, most of which is considered remote, may influence rural or remote work location decisions.ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to determine where allied health professionals and nurses who have had a student placement in the NT of Australia end up practicing.MethodsThis research is an observational cohort study, with data collection occurring at baseline and then repeated annually over 10 years (ie, 2017-2018 to 2029). The baseline data collection includes a demographic profile of allied health and nursing students and their evaluations of their NT placements using a nationally consistent questionnaire (ie, the Student Satisfaction Survey). The Work Location Survey, which will be administered annually, will track work location and the influences on work location decisions.ResultsThis study will generate unique data on the remote and rural work locations of nursing and allied health professional students who had a placement in the NT of Australia. It will be able to determine what are the most important characteristics of those who take up remote and rural employment, even if outside of the NT, and to identify barriers to remote employment.ConclusionsThis study will add knowledge to the literature regarding rates of allied health and nursing professionals working in remote or rural settings following remote or rural learning placements. The results will be of interest to government and remote health workforce planners.Trial RegistrationAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR) ACTRN12620000797976; https://www.anzctr.org.au/ACTRN12620000797976.aspxInternational Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)PRR1-10.2196/21832
Highlights
BackgroundAustralia’s population predominately lives in its major cities (72%), with another 26% living in regional areas and just 2% living in remote or very remote areas [1]
The overarching research question for this study is as follows: Where do nursing and allied health professionals who have had a student placement in the Northern Territory (NT) end up practicing? The primary objective of this study is to identify the workplace locations, annually, of nursing and allied health students who completed an NT work-integrated learning placement; this will be conducted for 10 years postgraduation
The question of how many allied health and nursing students, as well as their characteristics, who have had a remote student placement go on to work remotely is a gap in the literature on remote work locations, which more typically focuses on medical students and to a lesser extent on nursing students
Summary
BackgroundAustralia’s population predominately lives in its major cities (72%), with another 26% living in regional areas and just 2% living in remote or very remote areas [1]. Nursing or allied health professional students’ learning placements in the Northern Territory (NT) of Australia, most of which is considered remote, may influence rural or remote work location decisions. Objective: The aim of this study is to determine where allied health professionals and nurses who have had a student placement in the NT of Australia end up practicing. The baseline data collection includes a demographic profile of allied health and nursing students and their evaluations of their NT placements using a nationally consistent questionnaire (ie, the Student Satisfaction Survey). Results: This study will generate unique data on the remote and rural work locations of nursing and allied health professional students who had a placement in the NT of Australia. Conclusions: This study will add knowledge to the literature regarding rates of allied health and nursing professionals working in remote or rural settings following remote or rural learning placements. Trial Registration: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR) ACTRN12620000797976; https://www.anzctr.org.au/ACTRN12620000797976.aspx International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID): PRR1-10.2196/21832
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