Rural and Remote Mental Health Practice: Nursing Roles

Abstract

In the rural and remote setting, nurses are often the first point of contact with mental health services. Nursing roles may include community-based rural or remote area nurses, nurse practitioners, or mental health nurses. Nurses work collaboratively with tertiary healthcare teams and other community services such as ambulance and police. The role of the nurse is multifaceted as they need to consider engagement with a whole community approach. This chapter will examine the distinctive features of the nursing role in the setting and what is required for effective practice. Similarly to urban mental health settings, interpersonal therapeutic relationships are vital, but the nurse in rural and remote communities undertakes many different tasks and activities while monitoring and assessing the consumer’s mental state. Especially in very remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, it takes time to develop these relationships, but investment in developing connections will help future practice. A restricted biomedical approach is not sufficient, and cultural, historical, emotional, and familial factors must also be considered in this environment. Nurses need to contemplate the cultural framework in which the consumer is situated and operates to increase the chances of mental health interventions succeeding. In sum, the nurse is the health professional most commonly present in rural and remote communities which shapes the role of the nurse who utilizes a humanistic perspective with a priority of informed choice for consumers to determine their life goals and the means to pursue these goals.