Experiences of Nursing and Allied Health Students Undertaking a Rural Placement - Barriers and Enablers to Satisfaction and Wellbeing.

Australia's rural health services face chronic workforce shortages. To help address these shortages, the Australian Government funds a range of programs to support university students to undertake placements in rural areas with the aims of improving understanding of rural practice and encouraging rural careers. This study investigated the lived experiences of nursing and allied health students on placement in rural and regional Victoria. Its purpose was to identify the enablers and barriers most strongly affecting placement satisfaction and personal wellbeing. The intended outcome was to identify modifiable factors to improve the rural placement experience. Eighteen semi-structured interviews were undertaken with students on placement in public hospitals operating in northeast Victoria. Data was analysed using a thematic analysis approach. Three enablers were identified: 1) enjoyment of the rural environment and community; 2) working in a positive, friendly and supportive workplace; and 3) exposure to broad practice and enhanced learning opportunities. Five barriers were identified: 1) increased financial stress; 2) travel and accommodation challenges and concerns; 3) study-work-life balance and isolation issues; 4) encountering stressful work situations and/or personal events while on placement; and 5) communication issues with universities. The findings were strongly consistent with the extant literature. The authors considered the following factors as modifiable: negative financial impacts, inflexibility in the rural placement allocation process, and low levels of psychosocial support on offer to students in stress/distress and make suggestions for their amelioration. Given the similarities with teacher education, it is considered likely this paper has utility for the development of positive rural placements for student teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]