Nurses in rural and remote locations in the Western NSW Local Health District (WNSWLHD) are benefiting from a new program designed to support them work at the highest level.
RG-NET, or the Rural Generalist Nurse Education Team, will work with hundreds of rural and remote nurses across the Central West, helping them refine and advance their clinical assessment and management skills.
WNSWLHD Northern Sector General Manager, Brian Bonham said, “Our rural and remote nurses are very skilled. They have a unique job to do and it’s becoming more specialised as the health needs, expectations and general health landscape changes.
“RG-NET aims to up-skill our nurses with theory and practical clinical skills to be able to perform a range of assessments when caring for patients in rural and remote sites.”
RG-NET works with nurses to provide theory and practical experience to refine their clinical skills in a number of different assessment areas including respiratory, abdominal, neurological, cardiovascular, obstetric and gynaecological, ENT and eye, mental health, drug and alcohol, geriatric nursing, palliative care, and simple acute wound closure and limb immobilisation.
“We recognise the important role our nurses play, especially in our rural and remote communities. The RG-NET program is designed to provide them with the support and clinical expertise they need.”
Better support and access to the latest information will enable the hardworking nurses of Forbes to continue to offer the best care possible to patients.
“We are extremely proud and excited to be rolling out this program across the WNSWLHD.
This will be a part of our WNSWLHD foot-print. It is also an exciting opportunity for our nurses in rural and remote locations providing a new form of professional development and mentoring,” Brian said.