Expanding horizons: Using virtual orientation tours to promote rural, remote and Aboriginal health

Projected workforce shortages and health disparities in rural, remote and Aboriginal health are driving the political push to double the number of health science students doing rural and remote placements. However, small health services have limited capacity to field inquiries or repeatedly orientate and supervise students throughout the year, academics are often unfamiliar with particular health services and students often have misconceptions and fear the unknown.

Working in partnership with twenty rural, remote and Aboriginal health services, our team has developed a technology-mediated solution that meets the needs of all stakeholders. Our aim was to co-construct a virtual web-based orientation platform to showcase participating health services.

This paper reports the utility of virtual orientation tours from the perspectives of service providers, faculty and students. Partners and faculty that manage undergraduate placements value their consistency and flexibility. Students from any discipline or education provider can access the tours whenever convenient. Health service staff report the tours help to orientate new staff and provide a useful mechanism to field inquiries by prospective employees.

Virtual tours of health services can bridge the tyrannies of distance and bring practice settings to life. They demystify unfamiliar services, attract interest in-context, allay anticipatory anxiety and begin orientation before arrival. These tours demonstrate that technology can provide an effective way for placement and education providers to augment students’ preparation for placement in rural, remote and Aboriginal health, and in the process, create possibilities to recruit new staff and inform community members about the health services available.