Primary health care and rural nursing in small communities: a study of identity

Maximising nursing's response to national primary health care reform will incorporate an understanding of how nursing currently identifies with primary health care practice on an individual, organisational and policy level. This paper will present the early analysis of finding of a current PhD research exploring rural nursing identity and the provision of primary health care in small Australian communities. The study incorporates interviews with rural nurses exploring their practice and conceptualisation of their primary health care role. Nurses in both Tasmania and New South Wales, employed in a variety of roles (including practice nursing, community nursing, community health nursing and general rural nursing) have participated in this project. The research employs a Bourdieusian approach to analysis incorporating the individual nurses' understandings of their positioning in conjunction with structural influences on practice including management, their employing organisation and State and National health policy. Preliminary analysis has highlighted the importance of a congruent understanding of primary health care identity in the retention of rural nurses. Discussion will include the issues of collaboration between rural health care providers, role delineation (including between different nursing roles) and the different generational approaches to rural nursing work in small communities. As such, this presentation will contribute to the Research Stream of the conference and relates closely with the issues of collaboration, integration and reform for rural nurses working in primary health care.