Paper Example on Attracting, Retaining, & Training Nurses in Rural Areas: An Evaluation

Introduction

The State Government has the duty of increasing the number of nurses in rural areas to offer quality healthcare. However, proper initiatives are required to help attract, retain, and train these nurses. This paper evaluates the initiatives which are designed to attract, retain and train Nurses in rural areas.

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Initiatives to Attract, Retain and Train Nurses in Rural Areas

According to Humphreys et al. (2017), to attract nurses in rural areas, appropriate policies and programs are required. Such policies and programs need to support nursing education and recruitment in these areas through scholarships, loans, faculty loan repayment programs, and other incentives. Also, increasing the number of qualified nurses trained for rural practice can be another significant initiative to attract nurses in rural areas. It is essential also to ensure that there is the removal of state and federal barriers which may hinder nurse practice in these rural areas. More opportunities need to be made available for career advancement in rural areas. This will again help to attract nurses to such areas (Mbemba et al., 2016).

In order to retain qualified nurses in rural areas, the rural healthcare facilities need to

employ various initiatives which will improve their working conditions. A typical example of a strategy which can fulfill this is the introduction of technology like telehealth. Furthermore, facilities can again utilize inter-professional care teams to offer high-quality care. Humphreys et al. (2017) state that it is essential for the nursing practices and processes to be redesigned in order to allow them to be able to work at their full potential and skill set. Other initiatives which can help the retention of the nurses in the rural areas is by increasing their salaries, flexibility, and also benefits. Fundamental strategies for training of nurses working in rural areas is essential. Healthcare facility programs need to be redesigned to help the nurses advance in their careers and education. The technology which is required to attain this include simulation, distance learning, and telehealth applications (Humphreys et al., 2017).

Conclusion

In order to increase the amount of healthcare workforce in the rural areas, policies and programs need to be set which support nursing education and recruitment, the rural healthcare facilities need to employ various initiatives which will improve their working conditions and state and federal barriers which may hinder nurse practice need to be removed.

References

Humphreys, J., Wakerman, J., Wells, R., Kuipers, P., Jones, J., Entwistle, P., & Harvey, P. (2017). Improving primary healthcare workforce retention: in small rural and remote health communities: How important is ongoing education and training?.

Mbemba, G. I. C., Gagnon, M. P., & Hamelin-Brabant, L. (2016). Factors influencing recruitment and retention of healthcare workers in rural and remote areas in developed and developing countries: an overview. Journal of public health in Africa, 7(2).