Journal article
Exploring the Role and Skill Requirements of Registered Nurses Working in Rural and Remote Areas. A Scoping Review
Journal of Clinical Nursing, Vol.34(8), pp.3051-3071
2025
PMID: 40011422
Abstract
Introduction
Registered nurses (RN)s account for the majority of the rural and remote health workforce and require different skills, knowledge and working practices compared to their metropolitan counterparts. Given the complexity and diversity of the rural and remote work environment, it is important to investigate the contemporary literature on the role and skill requirements of the RNs in these locations.
Methods
A scoping review was undertaken in accordance with the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology for scoping reviews. With the permission of the authors, this scoping review extends the work by Muirhead and Birks (2020) who explored the RN role in these locations in 2017. Database searches were conducted in the Cumulative Index for Allied Health and Nursing Literature (CINAHL), Cochrane, JBI, OVID (Emcare), Proquest, PubMed, Scopus and Rural and Remote Health Database. Studies published from November 2017 to June 2024 were included to reflect the current international roles of rural and remote RNs.
Results
A total of 74 articles were included in the study. The overarching categories identified were clinical roles and non-clinical roles. Ongoing analysis established the subcategories of fundamental/foundational, specialist, management roles, support roles and ancillary roles. Four tensions within the rural and remote context were also identified; Generalist and specialist role; Poorly prepared or unprepared; Extended scope of practice; and Role uncertainty.
Discussion
Registered Nurses in rural and remote locations conduct a wide variety of skills and tasks. Their role is expansive, context-dependant, and dynamic. Analysis of the literature found that globally, similarities exist for the role, including comparable challenges, barriers and opportunities Resource availability in a country impacts RN preparation, emphasising the need for systemic improvements to ensure equitable outcomes, especially in rural and remote areas.
Conclusion
The role of the rural and remote RN is broad and unique and requires different breadth and depth of skills and knowledge. The rural and remote RN role includes all levels of care for all patients across the lifespan, with varying resource and support levels. This scoping review provides valuable insight into the skills required to care for diverse communities. Understanding these requirements is essential, as it can inform the future focus on rural and remote nurse education and training and its subsequent impact on the quality of care for people living in rural and remote communities.
Details
- Title
- Exploring the Role and Skill Requirements of Registered Nurses Working in Rural and Remote Areas. A Scoping Review
- Authors
- Danielle Rogers (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Health - NursingPauline Calleja - James Cook UniversityAmy-Louise Byrne - Central Queensland UniversityAshlyn Sahay - Central Queensland University
- Publication details
- Journal of Clinical Nursing, Vol.34(8), pp.3051-3071
- Publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
- Date published
- 2025
- DOI
- 10.1111/jocn.17689
- ISSN
- 1365-2702
- PMID
- 40011422
- Copyright note
- © 2025 The Author(s). Journal of Clinical Nursing published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.
- Data Availability
- The authors have nothing to report.
- Grant note
- This research was completed as part of a Doctor of Philosophy through CQ University and gratefully acknowledges the Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) funding.
- Organisation Unit
- School of Health - Nursing
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991127004602621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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