Characteristics and Geographical Work Location of Early Career Nursing and Allied Health Practitioners Following a Rural Placement: Results From a Post‐Graduate Survey

OBJECTIVE: To describe the characteristics and geographical work locations of early career nursing and allied health practitioners who undertook a rural placement. DESIGN: This study used quantitative data from a longitudinal survey design with students who consented to be involved in the longitudinal study after completing their rural placement. These students are followed up every 2 years after their rural placement. PARTICIPANTS: Nursing and allied health graduates working in their discipline of qualification (n = 706). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The main outcome measure was health professionals work location: rurally based, doing some rural work (e.g., outreach) or metropolitan based. RESULTS: Multinomial regression results indicated that rural origin, older age and nursing professionals were statistically significant predictors of being rurally based in recently graduated health professionals. Nurses were 1.7 times more likely to work rurally compared to allied health professionals. For some allied health disciplines, around one third of the respondents were rurally based up to four years after graduation, ranging from 17% for psychology to 52% for social work. Collectively, allied health professionals were more likely to be providing 'some rural work' compared to nursing professionals, and over 20% of occupational therapists, speech pathologists and psychologists responding to the survey were employed to 'do some rural work'. CONCLUSION: This study provided preliminary insights into work locations of early career allied health and nursing workforces following a rural placement. Findings suggest there is complexity to understanding the impact of a rural placement given the various factors involved, including rural background, age at graduation, available rural work opportunities and options for providing outreach to rural areas. This study highlighted the importance of rural origin, the need to support mature age students and the variation in allied health disciplines in the extent they practice rurally or provide some rural outreach. Continued follow-up of these professionals over time may help to identify key determinants of health professionals' workplace locations.