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What’s required to work in rural and remote nursing?

Roles available

CQ Nurse requires all graduate nurses to have a minimum of two years post-graduate experience. Nurses are also required to have a very broad skillset for the majority of our contracts. 

1. Registered nurse (RN)

The majority of our RNs in the rural sector work in a hospital or multi-purpose health service setting.

Required skill set: strong ED skills including triage, cannulation, venepuncture and resuscitation. Exposure to acute care and aged care is required for this role. A current Advanced Life Support Certificate is considered highly beneficial by many facilities.  

2. Dual midwife: Registered Midwife (RM) / Registered Nurse (RN)

While some of our facilities will accept direct-entry midwives, preference is usually given to a Dual Midwife. Dual Midwives will often work in a rural hospital or in a multipurpose health service setting and be able to work across both maternity and general wards when/if maternity is quiet.

Required skill set: Ante and post-natal experience and strong birth suite experience. Exposure to acute and aged care, and ED skills including triage, cannulation, venepuncture and resuscitation are considered beneficial but not necessarily required.

3. Remote area nurse (RAN)

RANs must be able to work autonomously in demanding situations. The skill set required for remote areas is predominately ED based, and nurses will also be required to be on call for many clinics.

Required skill set: Strong ED skills and complementary skills in acute and aged care. Previous experience working in a primary health clinic or small rural facility, qualifications in Maternity Emergency Care (MEC), Remote Emergency Care (REC) and pharmacotherapeutics are all considered extremely valuable. Certification in immunisation for the Australian state(s) that a nurse wishes to work in would be beneficial, however these are only mandatory for certain districts.

Available specialities

  • Paediatrics

    This specialty requires extensive experience with paediatric patients, generally in a paediatric ward. In charge experience is advantageous.

  • Renal

    Experience in haemodialysis / peritoneal dialysis nursing is required for this speciality – be sure to mention on your CV the equipment type you have experience with!

  • Theatre Nurses

    Experience in scrub, scout, recovery, anaesthetics or a mix of these skills is required.

  • Aged Care

    Recent experience working within an Aged Care facility is required. ACFI experience is advantageous.

  • Child Health

    An immunisation certificate pertaining to the state(s) you are wanting to work in, as well as Child Health experience is required for this role. Previous exposure to, or further education in, working with Indigenous communities is advantageous in some areas, as is a Child Health certificate.

  • Mental Health

    You’ll require a high level of inpatient, acute, crisis or community case management mental health experience. Previous exposure to, or further education in, working with indigenous communities is considered advantageous when wanting to work in some areas.

  • Midwifery Group Practice (MGP)

    The main focal points for this specialty are caseload and community experience. This will include ante, postnatal and birthing experience as you could be working as the sole midwife in your role, with a second midwife available on call if required. The ability and willingness to work on call is also required for a MGP contract. Previous exposure to, or further education in, working with Indigenous communities is considered advantageous when wanting to work in some areas.

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