Is there any difference in practise in rural nursing and urban nursing?

-- Alev Eratan (alev51@hotmail.com), July 19, 2004

Answers

Response to Nursing

Alev,

Rural nurses seem tailor-made for the challenge. They’re so used to overcoming obstacles, wearing multiple hats, and switching gears, the amount of knowledge required of a rural nurse can be intimidating. For nurses who came of age in the era of specialization and might have 10 years of oncology or rehab experience, the call to deliver a baby, deal with a dialysis patient, or assist in the OR, ER or ICU can be frightening. Rural nurses have the challenge of having to wear a lot of hats, that can be very difficult if you’re not a ‘seasoned’ rural nurse. Among the problems that plague rural areas are the economic realities of health care . When cutbacks occur in urban areas, there are more facilities to share the burden. In a rural area, there may be one hospital or one clinic. Rural populations are generally older, poorer, and have lower levels of education than their urban counterparts. There are far fewer hospitals and physicians in rural communities; the time it takes to travel to health care providers is often greater and public transportation less available. Health care agencies, specialized services and infrastructure are usually less available to rural areas. These problems may be magnified in rural areas far distant from any urban center. Health perspectives differ between rural and urban communities. The health perceptions of rural and urban residents significantly reflects their health-promotion behaviors, health maintenance, and illness treatment. Those living in rural communities value independence and self reliance. Rural community members learn to distinguish between health impairments that can be tolerated for a period and those that will impede functioning. The lack of health insurance, land-based work that does not allow "sick days" and long distances from health care providers influence the way those living in rural areas view health and address illness. Rural men and women of a variety of age groups have reported health as the ability to work and to perform one's usual activities. For example, rural workers have been found to tolerate pain for long periods and not allow it to interfere with their ability to work. Urban residents also view health as the ability to work; however, the degree of importance is different. Urban inhabitants more frequently focus on the comfort and life-prolonging aspects of health.

further reading - summary

-- victor m. fernandez (postmaster@culturediversity.org), October 23, 2004.