Rural Doctors Network pleased to share recruitment success

NSW Rural Doctors Network (RDN) is pleased to share its success in supporting 182 general practitioners and 22 nurses and allied health professionals moving into permanent positions in rural, remote and regional communities across NSW over the past year.

The Medical Workforce Team at RDN provides individually tailored recruitment support to eligible doctors, nurses and allied health professionals. RDN works with all practices and Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHs) in rural, regional, and remote locations across NSW.

RDN’s service includes free end-to-end recruitment support, advice and knowledge on career pathways, aligning each person’s skills and experience to a workplace that best suits them.

RDN also administers the Australian Government Department of Health funded More Doctors for Rural Australia Program (MDRAP), as well as the Five Year Overseas Trained Doctors Scheme. 

For Dr Daniel Mealey, MDRAP was the perfect way to return to clinical practice after several years away. The program allows non-vocationally registered doctors to work in rural regions and access Medicare. It also offers a support package, with funds to facilitate the supervision and education of MDRAP doctors.

Dr Mealey said he took time away from clinical practice as a junior doctor after an Afghanistan deployment. When he returned, he decided to work in a volunteer capacity, largely helping the homeless in Sydney to navigate the complexity of finding homes and services.

“I found this very fulfilling, so much so that before I knew it, three years had elapsed and I was facing mounting challenges returning to a clinical role,” he said. 

RDN found a vacancy for Dr Mealey at the Queen Street Medical Centre in Moruya and the team at the practice has provided ongoing supervision and training, as well as assisting him with finding a home on the beach at nearby Congo, which Dr Mealey refers to as a “perfect slice of heaven”. Dr Mealey said he can’t recommend the recruitment services offered by RDN highly enough.  

RDN also collaborated with the Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association (APNA) to contact retired nurses for short-term placements, leading to 22 nursing and allied health professionals being placed in permanent positions across NSW between January and  June 2022. Another 18 Registered Nurses (RNs) and 2 GPs were placed in short-term assignments during the height of the pandemic to work at respiratory clinics, and vaccination centres, and to help with workforce shortages. 

“Healthcare is a team game, and the patient is best served when every discipline within that team can play their part to the fullest extent.  Placing nurses where they were needed with NSWRDN is helping take the pressure off health workers and deliver great health outcomes,” said APNA CEO Ken Griffin.

RDN would like to extend its thanks to these doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals who have made the decision to work rurally in 2021/22. 

“It has been a tough year for practices with the pandemic and we were very happy to help and support the practices that reached out to us to help ease their workforce shortages,” says RDN’s Recruitment Portfolio Lead Jessica Yuen. 

“With our borders now open, we are looking forward to working with the international market again and supporting them with their first position in NSW while continuing to provide exceptional recruitment services to the practices and ACCHOs that we support.”

RDN offers tailored GP, GP locum, nursing, midwifery and allied health recruitment support for remote, rural and regional practices and Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHSs) in NSW. Get in touch today at recruit@nswrdn.com.au or call 02 4924 8000.