TAFE SA nursing graduate Gabrielle Murphy embraces the challenges and enjoys the satisfaction that comes from providing vital health care in one of the most remote parts of the state.
As the first Enrolled Nurse to work with the Royal Flying Doctor Service SA/NT, Gabrielle is relishing her role at the RFDS Remote Area Clinic at Innamincka, located at the end of the Strzelecki Track in the north-east of the state.
“You don’t realise how remotely some people live or travel and what I find rewarding is having the ability to provide a service for people who just wouldn’t have direct access to healthcare without us,” she says.
Gabrielle, who has been working with the RFDS since June, is on a fortnightly rotation spending two weeks at a time in Innamincka before returning to her family on the Fleurieu Peninsula.
With three drilling rigs in the area and regular travellers through the region, which is 820km by air from Adelaide, she says there is plenty to keep them busy.
“Most people know of the RFDS as an emergency service but out in the Remote Area Clinics, we also do a lot of primary health care including annual health checks, chronic disease management and mental health consultations to those who live in the outback,” Gabrielle says.
“Yes, it’s different to working in the city and there are challenges associated with living in such a remote area, but I find the work interesting and satisfying.”
After raising a family and travelling the world for her husband’s work, Gabrielle finally realised a long-held goal when she enrolled in the Diploma of Nursing at TAFE SA in 2019, motivated by a desire to provide quality health care and make a difference in people’s lives.
“My TAFE SA lecturers were great, especially given the challenges of COVID-19, and their experience really made a difference in some of the subjects,” she says.
“They also understand that you have things going on in your life other than study.”
Gabrielle completed a work placement at the Port Augusta Prison which led to a full-time job with the facility once she graduated, and she spent two years commuting between the regional city and her family home before applying for the role with the RFDS.
“I had originally hoped to work for the Flying Doctor but when I started my training, they were only employing Registered Nurses so I thought that avenue was closed to me,” says Gabrielle, who is currently studying a Bachelor of Psychology online through UniSA.
For someone who, as a child, fell ill on a camping trip and had to be airlifted to Port Augusta by the RFDS, the job has additional meaning for her.
However, Gabrielle is quick to point out that nursing is more demanding and less romantic than any television show depiction.
“Nursing is not a job for you if you just want to turn up and go through the motions. You need to be switched on and focused all the time,” she says.