Back in the 1980s I used to love the TV show The Flying Doctors. Set in a tiny outback town in NSW, it was based around the work done by not only the actual doctors who flew great distances to treat sick and injured patients, but also the nurses who ably assisted them. Like many viewers I assumed that the storylines on the show were probably exaggerated for effect – to create more drama and keep the audience on the edge of their seats. Apparently I was wrong. In reading Bush Nurses, I realised that The Flying Doctors only touched the surface.
Bush Nurses is a colourful and quite amazing montage of stories, mainly told in first person by the nurses themselves. Spanning most of the twentieth century and beyond, these eye opening accounts of the work done by nurses in the most far flung corners of our country were hard to comprehend at times. I was struck by the courage of scores of young women, who volunteered to go out West and beyond for one or two year placements. Most had limited experience in the outback and no real idea of what lay ahead. Either in pairs or by themselves, these bush nurses tended to the illness and injuries of tiny communities as well as maintaining equipment, running Sunday School programs, fundraising and a myriad of other tasks.
Working under conditions that most would consider intolerable, these Bush Nurses seem to have only fond memories of their time serving remote communities. Some married locals and remained in the bush, while others found it hard to settle back into the confines of a city hospital after the rich experiences of the outback. All seemed to agree that being a bush nurse was a huge boost to their own character and equipped them with nursing skills not found in any city establishment.
Bush Nurses is an eye-opening and entertaining book with many poignant and sad stories as well as the uplifting ones. Inspirational and easy to read, it will give you a whole new respect for that special breed – the Australian bush nurse.
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