A CRANAplus Undergraduate Remote Placement Scholarship supported nursing and midwifery student, Nikitha Pallagundla, to complete a five-week placement at Alice Springs Hospital. Her reflection highlights the people, relationships and cultural connections that lie at the heart of nursing in rural and remote Australia.
I am a fourth-year nursing and midwifery student at Monash University. As part of my course, I had the privilege of attending a placement at Alice Springs Hospital in November 2025. I had never travelled to a remote community up until this point, so I was both nervous and excited for this new opportunity.
At the heart of it, learning about the people and the cultures is one of the main reasons I came to Alice Springs. After the completion of my placement, I now realise that I have barely scratched the surface of knowing the cultures and the people.
It is so vast and rich, full of connection and deeper meanings. It warmed my heart to see how the people I cared for were welcoming and kind despite the trauma they have experienced within the healthcare system.
Being in connection with the First Peoples community reinforced my ideology that all peoples should be approached with an open mind and a caring attitude, putting aside our personal bias to the best of our ability to provide the best health care possible.
The nurses that I met made this experience quite pleasant. They were very skilled and knowledgeable, and it was a privilege to be trusted by them while working and caring for the patients. As expected, the remote hospital environment differed from a metropolitan area. The five-week placement I was part of was truly eye-opening and informative.
I worked on the paediatric ward among children and their families. It was interesting to see how some children had to wait for several months just to meet with a specialist for a scan or a consultation – something so simple and more available in the cities. Although everyone knew how to manage a condition, the lack of facilities and services prevented adequate, timely diagnosis and intervention. I saw how children here suffered from chronic conditions such as renal disease and heart issues. One particular child had to wait several weeks before being flown all the way to Melbourne for a kidney transplant. Many children and their families came from out of town – needing to stay elsewhere in Alice Springs every time they were discharged from hospital.
One particular lady whose baby was under our care openly shared that “living out bush is safer” than in Alice Springs despite not having many healthcare services there. It was clear that better health here wasn’t just about access to a hospital, but much rather about changing the conditions people live, work and thrive in if better
outcomes are to be seen.
I saw the true impact the social determinants of health have on people’s views, habits and overall health. For the first time, I was able to connect theory to practice. Despite the effort, there remains a huge gap in providing adequate remote healthcare in a developed country like Australia. As such, I would love to come back to remote areas to help in whatever ways I can.
