Dear CRANAplus family,
I am delighted to be appointed to this inaugural role as Chief RAN, representing you, our dedicated nurses and midwives working across rural, remote and isolated settings throughout Australia.
This role presents a unique opportunity to bring the voices of the remote health workforce into national conversations, consultations, and policy development. I’m eager to strengthen partnerships with key stakeholders, including government, peak bodies, Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations, and tertiary education and health services.
Most importantly, I’m committed to supporting initiatives and exploring opportunities that improve recruitment, retention, and well-being for remote health professionals. For too long, it has been an expectation that we will navigate our own paths to this area of practice, without a recognised and accredited pathway, and often without adequate clinical supervision and support. I don’t need to tell you that there is an over-reliance on short term agency staff, which is creating enormous pressures for longer-term staff, and on the financial viability of the system.
Our recent pre-budget submission outlines a plan to address these concerns and has huge support across the regulation and education sectors.
Our aim at CRANAplus is to advance our work on these issues and to find solutions that will alleviate some of the pressures that you experience on a day-to-day basis. We have a fantastic team of clinicians and support staff to enable this to happen; our educators and mental health and wellbeing teams are second to none!
In the weeks and months ahead, I encourage you to engage with us. Be part of the change you want to see.
I look forward to connecting with more of you, many of whom I’ve already had the privilege to meet, as we shape the future together.
I continue to be impressed and amazed by the extraordinary skills, resilience and capability of nurses and midwives in our sector. Please don’t give in or give up. Join us in designing and building stronger foundations and better supports for yourselves now, and for the future.
With deep respect and kind regards,
Heather Keighley, Chief RAN CRANAplus
