Looking up to the sky! An exploration of new graduate nurses’ perceptions of remote area nursing

SummaryRemote area nursing is characterised by two known realities: health inequalities and nursing challenges. The health inequalities are complex consequences of social determinants and health care access. Remote area nurses must negotiate these realities that powerfully interact. Yet we, as new graduate nurses, contemplate a remote area nursing career pathway with additional points of view, including a strong attraction to the long-lasting image of the ‘Flying Nurse’ within aero medical remote health services. This image holds for us the possibilities of excitement, drama, vital service, and intensive care. This paper explores the realities of this career attraction, and consequently explores the aspirations of contemplative new graduate nurses, as they assimilate their knowledge of remote area nursing with their plans for their future transitions into nursing practice.