· Access to mentoring
Mentoring is important to any practice including physiotherapy. Physiotherapists who work in remote and rural places should have appropriate and adequate access to mentoring as it would allow continuous development for their profession. They can apply it to the specific patient group in remote and rural settings. However, such kinds of programs can be non-existent for physiotherapists in a remote and rural setup.
· Distance
Evidently, distance is an issue for physiotherapists who work in a remote and rural setup. They are predisposed to drive long distances to deliver services to their patients.
· Barriers to Innovation
Remote and rural areas are esteemed to be a potential area for innovation specifically for medical practice. The shortage of medical specialists in such areas necessitates a new approach for innovative care models appropriate for the existing demands in such a setting. However, innovations are halted by a range of factors including legislation, regulations, and cultural barriers. These factors stunt the continuous emergence of health professionals in their pursuit to maximize any innovative opportunities in the field. APA believes that these barriers can be dealt with by the persistence of the national government in providing an equitable right for physiotherapists to, for instance, manage prescriptions.
Providing the necessary support for physiotherapy research can foster innovation that can be targeted in remote and rural areas. Moreover, advance practices may be extensive in its breadth as government legislations about the Australian healthcare system caters the need of the physiotherapy sector. Allowing the proliferation of advanced physiotherapy practices can open up new posts for the clinical practice as well.
· Professional Development
Physiotherapists in remote and rural settings should be able to access the promising Nursing and Allied Health Rural Locum Scheme, a funding system for recruitment placements in the remote and rural areas. This can be done only by funding a professional development program exclusive for physiotherapists. It can improve retention as well as opportunities within the sector. This may enhance the skill set of physiotherapists employed in remote and rural areas and may supplement the requirement5 for NAHRLS access. There should be a consideration as well on the aspect of providing training that is provided face to face as the profession is intensively manual.
