About 20 practising rural nurses from throughout New Zealand took part in a pre-conference workshop at Otago Polytechnic yesterday, on the eve of a national rural health conference.
The polytechnic School of Nursing hosted the free symposium and pre-conference workshop for rural nurses on "learning in the 21st century''.
Among the participants was Gemma Hutton (26), a rural nurse specialist from Franz Josef, who graduated from the Otago school in 2009.
It had been "really exciting'' to meet other rural nurses and discuss matters with them, given the isolation of rural nursing practice.
And trying out the patient simulator had been an "amazing'' experience, she said.
Several other rural nurses also said they had found the activities interesting and valuable.
Polytechnic principal nursing lecturer Jean Ross said the symposium and workshop had been "absolutely superb'' and the nurses had left feeling "energised'' about their work.
The event had showcased how the school incorporated sustainability, and a "simulation'' training approach into Otago's bachelor of nursing programme, she said.
This is the first time the national rural health conference has been held in Dunedin for more than a decade, and about 500 participants are expected to attend the event, which starts today runs until Sunday.
Ms Ross said that holding the conference in Dunedin was significant because the Southern District Health Board covered the largest health board area in the country, and many centres depended on rural nursing.
