Those who have previously worked as nurses on Raasay say the positives are:-
· The reward of being able to maintain people in their own homes
· Being able to support elderly and vulnerable people
· Having the autonomy to be able to make your own decisions, knowing advice is available from Doctors and Rural Practitioners
· Every day is different
· Having confidence in your own ability to assess situations as they arise
· Seeing rewards of your efforts to improve peoples’ health
· Being able to anticipate outcomes and make the right decision on whether to evacuate or not during the day to reduce night time call outs.
· Working in a beautiful environment
· Ideal for families
· Knowing everyone in the community
· Being an important and respected person in the community
And the challenges to be faced:-
· Living in a small island community
· Dependency on ferries
· Coping on your own until paramedic help arrives
· Keeping skills maintained – with rotation to Skye
· Isolation – the need for regular contact with colleagues and line managers
· Coping with confidentiality in a small community where everyone knows everyone else
· Being on-call at night
Ann Macleod, retired Community Nurse, is happy to be contacted for an informal chat about living and working on Raasay.
Raasay Nurse 