It Takes Heart
It Takes Heart is an unmissable podcast where healthcare workers share their honest and unique experiences from Australia’s frontline.
Discover real-life stories of passion and purpose, insight and inspiration from people on the inside and tales that are equal parts heart-warming, heart-wrenching and hilarious. It Takes Heart is co-hosted by cmr | Cornerstone Medical Recruitment CEO Samantha Miklos and Head of Talent and Employer Branding Kate Coomber.
It Takes Heart
Taking a Lap around Australia as a Remote Area Nurse
What happens when a nurse trades a stable job for a life on the road in a customised Land Cruiser?
In this episode of It Takes Heart, we explore the inspiring journey of podcast guest India Priestley purchasing her "troopie" during the 2020 lockdowns and how her off-grid living setup has her creating a whole new community on the road.
Through vivid recounts of hitchhiking adventures and heartwarming patient interactions, India paints a picture of the adaptability and resilience required for remote healthcare roles. These stories illuminate the deep personal connections formed in smaller communities and the visible impact nurses can make outside of metropolitan hospitals.
Cultural considerations in remote Indigenous communities are also discussed as India emphasises the need for cultural sensitivity, respect, and education to bridge communication gaps and foster trust. She highlights the importance of respecting the deep connection Indigenous people have with their land.
This episode of It Takes Heart has CEO of cmr Sam Miklos hosting alongside Head of Talent and Employer Branding, Kate Coomber.
We Care; Music by Waveney Yasso
More about India's Charity of Choice:
Red Dust inspires remote Indigenous communities through a unique ‘community-as-family’ model of health and well-being programs, that blend western health knowledge and traditional cultural knowledges. For over twenty-five years, they have partnered with community leaders and Elders to build resilience in young people and foster cross-cultural understanding through training and immersion experiences. Visit www.reddust.org.au for more information.
Get to know cmr better!
Follow @ittakesheartpodcast on Instagram, @cmr | Cornerstone Medical Recruitment on Linked In, @cornerstonemedrec on TikTok and @CornerstoneMedicalRecruitment on Facebook.
We care for the land and sea. We care for her energy. We care for our community we care for our community.
Sam Miklos:Yeah, welcome to it. Takes Heart the podcast. I'm your host, sam Miklos, ceo of Cornerstone Medical Recruitment, and this is my co-host, kate Coomba, head of Talent and Employer Branding at Cornerstone.
Kate Coomber:Tune in as we bring you stories of incredible healthcare professionals who are making a massive difference in the communities they serve. From Geraldton in Western Australia to Crocodile Island in the Northern Territory, to the beaches of Port Lincoln in South Australia, travel these landscapes to explore the humanity that lies at the intersection of empathy and healthcare.
Sam Miklos:Okay, so today we have the pleasure of chatting with free-spirited troopy-driving remote area nurse, india Priestley. Ever since responding to one of our Facebook ads titled Travel with Work, india has been doing just that. She's travelled to the furthest parts of the country, from the untouched beaches of Tumbi Bay in South Australia to Bunbury in Western Australia. Indy has truly found her true purpose in remote area nursing, and for Indy, remote area nursing enables her to provide a level of comfort for her patients that she felt was just not possible in the city hospitals Locating. Over the last three years, indy has discovered a work life balance that she'd always hoped for, enjoying endless adventures and making so many wonderful new friendships around the country. Welcome Indy to. It Takes Heart, thank you.
Sam Miklos:Thank you for having me. No worries. Before we get into anything, I have to ask what is a troopie? I have an army truck in my mind. What is this troopie?
India Priestley:It's pretty well, just a big lane cruiser, four-wheel drive, um, but mine's got a roof conversion so it's like a double bed. I call it the penthouse, yeah the penthouse and then downstairs. I've got a fridge, I've got a coffee machine, I have an air fryer, I have a shower, so it's basically like set up for off-grid living, um, so I can go about two weeks off-grid, got enough water, um, and yeah, so I can just go basically anywhere in the country.
Sam Miklos:It's not really limited to anywhere which is handy, and did you have this troopie from your very first local placement, or has this evolved over the last few years?
India Priestley:um, so I initially bought it in June of 2020. I saw, ironically, during the first lockdowns I saw a bunch of YouTube videos about a couple that had traveled around Australia in a troopie and, coming from the Gold Coast, it wasn't really something that I'd really seen. I'd always ridden horses, I always had four wheel drives. And then I sort of slowly started like was looking and I was like I really want a troopie. It was more so, I could just like go camping. When I bought it, there was no inkling to travel Australia at all. I was very settled on the Gold Coast. I was yeah. So then I sort of bought the troopy in June of 2020, took a month off my permanent job and then went on my first trip on it and then decided to come back and put my resignation in and decided I wanted to travel.
India Priestley:So it wasn't bought specifically to travel, but now it's just been the perfect part.
Kate Coomber:Yeah, I follow you on Instagram. Kate is like a mad fan of yours. It's just, it's so what a lot of people want to do. It's really that wanderlusty vibe that you have in your entire page and it looks like you've got a group of troopees.
India Priestley:Yeah.
Kate Coomber:And you seem to find connection with people and almost comparing the fit-outs and what you've done and the fails that don't work. I think it's brilliant and it's so helpful to others that might consider it all Are you going to get a trophy?
Sam Miklos:Never say, never, never say never, helpful to others that might consider it. Or are you gonna get a trophy? Can I just ask so quickly do you drive alone, like what you said about the community there, kate, lucky is it you driving your troop II from placement to placement on your own yeah.
India Priestley:So I've done it completely solo. Occasionally I'll have like a friend jump in or if I'm on like a placement somewhere, some of my friends will come and visit Often. I find like having that spare seat is so handy. When I worked in Alice we used to go camping a lot so the girls that didn't have four wheel drives could jump in like the passenger seat with me, right. So really really cool. But no, it's all been by myself.
India Priestley:And then when you mentioned the troopy community, I want to say it's a cult without saying it's a cult, but they stick together and everybody. Like when I got a flat tire when I was in WA, the first two people to stop both had troopies. So they all look out for you. You all have a lot of similar interests. They're sort of like a big car that you travel around and a lot of couples. There's more solo girls now than I've seen in the last. Like when I first started I had no girls that had trophies, yeah. And so now, slowly, like I know another nurse from Brisbane that I did my place with. She's recently got a trophy and is now traveling Australia in it. So it's kind of cool that it's sort of like spreading. It's a really safe car. They're so reliable and you do just have a big community. No matter where you go, you can say hello to another troopie owner and your instant mate.
Sam Miklos:so do you feel safe as a? You know you were saying there's not many like solo girls traveling around their troopies, but have you felt safe? And like a flat tire on the side of the road, all of those, those things?
India Priestley:Yeah it's. I've had a couple of like sketchy moments I think my first, like probably year and a half. I was a bit more blasé to it and I've had a couple of moments where I'm like, oh, I should probably move on. But honestly, for the most part, like people talk about it being like quite scary, it is like a big confidence thing as well. Like I get a flat tire, I'm calling my dad and I'm like something's gone wrong, but he left me when I left. I knew how to change a tire um and the mechanical problems.
India Priestley:Like I service my own car now so I'm able to do a lot of things that I wouldn't even have thought I could do. But it's pretty cool that I've sort of like learned along the way and if something goes wrong, um, you become really familiar with the car. So you sort of become, I know, like a lot of people with partners like they're like their partners usually know a lot about the cars.
India Priestley:But you sort of like if something breaks down, I'm like, oh well, I'll call either roadside assist, I'll call my dad. Sometimes it's an easy fix, sometimes it requires like a mechanic. But yeah, it's sort of I don't know, it's a confidence thing. Definitely wasn't this confident when I first um, when I first got it the first trip I did, I got bobbed and didn't know how to put in full drive. So that was it.
Kate Coomber:That was a humbling moment, yeah that would have been did you start little bit by little bit before you went really remote? You know, did you do some little trips from the Gold Coast? Um, I guess what were you even doing at the Gold Coast? You know how did it start.
India Priestley:So I worked um on the Gold Coast. I did my grad year and then started um. When I bought the troop I was in my second year of nursing, so I had. And then I went on my first yeah, month-long trip. I had two and a half weeks um and I was planning to get to Uluru but the borders that was when the borders were all chaotic, so I ended up going all the way up to Mount Isa across to, like Cairns and the.
India Priestley:Dane Tree. So that was like my first big trip and then I did probably like in between permanent roles I had like on my leave I think I had like two-day trips or three-day trips sort of, around the Gold Coast and then I left with a plan for just a year on the road. So I went to Victoria first and then COVID hit pretty hard and then that sort of leads into how I ended up doing agency, because that's how I got across the border to South Australia.
Sam Miklos:Oh, through the agency. So that was where it came. Was you saw the?
Waveney Yasso :internet and it was like travel for work.
Sam Miklos:You're thinking I'm kind of doing it, let's keep doing it.
India Priestley:Yeah, and I was stuck in a lockdown because I had gone to South Australia, then New South Wales on another. It was probably like a three-week trip, and I was living in Victoria and I got a call from my family down there and they're like hey, the borders are shutting in 48 hours. And I was over, like I was a fair way away, um, and yeah, so I had to back, but I had to isolate for two weeks and it was in those two weeks of isolation it was rainy, it was sleety, it was like freezing cold I was sitting outside doing some stuff because I was in isolation at my family's house and I saw the ad come up the cornerstone on Facebook.
India Priestley:I was like there's no way.
Sam Miklos:this is true, Like I was, like there is so much more my way yeah, they're full of it.
India Priestley:So where are you now then? Where have we gone? So I'm actually in the West Arnhem land, so I am working. It's sort of like a permanent casual role because I wanted to get ran experience before I went agency running, just for like peace of mind, because I know you get thrown in the clinic. I wanted to be able to use my skills straight away so in a hospital.
India Priestley:I'm super comfortable, but just ran wise. So I actually met the manager of this clinic when I was traveling WA um in a car park making dinner. Ironically of all places, we were at the beach, it was sunset and him and his partner were traveling and I'd just finished my post-grad. So my goals, like last year, would have slowly developed my brand, sort of like all my things that you need to tick off to work remote, and I literally just submitted my last assignment, was about to finish my postgrad, and he was like, do you want a job? And I was like this is like a perfect in to get experience in a. It's not permanent, like I've come up this is my third time now, yeah, and then obviously in between done like contracts with cornerstones. So it was sort of like a good spot to get experience before I feel confident enough to go out remote with like doing a true remote who needs cornerstone when you can meet people in a can right, let's tell Becky.
India Priestley:I honestly could not believe it, like when we started chatting. And you know you chat to lots of strangers on the road and most of the time it's just like oh yeah, like you know, they're just traveling for a bit and he's like I work in the West Arnhem and I was like what are you doing there?
Waveney Yasso :he's like I'm a rent, I manage the clinic.
India Priestley:I was like you're joking, you are just too like the universe, just like.
Kate Coomber:Yeah, so you talked about the upskilling there that you you're preparing for and getting ready to go into that true ran work. I guess, for people who maybe don't understand really what that is, can you talk about what upskilling exactly you have to do, but also what is ran work?
India Priestley:okay, so well ran work is remote area nursing. So basically you're stationed, usually in small Indigenous communities. So I'm on an island at the moment. That's got 200 to 250 people. There's four streets. It's a very traditional land. There's like about 11 languages spoken here.
India Priestley:So it's I like to describe it as a GPp clinic for nursing. Like it's nurse run um. We have a gp come up, usually once a week or once a fortnight um, and that's the same in most areas. You've obviously got your on call and then you follow um. In the nt it's called carpa um in wa it's the public health um. They've got like their own paperwork as well. So it's basically like you do your own assessments um and like prescriptions and things like that. So it's kind of like it's literally a gp, but without being a gp. You have on call. So every second or third day you have first call out. So if the clinic's closed after hours between like overnight, you get the calls um so you go into the clinic, respond to emergencies, yeah. So it's sort of like a bit of a broader role um. There's a lot more scope than what you get in hospital.
India Priestley:Yeah um so experience, wise upskilling, most the time. You need at least like four to five years of either ed and acute experience, which I think is super necessary, because sometimes you have no idea what's coming through the door. Yeah, so you need to be able to like and there's not a lot of resources, so you know you're not referring them on to the next place, are you?
India Priestley:Yeah, and there's not a doctor that immediately can come on site, like most places I have worked. Otherwise there's a doctor either on the side or within 20 minutes that you can call that in there with you. You've usually got a team of maybe three to four other nurses, so up here at the moment there's just the two of us. There is a third as well coming out, so it's a lot smaller staffing. So I think that clinical judgment is like a huge thing and it's not anything you can be taught, it's just a time thing. So I've done like a grad cert now in rural and remote health practice. And then there's also a bunch of chronic forces. So there's rec, mech, um, there's pharmacotherapeutics, your immunizations, and then like your triage and things like that that you do. Usually your als and usually your pediatric als now is sort of like coming up as like one that's really important to know. Yeah, yeah. So it's sort of a lot like it's huge. I suppose in paperwork, wise and like learning, I learned a lot last year doing all the courses.
Sam Miklos:So and you're um like you're quite early on in your career but you've still had quite a bit of um career progression, even though you're in that locum lifestyle which people would sort of assume you wouldn't get. Do you feel like you've been able to really tap into that progression quite easily over the last few years?
India Priestley:yeah, absolutely. I actually think if I had stayed on the Gold Coast, where I was, my career probably wouldn't have changed much. I think it's a comfort zone thing and I think you end up like I was super comfortable in my job and I was like I have to get myself out there. Um, and it was honestly through doing the last three years doing cornerstone placements, because the first place I went was sort of more remote. Um, I've come from a big metro city hospital to like a tiny it was a smaller hospital in Peterborough. So, um, and I was able to learn, like my ED skills there, my assessment skills, because I think in metro hospitals you don't have a bigger scope because you've always got either more experienced nurses or there's obviously, like you know, there's staff and doctors around. So, um, doing my placements has like I would never have done, I would never have even thought I'd become. I never know what a ram was when I was on the gold coast so.
India Priestley:I think like yeah, and I'm this is my sixth year out and I genuinely did not. This was not the divert of my career. I was thinking I was gonna go on. Where did you think you would have been? I genuinely reckon I would. Probably. If I had stayed, I'd probably maybe be a clinical nurse in the same ward on the same hospital. Yeah, I don't know whether I would have moved into ED because for me, like, ed was really scary like the Gold Coast.
India Priestley:Yeah, yeah and it was a really scary concept so I was super comfortable. I probably would have stayed done a post-grad. I used to work in oncology and hematology so I probably would have just been stuck in my little bubble not seeing seeing anything. Had my four weeks of holiday yeah, I just don't think it would have been something. And now, like I've started doing the remote stuff and even the smaller hospitals like they're so much fun and they're so like I love them so much more.
Kate Coomber:I think it's perspective to a point, isn't it? Because you talk there about ED in a busy hospital being scary, I think some people listening will feel that you're in the middle of nowhere with very little support. That sounds terrifying, because you have to back yourself and you have to be confident in your clinical ability, but also, I guess, just socially, like you know, you might, you might some people might feel isolated.
India Priestley:Yeah, isolation is probably one of the biggest things. I've felt more in the last sort of six months. I didn't so much because last year I worked in Bunbury and we had some of the best times. I was there for three months, one of my best placements I've done because we had. It was like 20 agents.
India Priestley:The community of the quarterstones is I've done because we had it was like 20 agents community of us of the cornerstone stuff there as well, like it's a lot, and we all it was like hootie wop, it was like cornerstone suite. We used to have potluck dinners, we used to go to the beach, go for walks, go to the gym together. So there was a big community, yeah, um, and then sort of going to the more remote places like Tumpy Bay is still near, like Port Lincoln. It's quite a big community, I suppose, in terms of where I am now.
India Priestley:But you sort of make I've found like you make a little family within the hospital, within, like the health care facility, there's always people that will welcome you home or, like you know, invite you over for lunch or dinner or invite you to take you to local places. But probably in the last like six months I found Tasmania a bit more isolating, um, and then obviously up here it's like a completely different kettle of fish. That's just not even you know. It said the flights are only Monday to Friday. So the community up here you've got your nurses and you're really, really close because you know you, you help each other out if shit hits the fan.
Sam Miklos:You've got each other and how do you deal with that loneliness and isolation, like is it? How do you keep yourself busy?
Kate Coomber:and I think even what's the plan forward. If you're going to go even further remote, what do you think?
India Priestley:I chat to my friends all the time. I have some of I call them my long distance best friends. I chat to them pretty well all the time either on some of I call them my long distance best friends. I chat to them pretty well all the time either on a phone call, facetime, just keeping in contact with, like the people I've been away now three years, so I don't get home to the Gold Coast a lot, so I chat to my family a lot.
India Priestley:Social media is great because I always sit on and have a little yarn to people just in the middle of you know, I think that's a big thing keep myself distracted. I either take I'm really into crossroads at the moment oh yeah, yeah, yeah, if I'm not on an island, where I am at the moment, if I'm in one of the smaller like towns and stuff, and I usually have my car, I'll go. That's like my chance to explore my downtime. So I honestly never feel isolated down, like when I've got my car I literally will go out camping. I'm able to go away for weekends, you know. That's my chance to explore the areas, which I think is like yeah, so it's sort of it comes in waves though, like it's definitely yeah, but keeping myself busy.
India Priestley:I think it's a really beautiful point because I think some people in city areas can actually feel really isolated and disconnected and it sounds like by stepping outside of that and maybe being forced to look for what else, you're actually more connected yeah and I think the friendships and like the people I have in my life now are some of like I'm so, so lucky because you know if I've had a shit day or something, I can call them and it's like you just chat about anything else. And it's so nice because you know if I've had a shit day or something, I can call them and it's like you just chat about anything else. And it's so nice because you realize who is really like what, who you want in your life. And I think that's sometimes a bit harder to find, like you say, in city hospitals because there's so many more people, or just in cities in general there's so many lonely, yeah, and you're like, do you have a genuine friendship with someone?
India Priestley:And that's sort of been a tough one to learn over the last couple of years because I lost a lot of people when I left because I wasn't there. It's not that physical time that you have with people catching up, but, yeah, the people that I see and speak to and my family, like it's so nice that they've got my back. Like you know, it's kind of you feel isolated in location, but not like I'm supported by some of the best people, so it's kind of like a fine balance, I suppose can I ask a personal question?
Sam Miklos:I know 27. When I was 27 I would have been listening to this going. How am I going to get out there dating if I'm out in these communities? Is dating a thing? Can you swipe left and right in?
Kate Coomber:communities is dating a thing?
Sam Miklos:can you swipe left and right in a small population when everyone knows everyone? I imagine not talk to me about this.
India Priestley:I'm happily married right now it's different dating on the road. I think it's a lot more difficult than what people like think, because for me, like I haven't been anywhere longer than three months in the past three years.
India Priestley:So my longest place I've ever sat was Bunbury, and it's hard to become attached or even date like to find a guy that you're like I'm actually in the year for like four weeks and then I'm leaving it. It is hard. It is probably that's like a side of it sometimes that I'm like oh, I've really messed up here because I have no chance of finding a bloke that I'm like let's just go live a chaotic life. I don't know what I'm doing in two weeks' time. I just drive until I like the location or it is really, really hard.
Sam Miklos:Plus, you'd probably be intimidating to a bloke with all your troopy skills and you're like, let me, let me just pull over here and change a tire and service my car and he's like what I think.
India Priestley:Some good news, though, is that we spoke um, we've actually spoken to a couple on this podcast as well, who met, nursing and travel together and you know, so it's definitely possible. I have seen like um nurse doctor combos, um physio combos, um OTs and nurses. Like there's definitely, it's just finding the right guy that I'm doing, yeah, and like I've definitely dated um, like you know, a couple of years ago, and then it was kind of a rough heartbreak and I was like I'm never doing that again. But it's so hard as well and it's easy at the same time, because now I've dated a few guys and I'm like, okay, I'll take that little like trait that I absolutely adore, but you can leave that other trait that's my future husband, but I have like the best of all of them.
India Priestley:So you definitely like you can be a little bit more picky and I think you know the lifestyle that I have. I'm like it's so crazy and I'm definitely not in a rush to find anyone because it's just I don't know. I really enjoy my life would like the company.
Sam Miklos:Don't get me wrong, but yeah, I think we need to just like give that wish list to the team so that if anyone we could just make sure the medical matchmakers you know, will match you up and sending a doctor up to.
Kate Coomber:Arnhem Land, that's so true.
Sam Miklos:Crazy stories on there, like there's got to be some. You know some great stories that you can share with us about that life on the road. Is there any that are worth sharing today?
India Priestley:I reckon some of the best times I've had was traveling WA last year. I described last year as like the best year of my life. It was just chaos, 24, 7 um. It was when I rocked up in Exmouth and I ran into like a bunch of people I've met online. We all went out camping there was 40 of us camping on this one site and it was for one of my mate's birthdays and, like you, just they're all strangers and by the end of the night, like some of my best mates have come out of that and I traveled up through the Kimberley and like some of the stuff we did that you know, like I traveled the Gibb River Road, which is like 700k's of corrugations, and I was so nervous to do it and would not have done it by myself but I was with, like some of my really good mates, woke up the first morning with a flat tire and we're sitting there it's like 40 degrees had no idea.
India Priestley:I was like, oh my god, like this is the first day we've got another two weeks of this like, but it was just the coolest, chillest situation ever and I wouldn't have done that like without my mates because it was just, yeah, it was just the coolest, chillest situation ever and I wouldn't have done that like without my mates Cause it was just yeah it was just ironic, like first day things are broken.
India Priestley:Yeah, there's like things in my car that have just like fallen off. I'm like, oh, there you go, that's gone now.
India Priestley:It's pretty cruisy, like it's not really I don't know like all the things that I've done, like I was just going to call myself out, but like when I was having some time off and like hitchhiked to the local pub with some random, because I just asked him and he was like in a ute and I was like can you just drop me off at the local pub? And he was like I don't know who you are I was like neither.
India Priestley:Just please take me. Your parents are going. What you did, what? Like some of the stuff I've done, I'm like, oh god, like that probably wasn't safe at the time, but I think it's a traveling feeling, though, right, you have this, this sense of invincibility, sometimes when you go traveling anyone who, whether you take off abroad or whether you go remote, you have that sense yeah, and it's that trust in people that you're like, oh, you'll be right, like you've got this, got this, don't worry about it.
Waveney Yasso :And.
India Priestley:I don't know like all of my travels over the last three years have literally been some of the best times of my life, because it's like you, just like I wish I could write a book on all the cool stuff I've got to see.
Sam Miklos:Yeah, you've got the time.
India Priestley:I know.
Sam Miklos:Crossword down and write a chapter. All the stories and stuff I've had is just so cool. Yeah, that's, that's it. And I was just gonna ask you about that because, um, you know you said that you've really found your purpose in remote nursing and you've kind of touched a little bit. But I guess tell us about the impact that you've been able to have in these communities. Like, when you think about all those stories, what are the the really memorable nursing moments that you've had over the last few years?
India Priestley:I think, one that literally stands out to me. Um was in Tumpy Bay and it was a little guy that had like fallen broken. He's like hit his lip. Um split it open and it was like nine o'clock at night, the doctors and like Tumpy Bay's probably got like 800 people, maybe in the surrounds. It's like nine o'clock at night, the doctors and like tommy bay's probably got like 800 people maybe in the surrounds. It's like one main street. It's one of my favorite places in australia, like I absolutely adore it and he split his. It was sorting them out and he went home and then the next morning I went for my walk down the beach and I just get this indy, indy, and I was like, no, it's calling my name and he's like running down the beach and he's like, look, like it's looking better.
India Priestley:Saw him like a week later. I think it's like those like moments where you're like I made a difference and I think you get that, I suppose, in some bigger hospitals. But I think in like the small communities, like even on the island here, I'll go to the local shop and they're like, oh, hey, indy, like I feel better now, or I've done this, and I'm like, oh, that's really good, like I'm happy for you. So I think it's a bit of um, I think nursing is a thankless job. Um, it definitely is, especially in the bigger hospitals.
India Priestley:I find sometimes you're just a number, because it is just like that, you know, and I think, coming to the smaller towns or smaller communities, you have more of a like interpersonal, inter like relationship with them, where it's like they know who you are, you've obviously made a difference and generally like I'll know their face or I'll know their name and I'm like, oh, my god, you're looking so much better, like I'm, I'm stoked for you. Or you know, you run into them at the shops and you're like, oh, you're up and about, like how are you going?
India Priestley:like it's so nice to have that um relationship with them that you don't always get in the bigger hospitals because they're obviously in and out and there's so many more people around. So I think that's one thing that it always sticks with me. Like when I see someone out in public that I've treated and they're like oh my god, like I feel better or this is what happens. I'm like oh sweet like so glad.
Sam Miklos:So, yeah, can I? You know you touched on there, like the you said, if it sounds like the local shop coming from the gold coast, which is, you know, the local shop is pacific fair to some of the communities and I think sometimes there's a bit of a cultural shock for candidates who are new to those areas where there might be one shop or, like you've said, the, the plane comes in on a wednesday and a friday or sometimes the shop's not open. Yeah, can you just give an insight into, I guess, some of those smaller areas like what is the infrastructure? What? Uh, yeah, what does that look like?
India Priestley:so prepare people I guess yeah, most of the times, probably in the last year, I've only worked places that have an IGA and the closest Woolies or Coles is maybe like an hour or half an hour away. Um, obviously, like when I worked in Bunbury and Alice, they have like it's a bigger sort of city centre, so sometimes there's usually an IGA.
India Priestley:Um, there's a servo, there's a bakery, a fish and chip shop um sometimes you have like one or two cafes, not always guaranteed, and usually they're only open, like you know, on a saturday or something like. They're so intimate that you just have no idea what to expect, but most of the time it's just like a lot you think. Like, again, coming from the gold coast, my parents house, there's two major shopping centers within 10 minutes. So, coming to the smaller places, I definitely learned to prepare a lot earlier. So I'll go to a big bullies because it's generally cheaper and then you just like top up as you need. Yeah, so there's a lot smaller facilities, but I think it's more like you support the communities and, yes, it's more expensive, but as agency you're on a higher wage. So I think you know you can take that little bit because it's not a big corporation. Generally their family run IGAs. The kids working in them are school kids, they're all locals. So you know, I feel like it's something I'm willing to.
Kate Coomber:You know you compromise with that, yeah, for sure yeah, it's like you've really found purpose in this new way of life. You can see when talking to you just how much it fills you up like, which is so wonderful, because the people that you're impacting will feel that, I'm sure, and I think that that's that's just so beautiful. I think, if people are listening and maybe they've just learned about what ran work is, or maybe they've been thinking about it for a while, what advice would you give I?
India Priestley:want to say do it just because, and do your research. I get hundreds and hundreds of questions across Instagram and TikTok being like how did you do it? How did you take that leap? And I'm not going to lie, I was shit scared. I was so scared because I was in a really good permanent job. I had a really good base of people. I loved the people that I worked with. But I think I was super like I worked in an oncology hematology. I saw a lot of people pass very early on in my career.
India Priestley:Like the first two years was pretty rough and a big eye opener because you know, you get diagnosed with four months to live and they're 30. And I'm like if I was 30 getting diagnosed with that, would I be content with where I am at in life? You know, have I got to travel? Have I got to see the things I've wanted to do? Have I found who I was? And I think that was a big step.
India Priestley:But I was shitting myself. I quit my job and I went to casual and I said I'll be back in a year, can you keep my contract open, just in case? And my manager was like, yeah, all good. Like are you sure? Like is this really what you want to do? And I was like, no, it's not, but I've got to do it because if I don't take that leap now. I was single. I didn't have any ties apart from my family and my friends on the Gold Coast and I was like I've got to do it. And I think the first six months were really hard because and you know, it's not easy and it can be really hard I cried a lot in the first six months Just because it's like a whole different world. You're constantly meeting people, your support system, like I say, that's when I lost a lot of people and people that I thought were really really good friends.
India Priestley:You sort of lose that, so that can be really hard. I was 23 when I left and now I'm like I could never like love the Gold Coast, love going back to visit, but it's not. I've now found that it's not my place that I'd like to settle. It's not the type of people that I like to surround myself with. Like you know, all of my friends are usually just chilled and it's just a different lifestyle, I suppose.
Kate Coomber:People can identify with that. Regardless of where you move to right. I think you can move city, you can move abroad, you can people make changes and, I think, go through similar things.
India Priestley:Yeah, and it is just a change thing. And I think if someone's wanting to do it, I always say and get um like a four-week placement in not super remote.
India Priestley:I always say like, go somewhere where there's people in a little bit yeah, and I say, like, keep your permanent job, go casual, don't tell anyone, because then people are going to make up these weird preconceived ideas that you're leaving and never coming back. Yeah, um, don't have that pressure on yourself. Just say I'm gonna just go do three, like well, I always say four weeks is a good place to start because you can always extend usually. But if you say sign up to three months, you get there. It's not your vibe, you don't like the town, you know anything like that.
India Priestley:I think having that flexibility and that's why it's perfect with agency. Some places are super flexible. They'll do two week, three week, four week contracts. There's a void in the roster. So I always just say go do a little contract, maybe in like a bigger, smaller town, especially coming from like a metro city. Have a look, see if you enjoy it, see if you enjoy the vibe. Because some people go, they do it and they're like it's not for me that's fine. At least you've gone and done it, you've given it a go, um. And then I always say, like you, sort of I probably threw myself in the deep end a bit too quickly, going so remote, so quickly, but also it was the perfect time, because that's when I fell in love with it and I was like, oh, I'm never going back, now I've shot myself in the foot.
Sam Miklos:So you had the troopy, you had the means to get going, but also, too, it might be, um, you know, the first one might not be the right one, but it might also be about landing on that right community, as well because do you do back to back or like, do you set yourself breaks throughout the year? How do you manage that?
India Priestley:and I suppose that you know the consistency of work with agency the so, yeah, I usually like to do six months of work, six months off. That's my really good balance that I've found the first year. Yeah.
Kate Coomber:That's a huge selling point. That's really important to highlight that you can work for half a year and have a really incredible life. Why don't they find me that job?
India Priestley:We're doing the right thing, yeah, and like the three or, I did this six months and, yeah, in the six months I earned more than what I was earning working two full-time jobs on the Gold Coast and then I had a six months off to travel. So I think that fine balance is just like I've found my balance now. It's like I sort of like to do, say, four weeks on four weeks off, two months on two months off. Last year I knew I was going to do sort of the Perth to Darwin, and I wanted a solid amount of time for that.
India Priestley:So I did pretty well back-to-back contracts. I think I did a month and then another three months. Oh no, it was two months, one month and three months down in Bunbury. So I sort of had like almost six months of solid work, but in between I also had like two weeks off, or four weeks off. But it was more consistently like it was six months. This year I've been a little bit slack. I've sort of worked like four months since last financial year and I'm like oh, get there.
Sam Miklos:What are you doing? Do? You know, though, like when you think about it, there's so much conversation around like the lack of the ability for frontline workers to get that work-life balance, but I think when you don't think about the fact that you could go out and do these local roles, like you said, you can earn so much more money but then also get that bit more balance.
Sam Miklos:And you know, I think we see a lot of people that feel that burnout sometimes in the city hospitals and doing this actually just they sort of fall back in love with the profession in a whole new way.
India Priestley:Yeah, I definitely, definitely. I took six, oh, I took four months off hospital nursing when I created the Gold Coast and I was so burnt out. I really didn't like my job. I was um, it was a quite a quarter life crisis. But I was on the way because I was like I don't know, like I've spent three years of my life working towards this degree, I've had two years of full-time work and I really didn't like it and I didn't like going. Like I enjoyed the people that I worked with, but I was like this isn't for me, took some time off and like I never knew I wanted to be a nurse, I was like, oh, maybe I'll just go into something else, like I'll find another career, I'll go work another job and I'll just get out of nursing. Like maybe it isn't for me, because I've seen a lot of people leaving the profession, which is really sad because it is.
India Priestley:I genuinely reckon, doing agency has completely changed my perspective.
India Priestley:Like I love my job and when I get a placement and I get to go back to work, like I'm so excited and I think that's what some people don't get anymore, because you're burnt out, you're working overtime, like you're hustling so hard, working full-time and obviously people need that because they've got families, they've got other commitments, um, and I'm so lucky because I'm like I like when I have a placement and I have four weeks off, I'm like get all the jitters.
India Priestley:I'm like I'm so excited I get to go back to work. Like I get to. You know, the first few days I'm like, oh, I feel a bit of a dud, like I don't really know what I'm doing. And then it all comes back in and I'm like sweet, like it's so, it's so nice to sort of like go back to work and I know like I'm gonna look forward to it. And on the shitty days where it's just really busy or it's just like hectic, and you're like, oh, and if I went back to a permanent job? And it's a shit day, you're like, oh, I have to come back.
Sam Miklos:You better come back and do it again. But I'm like with agency.
India Priestley:I'm like you know what, I can have a shit day.
Sam Miklos:I have a lot of good days, so yeah, yeah do you um like, do you see yourself taking this trophy overseas and going international like once you've once you've done Australia, yeah?
India Priestley:so I'm sort of at a crossroads in the minute you're at that point now, like what happened now and come Augustust. I was actually talking to becky the other day.
Sam Miklos:I was just gonna say should we cut this out for becky?
India Priestley:what we talked about, becky, because I was like I'm free, I had to work out my dates. I spoke for a couple of weeks.
India Priestley:I was like I'll let you know, and so I worked out my dates yesterday. So once I finish fun off queensland and I'm gonna hopefully drive the trip to east Arnhem just to have a couple of weeks exploring my life in Australia is, like, officially done, so it's taken me, it'll be three and a half years and I'd love to go overseas. Like I think that's sort of at a point in my career where you know, go work in New Zealand and you can work in Canada as well, but it's also like I love what I've done now and I have a really, really good work-life balance now. So I don't know whether I'd get the same thing overseas. Like I'd love to do it for the experience and the exposure. Like I think that's something that you'd never get. But also at the same time I'm like would I be better of staying in Australia and maybe going into like a mid?
Sam Miklos:like I'd love to do my midwifery and things like that, just to have like a broader scope especially coming remote.
India Priestley:Yes, I was going to say if you're remote, that'd be fantastic skills to have. Yeah, because at the moment, like I know the bare minimum I can fumble my way through. But I'm like it'd be really, and then you know placement wise, to have like the RN experience as well as a mid experience is really really beneficial. I think you sort of open up I thought I opened up a whole other can of worms coming around, but then there's the iron and iron rolls that you can slide into a lot easier too.
Kate Coomber:How incredible to have so many options and opportunities. I think you've obviously just done some really. I guess, deep digging over the last couple of years and that must have been so hard. But look where you've come now and the experiences you've had, with so many more ahead of you. Like it's so very exciting and I think it's just. You're such a good role model for what else is available, you know I speak to universities sometimes and they're often saying that people don't know what's available to them.
Kate Coomber:They think they have to go work in a local hospital you know it's really so great that you can share this story so that we can share it with others and inspire people For your time. Today, CMR is donating $500 to a charity of your choice. Where? Are we sending that money to today.
India Priestley:So I sort of thought about it when I was figuring out, like I didn't really know what to do, and I've decided I'm going to throw it towards Red Dust. I don't know if you guys have heard.
Kate Coomber:We do know Red Dust. We've done some work with them. We worked with them last year. Oh, probably. I love that you've chosen them?
Sam Miklos:Tell us why.
India Priestley:So they, when I was up on the island on my first stint up here, it was sort of like I had no idea like I'd worked from remote hospitals, but coming up to an Indigenous community, um, I've definitely found my passion, I suppose, in Indigenous nursing. I think it is some of the most like special things you can do. Like and the people that work in these communities are absolute legends, like they're some of the best people that you'll meet, because there's a lot of like. It's just a different type of, it's a different world up here. Um, and trying to explain that to people, and yeah, so I met Red Dust.
India Priestley:They came to the school for a week and the kids put on like a fashion show and they're done like, because I went to the school, um, when they were doing it and they were painting, they did all their hats, they like drawn their hats, and then they had like tie-dye shirts and they put on this full like fashion show and I remember just sitting there and I had like the sorest cheeks. I was like this is the most beautiful thing and you know, I've done some research about them and I think they're just one of the best. You know, they're supporting the small communities. They're putting money into places that really make a difference and seeing the kids light up like the school attendance was incredible because everyone wanted to go to school that week, and I think it's just I don't know. I think it's a really good company to support they. Obviously, you know, they do a really good job in all sort of like in heaps of different ways, as well so no, that's such a good choice.
Sam Miklos:Before we wrap up, can you just elaborate? Then you said if I could so hard to explain the role of Indigenous nursing, can you explain it a little bit, because it is really hard to um to explain and for someone to understand what that role looks like, because I think it's really important yeah so.
India Priestley:I think a lot of the time there is a big language barrier and I sort of it's a different type of nursing altogether. A lot of Indigenous people have a lot of sacred parts of them so you know they don't sometimes are not open as a stranger. Like it takes a few times to actually build a trust with them, not so much that they're wary, but it's like at the end of the day I'm coming like I feel privileged that I get to come onto their land, I get to help them. A lot of the time there's you know, medication management and like pain management and things like that, and trying to explain that to them in the way you know the importance of hygiene, the importance of you know for the babies, their feeding routine and sleep patterns and things like that.
India Priestley:I think there's a big misconception like it can be really quite difficult to share with locals. Like one of the locals here, english is like his eighth language, so he speaks to me. He's like you sound like you're not even speaking English, like I can't understand you sometimes. So I think it's just it's a whole different scope and the way that you speak to them and it's a lot less. I think hospitals can be very like sterile, I suppose it's a very clean environment and it's. You know, treating other people and then treating indigenous people is like, completely like how their bodies and how their souls are connected to land is completely different to how we are, I suppose.
India Priestley:So, yeah, it's been a big culture shock definitely to sort of learn like your barriers and how you even approach someone in the community and things like that. I think that's been something and I would never have learned that because I didn't even know it existed on the Gold Coast, like you just didn't, it just didn't happen. Like that, because I didn't even know it existed on the Gold Coast. Like you just didn't, it just didn't happen. I didn't see this type of connection to country or like going out hunting and you know all that sort of thing, and like you try and communicate what's really important health-wise, but in a way that's easy to understand for them. You know you can push it on someone but again, you can't make them change their mind.
India Priestley:They have to make that change for themselves and I think that's, you know, really cool to then like see them come back in a couple of weeks time or, you know, their blood pressure's come down. You're like you've been taking your tablets. You know the importance of this, like this is good, yeah, and for them to learn.
Sam Miklos:Though. All of this you said that about, you've had to learn so much. Like have you done courses? Have you had to learn in each community you've gone to?
India Priestley:yeah, so I did my post through Flinders. I did a grad cert in rural and remote health practice, right, um, and I had like a week-long intensive in Alice and then, like two of the subjects were basically about like cultural appropriation and, um, you know, like treating an Indigenous person in a way that's respectful for yourself and both them. Um, and you know how to cross those barriers of like languages and how to explain things to them up here. Like you know a lot of places they'll teach you, like a local, you know a local language or, but here there's a bit difficult because there's so many, but they have like certain words and you can speak to them or you know, you can say things in a way. That's I don't know they sort of teach you as well. Like a lot of our local workers here are obviously all Indigenous and you know you spend some time with them and it's nice because they sort of like teach you.
India Priestley:Last time I was here I went out mud crabbing or they'll take you to the local palm and just say you can eat this. It's like I don't want to eat the red bush fruit, like what are you giving me? But it's that trust that you have and I think it's, it's super special, like it's genuinely that connection that you get, and then you know the connection there's, like ceremonies and things. It's you listen and you watch and you know you ask questions and most of the time they're super open about it. They're happy to answer your questions, they're happy to be. You know, if you're open to them and learning about their culture, they are just as responsive to you.
India Priestley:So I think as long as I, you know, I did my postgrad and that helped me sort of understand the foundations of it, and then from there it's literally just been like a talking to them, like speaking to their elders, speaking to the community members. As people come in and you treat them, you're like, oh, you just ask little questions here and there. You know you can see what's going on and I think it's a big. You have to be so open-minded to it because if you come into a space like this, like this is their land, this is their home, it would be the exact same if I went into anybody's home in any other place and you're like this is how I'm going to do it, this is what's going to happen. They would tell you to yeah, see you later.
India Priestley:So it's just like the way. I think it's just a different sort of, it's a mindset, I suppose, just to be able to switch that and be like, no, this is what's going to happen. Like, if you want to do this, let's work together. It's a lot more, you know, collaborative, yeah. So I suppose it's just like you educate yourself and then you expose yourself. I suppose exposure, you know just getting used to it and being so like, so open-minded to it. Nothing surprises me anymore. Put it that way.
Sam Miklos:Okay, indy, we could literally talk to you all day, and I'm conscious someone's probably going to bust through that door behind you. That's okay.
Kate Coomber:The clinic's probably about due to open. Let's give your Instagram a hug. Yes, I'll just give what's your Instagram and your TikTok.
India Priestley:Let's give your um. Let's give your instagram. Yes, what's what's your instagram and your tiktok? Yeah, so they're both um at it's in ep. So that's. You can find me on instagram and tiktok. If anyone wants to ask me questions, I'm happy to oblige. I'm super open about it and how I got here and my journey sort of completely yeah, changed my life like massively in so many ways. So, yeah, I always love that. I think that's why I've been a big advocate of trying agency nursing and I think I've probably sent hundreds of people your way there.
India Priestley:I know I send them Becky's email.
Sam Miklos:I'm like, I'm sorry, becky, like I've just sent another another one another one she would be ever so grateful and I think it's lovely to just see that, um, just that lovely bond that you've created around the country and, yeah, pulling in that cornerstone community. It's really lovely to see you helping us to grow that community and and make an impact all over the country. So thank you so very much for your time today. We have loved talking to you. Yeah, we look forward to hearing about the next step of the adventure for you. We'll be following Stay tuned, I suppose.
Sam Miklos:I don for you. We'll be following. Stay tuned, I don't know what's gonna happen. We might have to have you on season two. Yeah, part two, exactly. Oh, awesome. Thank you so much for your time today.
India Priestley:That's okay, thanks for having me.
Sam Miklos:Thank you thank you for joining us for this episode of it takes heart. We hope you have been inspired by these incredible stories. It can never be underestimated the impact that these health professionals make. If you know someone who really needs to hear this episode, we thank you for sharing it with them now. Rating and reviewing this podcast makes a massive difference and it helps us to build the podcast to cover more stories, but it also helps to expose these wonderful stories to an even broader audience. Thank you so much for taking that little moment to click the follow or subscribe button. That ensures that you are never lost trying to find the next episode. We look forward to bringing you another impact landing episode of it takes heart.
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