Today, on International Nurses Day, we celebrate our dedicated aeromedical and primary health care nurses who continue to adapt, innovate and advocate for better health access and outcomes across Queensland.
Back in 1991, the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) (Queensland Section) employed six founding nurses based in Cairns, Mount Isa and Charleville.
Now, 34 years on, RFDS Nurse Practitioner Maree Cummins and RFDS Flight Nurse (Midwifery) Susan Markwell are still serving with the Flying Doctor.
From the very beginning, they have witnessed the organisation expand from six nurses to more than 100 nurses in aeromedical and primary health care across the state. We now also have Nurse Practitioners and nurses in many other roles including clinical governance, mental health, and data analytics.
“Before this time, nurses were commissioned from the Division of Maternal and Child Health to assist RFDS doctors on emergency aeromedical retrievals and at remote clinics,” Maree said.
“I had kept in touch with the RFDS because I heard that they were thinking of employing their own nurses, and then six positions became available.”
RFDS Flight Nurse Supervisor Suzanne Hood was the first nurse employed by RFDS (Queensland Section) and was tasked to recruit Susan Markwell and Carmel Bannon in Cairns, Suzanne Vanderberg and Maree Cummins in Mount Isa and Helen Balmain in Charleville.
Back then, they shared a rotating roster which included being on-call 24/7 for aeromedical retrievals and primary health care clinic shifts from Monday to Friday.
The clinics were facilitated in rural towns, Aboriginal communities, at stations, on airstrips, at the mines and on island resorts, and all of the nurses were qualified to provide child health clinics and immunisations.
“I can remember mothers would line up for hours to have their children seen by the RFDS nurse,” Susan said.
"Some days we would see up to 30-40 babies.
“We offered screening assessments, delivered medications, collected pathology samples, coordinated chronic disease care, provided health education and health prevention.
“The mothers always felt very comfortable with us.”
Starting with such a small team, our founding nurses were taught to be resourceful when providing holistic healthcare to people in the bush.
“Being a flight nurse with the RFDS was the highlight of my whole nursing career,” Suzanne said.
“I enjoyed the camaraderie, the variety of work, and we worked hard.
“We witnessed a tremendous amount of change too. We saw the introduction of new equipment, new aircraft, standardisation, improved services and were heavily involved with the establishment of the new bases. It was a really exciting and rewarding time.”
Since then, the RFDS (Queensland Section) has expanded from three bases to nine and has grown its services beyond aeromedical retrievals to include inter-facility patient transfers, primary health care clinics, mental health consultations, telehealth and oral health.
Despite the changes, Susan and Maree said they will always remember how grateful rural and remote communities are for the service.
“To be able to pick up the phone and speak to a doctor is very important to them,” Susan said.
“There’s a great sense of satisfaction working for the RFDS and the view from your office window changes every day.
"It’s an excellent choice of career.”
Not just today, but every day the Flying Doctor recognises and celebrates the six founding nurses who played an incredible role in the oganisation’s near 100-year history.
