The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners

What is the scope of Rural Hospital Medicine?

Rural hospital medicine is determined by its social context, the rural environment: the demands of which include professional and geographic isolation, limited resources and special cultural and sociological factors. It is invariably practiced at a distance from comprehensive specialist medical and surgical services and investigations.

A broad generalist set of skills, knowledge and attitudes are needed to deliver optimum patient outcomes in rural hospitals. Unlike rural general practice, rural hospital medicine is orientated to secondary care, is responsive rather than anticipatory and does not continue over time.

What is a Rural Hospital?

A rural hospital is staffed by suitably trained and experienced generalists, who take full clinical responsibility for a wide range of clinical presentations. While resident specialists may also work in these hospitals, cover is limited in scope or less than full time. 

There is considerable variation in rural hospitals across New Zealand in the level of service provided, staffing, diagnostic and other support services. Much of that variation is an appropriate response to the variation in the needs of rural communities based on their geography and social and cultural composition.

Rural Hospital Facilities