On being a rural origin health care professional: lives, learnings and practice.
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Date
2016
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Abstract
Rural origin health care professionals (HCPs) have been identified as those who are most likely to work in rural
areas after graduation. However, there are significant challenges of access, selection and throughput for South
African rural students wanting to train as HCPs. Many studies have focused on strategies for staffing rural
healthcare facilities. However a life history approach has not previously been used to study the educational
experiences of rural origin HCPs in South Africa, and there is a paucity of data about the lived personal and
professional educational experiences of rural origin HCPs and their experiences of returning to work in rural
areas after graduation. A deeper understanding of these issues using a life history approach may help in
supporting rural origin students and contribute to improved staffing levels at rural healthcare institutions.
Social identity theory and a generative understanding of rurality provided the theoretical framing for this study.
A life history approach complemented by arts-based methods generated stories through which to gain an
understanding of the complex, multidimensional, multi-layered lives of HCPs who grew up in rural areas, their
personal lives in relation to others, and the context in which they grew up (time, person and place).
Their developing identity is seen in their performances through the choices they make in response to everyday
situations. Their learning experiences are complex and reveal that as active and critical thinkers they adopted a
range of strategies to succeed at institutions of higher learning, and found platforms and communities to develop
as those with knowledge and agency to change/challenge dominant and stereotypical ways of being. They
demonstrate their willingness and ability to work in rural contexts, leading transformation in the healthcare
setting.
The findings of this study point to a new understanding of rurality – that of home and a sense of belonging where
the possibility for better healthcare services exists. A junctional hub is presented as a theoretical ‘model’ to
frame lived experiences and to understand rural origin HCPs’ personal and professional identity and work in a
complex, interconnected, negotiated space where different forces are negotiated. This provides a platform to
open up the opportunity for other ways of being, knowing and practising.
Description
Doctor of Philosophy in Education. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 2016.
Keywords
Theses - Education.