Historical imagination and issues in rural and remote area nursing

Objective Using issues in rural and remote area nursing as the example, this paper explores how nurses can use their historical imagination in considering professional issues today. Setting Rural and remote area nursing. Primary argument Historical imagination is the creative capacity to imagine possibilities of engaging with the past. Historical imagination in nursing has the potential to help nurses address current professional issues. Points of familiarity with the past can show nurses which issues are enduring and which are transient. A sense of familiarity can bring strength, encouragement and comfort. Points of difference can show nurses that problems are not necessarily permanent or can be dealt with differently. This paper uses aspects of the history of bush nursing in Australia to illustrate how nurses in rural and remote area nursing today could use their historical imagination in addressing current issues. It explores points of familiarity and difference between issues faced by bush nurses in the past and current issues in the international literature. Ways of using historical imagination in rural and remote area nursing recruitment are considered to illustrate the process. Conclusions As the example of engaging with the history of bush nursing in Australia attempts to demonstrate, nurses can use their historical imagination to identify points of familiarity and difference with the past to prompt a shift in thinking and strengthen creativity in addressing current issues.