James has been work­ing as a Rur­al LAP locum nurse for just over a year and for him, the expe­ri­ence has been defined by one thing: how well Rur­al LAP looks after its staff. 

“Being a locum isn’t always easy,” James admits. 

“But Rur­al LAP seeks spe­cialised staff and pro­vides them with spe­cialised treatment.” 

James first heard about Rur­al LAP through word of mouth. ​“I’d only ever heard good things,” he says. 

That rep­u­ta­tion rang true when he took on his first placements. 

One high­light was four weeks in St Helens, Tas­ma­nia, in Jan­u­ary 2025. ​“It was an amaz­ing, wel­com­ing facil­i­ty in a spec­tac­u­lar part of Tas­ma­nia dur­ing the best time of year,” he recalls. 

“Rur­al LAP pro­vid­ed fan­tas­tic accom­mo­da­tion and trans­port, which made it such a con­tract to remember.” 

While rur­al locum work can some­times feel iso­lat­ing, James says Rur­al LAP makes sure sup­port is always at hand. 

“The Rur­al LAP pro­gram offi­cers are fan­tas­tic and respon­sive. Just know­ing they’re at the oth­er end of the phone when need­ed is a big help.” 

Prac­ti­cal sup­port also makes a difference.

“A unique inclu­sion of my Rur­al LAP con­tracts has been their endeav­our to pro­vide a hire car. I com­plet­ed a three-month con­tract in Tas­ma­nia last year, and hav­ing access to a car on my days off was hon­est­ly a game-chang­er. It gave me peace of mind and free­dom to explore.” 

Accom­mo­da­tion is anoth­er area where James has noticed a difference. 

“With Rur­al LAP, my requests, like not shar­ing and hav­ing a full-sized fridge, have always been able to be accommodated.” 

James also val­ues the strong rep­u­ta­tion Rur­al LAP nurs­es have in facilities. 

“As an agency nurse of over four years, every con­tract I’ve start­ed with Rur­al LAP, I’ve heard: ​‘We know they send good ones!’ That kind of wel­come means a lot.” 

James’ advice to oth­er nurs­es con­sid­er­ing locum work? 

“Make sure you’ve got a broad skill set and be pre­pared to hit the ground run­ning. After a short time with Rur­al LAP, I’ve found myself striv­ing to rep­re­sent this great organisation.”