Rural round-up: Are you a rural hero?
The “Rural Heroes Project” arose out of a desire to celebrate the
stories of people who have inspired us, whose work has had significant
impact on our countries’ or even global health, and who have come from
or worked in rural communities around the world. At the WONCA World Rural Health Conference in Dubrovnik we made the
first presentations of stories of some of your rural heroes. Two of
those stories (
Andrija Štampar and Alex MacLeod) are shared in this month's WONCA News.
Are you a rural hero too?? ... take the Rural Health Hero test designed by Jo Scott-Jones of New Zealand.
Rural Health Hero Test
(after ZeFrank)
It is safe here. Imagine .. we are surrounded by a soundproof glass bubble that protects us from all outside, only you and I are here and you and I can be honest with each other without fear. This test is designed to show if you are a rural health hero or not. Your only task is to answer honestly, by sitting down if the answer to the question is “yes”.
Have you ever trodden in cow faeces on your way to a home visit?
It’s OK. You are with friends.
Have you ever been chased up a gravel path by a goat, goose, dog, cow or chicken?
Have you ever fallen over a wire fence at the scene of an accident and heard police, ambulance and fireman laugh?
It is OK, you are with friends here, you are a rural health hero
Have you ever been on a home visit and had to have your car rescued by a tractor because it fell off the side of the road because the road was narrow and your reversing skills too poor?
Have you ever fought with a manager or government official over the future of a service to your community?
Yes. You are a rural health hero.
Have you ever tried to match up skin edges ragged by a chainsaw?
Have you ever fallen asleep in front of a patient on a warm afternoon after a busy weekend on call?
Have you ever spent an a fternoon persuading a patient the trip to town to get healthcare is worth it?
Have you ever seen a man, a barn, a gun, his blood and brains?
Have you comforted a spouse in a kitchen left behind to deal with the debts?
Be calm, you are safe here, you are a rural health hero.
Has your spouse ever been asked by a stranger in the street if you have the results of their Chest X-ray?
Have you ever sat at a family dinner party with your friend and his wife who you have just treated for an STI that he caught from someone who is not at the party?
Have you seen someone’s inner thigh in the cereal aisle of the local shop?
You are safe here. It is OK. You are with friends.
Do you live in a most beautiful house? Is the view from your window amazing? Do you breathe clean air and walk in forests, fields, beaches, or mountains after work?
Have you ever thought yours was the best job in the world?
Have you ever wondered what will happen next and smiled?
It’s Ok, I see you have all passed the test, well done, you are all rural health heroes.
Download Rural Hero test Read about the Rural Heroes ProjectRead report of meeting of the WONCA Working Party on Rural Practice held recently in Dubrovnik