In this episode of BluePrint Med Talks, our co-founder Michael Fernandes sits down with Nurse Helen McLeod, who swapped a high-flying corporate career in London for a nursing degree, and eventually rural and remote nursing across Australia.

Helen shares:

• How she went from feeling “soulless” in corporate finance to finding real purpose in nursing.
  
• Wild early-career stories from moving medical supplies through North Africa.
  
• What shocked her most about working in places like Broken Hill, Mount Isa and Blackwater.
  
• The real differences between nursing in New Zealand vs Australia – from base hospitals to mining towns and Indigenous communities.
  
• Why rural nurses have to be “the resource” and how that changes teamwork, decision-making and responsibility.
  
• The truth about staffing, safety, burnout and loneliness on the road, and how she actually looks after her own wellbeing.
  
• Her best advice for city nurses thinking about taking the leap into travel, rural or remote work.

Helen also gets real about resilience, the emotional weight of the job, the moments that changed how she speaks to patients and families, and the case that reminded her exactly why she keeps saying yes to this work.

If you’ve ever wondered what life is really like as a rural or agency nurse in Australia, this is the episode to start with.