Prudence Wheelwrigh FLYING NURSE to the rescue

THIS TRAVELLING NURSE PUTS HER HEART AND SAFETY ON THE LINE DAILY

-  Jodie Wolf

Prue Wheelwright, 37, never wanted to be a nurse, admitting that as a teen she thought it was all “bedpans and hospitals and no fun at all”. At the age of 18, she took off abroad to explore Europe, and, in her absence, her mum filled out her university application on her behalf as she didn’t know what she wanted to do with her future.

Despite having no desire to pursue it as a career, Prue found herself studying a teaching and nursing degree, including midwifery, when she returned to Australia. To the surprise of everyone, including herself, she “fell in love” with it. After qualifying and working as a nurse, Wheelwright went on to become a midwife in 2012 and then a flight nurse as part of the Flying Doctor Service.

“I work very closely with the pilots and generally it’s only the pilot and myself on the plane with the patient,” she explains to WHO about her unusual career. “It combines my love of travel, adventure, flying, remote work, Indigenous health and a lot of passions in my life into one job.”

Wheelwright has travelled extensively for both work and pleasure. Besides Europe, she has spent time in Africa and Saudi Arabia, as well as heading “out bush” to Alice Springs with “no real understanding or interest in Indigenous health”. There, she found another of her callings which saw her living remotely within Indigenous communities as the sole caregiver in Central Australia.