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and a broad knowledge base’ (p. 6). Contextualisation of remote nursing requires identifying and describing the influences that shape the role. These influences include: ‘distance from a tertiary referral centre, the size and composition of the team in which nurses work; the prevailing working conditions; and the size and composition of the community for whom nurses care (including ethnicity)’ (Mills et al., 2010, p. 31). While there exist certain factors that make remote nursing unique, there are other factors that directly challenge nurses’ ability to remain in the field. The remote nursing workforce is ageing (Lenthall et al., 2011), and recruitment and retention of remote nurses remains problematic (Francis & Mills, 2011; Hegney et al., 2002), which has negative impacts through the loss of experienced mentors for new remote nurses (Schofield & Beard, 2005). Nurses endure inadequate staffing levels (Dade-Smith, 2004; Kennedy, Patterson & White, 2003), mandatory on-call duties and frequent overtime, which forces them to work the longest hours per week of any nursing workforce cohort (AIHW, 2013; Dade-Smith, 2004; Kennedy et al., 2003). They may also endure professional isolation and limited opportunities for professional development (Dade-Smith, 2004; Eley & Baker, 2007; Kennedy et al., 2003), workplace violence (McCullough et al., 2012; Morrell, 2005), limited supervision and perceived lack of management support (Yuginovich & Hinspeter, 2007) and concerns for personal safety. All of these challenges result in heightened levels of stress (Lenthall et al., 2009). Another significant stressor for remote nurses relates to ‘role conflicts’ (Bushy, 2000, 2002; Paliadelis et al., 2012). Remote nurses working and living in the same community as patients frequently results in a lack of anonymity. Nurses are subject to unsolicited situations where there is blurring of professional boundaries and loss of