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centrality to the social world dictates their position in the health actors’ arena and proximity to the groups contained therein. Without patients, there is no arena or social world; there is no need for their existence. While recognising the central importance of patients in relation to the remote nurses’ social world, this study did not seek ethical approval and did not interview mental health patients. Accordingly, the findings do not contain input from the patients. 7.2.2 Remote general nurses During analysis, it was found that the remote nurses in this study demonstrated four particular characteristics: resourcefulness , resilience , responsiveness and robustness . Throughout this section, the researcher has tagged each nurse’s response as an example of the relevant characteristic. This will assist the reader to identify the justification for one of the major findings, discussed in Chapter 9. Remote nurses support each other. Remote nurses reported that their colleagues are highly valued for their ability to provide assistance; particularly in a mental health crisis presentation. A nurse participant stated: On one level, from your mates [fellow remote nurses]. You know, like if you ask a fellow colleague to help you, yes, no problems. [T7, p. 11] [Responsiveness] The starkest example of the importance of colleagues in supporting each other is those remote nurses who operate single-post primary healthcare centres. Remote nurses in such situations lack the human capital and resources to share the task of providing mental healthcare in the face of unpredictable demand, over a 24 hour cycle. Unsupported, they reported higher levels of workload, stress, vulnerability and burnout. One such participant stated: