Careers in rural allied health

Discover the range of rural allied health careers

If you're interested in helping people, but a career in nursing or medicine isn’t for you, allied health may be an ideal fit.

Feel the impact of your work every day, from supporting someone’s recovery after an injury to helping a child communicate. You can change someone’s life with a career in allied health.

Allied health professionals are in demand and there are many employment opportunities across regional and rural settings.

Living and working in regional South Australia allows you to gain valuable experience and enjoy work-life balance, be part of a close-knit community, and work in a world-class health system one day and explore our regions the next.

Explore rural allied health careers with the people who are living them here in the short videos below.

Allied health assistant

Provide patient support and care working under the supervision of allied health professionals. Watch the below video for more information about a career as a rural allied health assistant:

Dietitian

Understand how nutrition affects the body and give expert dietary advice to treat a range of health conditions. Watch this video for more information about a rural career as a dietitian:

Medical scientist

Perform laboratory tests on blood and other body fluids and tissues to assist in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease. Get information about a rural career as a medical scientist in the following video:

Occupational therapist

Help people with physical or mental health conditions participate in activities they find meaningful and be as independent as possible. Watch the below video for more information about a rural career as an occupational therapist:

Orthotist / prothetist

Provide splints, braces and artificial limbs to increase mobility and independence for people experiencing illness or disability. Watch the below video for more information about a rural career in orthotics / prosthetics:

Pharmacist

Provide expert advice to patients and health professionals on the safe and effective use of medication. Watch the below videos for more information about a career as a rural pharmacist:

Physiotherapist

Diagnose, treat and manage health conditions involving bones, muscles, nerves, the cardiovascular system and other systems of the body. Watch the below video for more information about a rural career as a physiotherapist:

Podiatrist

Prevent, diagnose, treat and rehabilitate foot and lower limb problems. Watch the below video for more information about a rural career as a podiatrist:

Psychologist

Be an expert in human behaviour and help people change the way they think, feel, behave and react. Watch the below video for more information about a career as a rural psychologist:

Radiography / medical imaging

Produce high quality medical images (e.g. X-ray, MRI and CT scans) that assist other health professionals to describe, diagnose, monitor and treat a patient’s injury or illness. Watch the below videos for more information about a career as a rural radiographer:

Social worker

Support people to make change in their lives to improve their personal and social well-being, by identifying issues that require change and connecting people with other supports. Watch the below video for more information about a rural career as a social worker:

Speech pathologist

Diagnose and treat people who have problems communicating, or difficulty swallowing safely. Watch the below video for more information about a career as a rural speech pathologist:

Allied health rural student placements

Are you already studying or looking to study, in an allied health field? See more in the below video about what it’s like to participate in allied health rural student placements.

Looking to take the next step?

Step into the world of allied health and get a feel for different careers that make a real difference on ‘Virtual Intern’ with allied health online work experience: https://virtualintern.com.au/alliedhealthsa/
Take the leap into allied health careers through university study with a bachelor or masters degree, or become an allied health assistant through vocational education and on-the-job training.

For more information

For further information, e-mail HealthRSSAlliedHealth@sa.gov.au
sahealth.sa.gov.au/regionalhealth | Telephone: (08) 7117 9289

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Last updated: 22 Aug 2024