Bush nursing has Laura hooked

And 23-year-old registered nurse Laura Wilson is no different.

So when given the opportunity to start her full-time career off with a six-month posting at Cunnamulla in south-west Queensland, the confident blonde "jumped straight in".

That was the start of last year.

Now, one year on, Laura is still working at Cunnamulla and couldn't be happier.

"I always wanted to go out west after finishing my studies in Toowoomba," Laura said.

"I just applied for south-west Queensland and I got Cunnamulla.

"At the start I was definitely a bit anxious, but it has all worked out - it's really a great place to live and work."

After spending close to a decade gaining her education in Toowoomba - boarding at Fairholme College for secondary and completing her nursing studies at the University of Southern Queensland - moving to a town with a population of 1500 people took some getting used to.

"I knew it could've been very isolating and lonely so I took advantage of it," Laura said.

"I got involved in the community straight away."

That wasn't hard for the friendly nurse, who said a new colleague signed her up for a basketball team as soon as she arrived.

"You'll find there are actually lots of young people out here, like nurses and teachers," she said.

"There are also heaps of events on so it's not so isolating."

Laura loves the job so much that she had no hesitation in accepting an offer to stay on at Cunnamulla despite original plans to rotate to St George, almost 300 kilometres east of the town.

"I did weigh it up because I could be going to a bigger hub, but I've learnt a lot in Cunnamulla with the community here," she said.

"They also have a lot of indigenous mental health issues, which I'm really interested in."

Like many rural nurses, in her time in Cunnamulla Laura has had to deal with car and motorbike accidents, heart attacks, cardiac arrests, snake bites, substance abuse and even a camel bite.

Laura said she liked that the job was a lot more personal than city postings may allow.

"You get to know the patients,their history and their family," she said.

Laura has always been a country girl and said returning to the bush was always on the cards.

The eldest of five children, Laura grew up on a family property called Goangra, near Walgett in northern New South Wales.

Her father was a farmer and her mother a registered nurse.

In 2000, the family moved to Meandarra for 10 years before relocating to Wando, near Cecil Plains.

Though Laura's mother is now retired from nursing, helping her father on their irrigated cropping property, Laura said she had an impact on her decision to follow the same career path.

"My mum was a nurse and I just always really wanted to do it," Laura said.

"There's always lots of good job opportunities and travel; you can get jobs anywhere at any stage in life.

"I'm also a big people person and love to talk to people," she laughed.

It seems Laura isn't the only one her mother inspired to pursue nursing.

Laura's youngest sister, Anna, is about to start her degree in nursing at the University of Queens-land in Brisbane this year.

As for Laura, she has future plans to travel to do her mid-wifery and then hopes to work overseas in India.

Until then, she plans to stick it out at Cunnamulla.

"I've had a really good year. It's had its challenges," she said.

"But just the diversity of what you come across, you learn so much more.

"[Rural nursing] is a great way to further your nursing career and you get to work with a really good team."