In rural and remote areas of Australia, multidisciplinary team members have an exponential willingness to expand and adapt their practice to the needs of rural and remote communities. Nurses in particular faced a wide and diverse range of health problems in medically unserved areas of rural Australia. Ideally, primary healthcare is the center of the healthcare system. Secondary and tertiary service support systems are developed and implemented to support primary levels of healthcare. In rural and remote health services, current guidance is the opposite of those who work and live in urban/metropolitan areas of Australia. (_________________________). Inadequate staffing and skill levels, sub-standard facilities, inadequate supplies, high staff turnover and difficulties with communications and transport are characteristics of rural and remote health services (Kerr1991; Kreger, 1991; The Hospitals and Health Services Association of New South Wales, 1988). The Commonwealth Government's Social Justice Strategy Statement (1990-91:4) states that “a vital requirement for all people is access to quality health services”. Recognition of this statement shows that access to health services is not a reality for the entire population, for example Aboriginal and remote rural residents (Rural Health Strategy, 1991; B. Howe cited in Collins, 1991; National Aboriginal Health Strategy, 1988). The vast majority of residents in rural/remote areas live in conditions of social hardship and poverty where even the most basic human needs may be scarce. Basic needs such as clean water, adequate food, shelter and personal safety cannot be guaranteed (Atkinson, 1990; National Aboriginal Health Strategy Working P...... half of document ......lConsumption (for males ); • 1.15 times more likely to be overweight and obese; and • 1.30 times more likely to have high blood pressure (Coleen Koh, February 2011, National Rural Health Alliance, Health Promotion in Rural Australia, Fact sheet). 5 (Page 2)) Insights gained from years of data analysis are indicative of the need for change. Nurses alone cannot be expected to change a set of socially acceptable norms and change the lifestyles of communities in rural areas. The task must be undertaken by numerous healthcare organizations and the entire multidisciplinary team in both urban and rural centers, the will to change and the ability to change the socially acceptable lifestyles of a nation is not an easy task and not one to be taken lightly. The full potential of nurses in remote and rural areas is not being utilised.