Outback Nurse's Videos Inspire 100K to Consider Remote Work

Hamish Briggs trades skyscrapers for red dirt and brings 100,000 social media followers along for the journey.

The Kalgoorlie native works as a nurse across Western Australia's remote Indigenous communities, documenting his adventures in places like Balgo and Bidyadanga, more than 3,000 kilometers north of Perth. His TikTok and Instagram accounts burst with the raw reality of outback healthcare: limited resources, no doctors for miles, and life-changing moments that city hospitals never see.

Briggs started nursing after COVID hit, when burnout dominated healthcare conversations. "A lot of nurses didn't want to be nurses anymore; there was a lot of negativity," he said. His response was different: post joy, share victories, celebrate the profession.

That first enthusiastic video resonated. Nurses commented that his energy reminded them why they chose healthcare in the first place. He kept posting nearly every day, documenting each new skill, patient win, and outback sunset.

The timing matters more than Briggs initially realized. Rural Health West reports chronic healthcare workforce shortages across remote WA, creating impossible patient loads and burning out existing staff. The gap hits Indigenous communities hardest, where diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and kidney disease require consistent care that vanishing nurses cannot provide.

Working remotely pushes nurses outside their comfort zones fast. Briggs often serves as the primary healthcare provider with minimal backup and sometimes a 10-hour drive to the nearest town. "You're never going to have the bells and whistles like you do in a hospital," he said. "But it teaches you extraordinary skills you'll never learn anywhere else."

The Ripple Effect

Communities themselves started reaching out through his social media, inviting Briggs to work in their towns and showing interest in being represented online. Facebook proved especially powerful in remote areas, where the platform remains the primary social network and enables direct communication between nurses and communities.

Rural Health West's deputy chief executive Kelli Porter sees social media as a genuine recruitment tool. Limited infrastructure, affordable housing, and childcare make attracting healthcare workers difficult, but many people simply haven't experienced what country life offers. "All forms of media, particularly social media, which is so personable, help reinforce the message and show people what it's like living and working on country," Porter said.

The strategy appears to work. Briggs gained 20,000 Facebook followers in just two months, reaching what he calls "real rough, rugged boomers" alongside younger nurses on TikTok and Instagram.

One nurse at a time, one video at a time, the healthcare gap might finally start closing.