JEDDAH, 8 December 2004 — Around 450 medical personnel from all over the Kingdom and the Gulf countries attended the opening session of a two-day conference titled “The challenges of today for Saudi nursing” here yesterday.
Organized by King Abdul Aziz National Guard Medical City in Jeddah, the conference at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry will discuss nursing education, nursing specialization, and nursing skill competency besides a host of other topics. “Some of the main challenges we face here is the manpower shortage, professionalism of nurses, shortage in training nurses and not having any in-service training for the nurses in all the hospitals,” said Dr. Amina Bargawi, chairwoman of the Saudi Nursing Advancement Plan Committee.
“We also have a problem with the attitude of some nurses and some have low self-image so we try to make them proud of what they do and raise their morale,” she told Arab News.
Participants included doctors, nurses and nursing students from universities and colleges. There were three times as many women as men, which reflects the overwhelming presence of women in the field. “The reason we don’t have as many men in nursing as women is that we don’t have one nursing college for men from which they can graduate,” said Dr. Bargawi. However, Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeia, executive general director of medical affairs at the National Guard, said that there are plans to open a college for men within two years.
“I don’t think there is anymore that negative perception of nurses in our society and that is apparent from the huge number of applicants we receive every year,” said Dr. Ilham Sindi, director of nursing at the Health College in Riyadh.
Although the health colleges offer other training programs, she said that around 80% of the applicants chose nursing. The college selects applicants with a high school degree who graduated with a minimum of 75% grade average. “We receive applicants with averages that are in the eighties and nineties so we end up taking the applicants with no less than 85%,” she told Arab News. The applicants also have to pass an exam and an interview, which evaluates the applicant’s interest, attitude, goals and their reaction after being told of what being a nurse entails. One of the main things that attract applicants to nursing is the job guarantee at the Ministry of Health and the good salaries. There were some concerns raised during the conference about the nurses’ level of English because that affects their communication with doctors and in accessing resources.
“Our English programs during the first year are intense and it has improved through the years so that by the time they graduate they are excellent in English,” said Dr. Sindi.
The health colleges in the Kingdom also began private coaching in the evening and it is another chance for applicants to enter.
“I was encouraged by my family to go into nursing and we haven’t had any problems,” said Marwah Abid, a second year nursing student at Dar Al-Hekma private college for girls in Jeddah. Her colleagues Norah Al-Dosari and Abeer Atawi agree and feel that there is a change of attitude in society toward nurses. “While we are training at King Faisal Specialist Hospital, many of the patients and staff encourage us and support us when they know we are Saudi,” said Norah. “Our instructor told us that it is up to us to change people’s perception by the way we behave and dress,” said Abeer.
