Speaking at a National Dialogue event (a regular town-hall style meeting that occurs in various parts of the Kingdom to promote public dialogue on various important issues) in Najran that is currently taking place, Abo-Zanada called for a national council on nursing to promote the profession.
Abo-Zanada said there are two major reasons why Saudi women quit the profession. The first reason is misunderstanding of what the job entails. The second reason is the social stigma and lack of familial support Saudi women get when they decide to enter the field.
“Both reasons make quitting the job a fast decision,” said Abo-Zanada, who pointed out that the nursing sector in Saudi Arabia, which is dominated by foreign workers, comprises half of the health-care work force. Furthermore, she added, approximately 80 percent of the contact patients have with health care professionals is with nursing professionals.
Abo-Zanada also underscored the importance of placing a high social value on nursing staff — as well as providing quality human resource training — in order to reduce the number of incidences of medical malpractice.
“Developing programs will limit mistakes and/or prevent them from happening at all,” she said.
