Nursing is a noble profession and is steadily gaining popularity with Saudi women who are increasingly taking up the vocation to serve humanity.

The first International Nursing Conference to support this profession and to exchange ideas and experiences was held with the participation of more than 600 nurses in Jeddah recently.

Dr. Yousef Al-Essa of King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences for Educational Affairs inaugurated the international event on behalf of Dr. Bandar bin Abdul Mohsin Al-Qanawi, the executive director general of National Guard Health Affairs and director of King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences on Tuesday.

The International Nursing Conference under the theme “Clinical education and learning in nursing and health sciences,” was organized by the College of Nursing at the King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences Branch, Jeddah.

The main objective of the conference was to provide opportunities for scientific education, training of research within the academic environment, latest developments, techniques and modern teaching to produce the best and most competent people in the health sector who could save the community and the country.

The vision of the university is to entrench education in the field of nursing on the basis of systematic thinking and to establish a scientific method of addressing the issues.

Dr. Taqwa Omar dean of the College of Nursing at the King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Jeddah indicated that the nursing profession has a distinguished history.

Dr. Omar said that clinical education has now changed a lot in terms of its mechanisms of learning, teaching and working, adding that the objective of the College of Nursing in Jeddah is to pursue excellence as an educational center on the local International levels.

She further said that they want to establish the best institute in the world in the field of nursing education, clinical application, scientific research, community service and to play a leading role in the development of the nursing profession in order to improve the quality of nursing and health care in the Kingdom.

Dr. Mansour Al-Qurashi, associate dean for Graduate Studies and Academic Affairs at the King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, also said that nursing is a humanitarian profession and Saudi nurses have an effective role to play as they represent an important part of society in the field of medical services. He said that the King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences proves that Saudi nurses are the best and deserve all the respect and appreciation.

Dr. Yousef Al-Essa said that he does not have any doubts that the university administration made excellent initiatives by organizing the event and provided an opportunity to exchange information and experiences and take advantage of the developments in health sciences and nursing.

“We hope the outcomes of this event with recommendations and results serve the objectives and support the development of nursing education and training programs academically, scientifically and technologically and also highlight the educational programs of clinical health sciences.

The International keynote speakers were Jane Watson, Dr. Karen Morin and Dr. Pamela Jeffries.