Saudi promises scholarships to plug nurse gap

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health has announced funding for 1,000 nursing scholarships, in a bid to address the shortage of specialist nurses in the Kingdom.

The authority has reserved spots on nursing degrees in Jordan, Australia, the US, the UK and Bahrain, for candidates to pursue specialist training.

The Ministry is also offering further training to nurses who have graduated from medical colleges within the Kingdom.

Saudi Arabia's health service is critically understaffed in areas including neonatal, intensive care, emergency care and paediatrics; disciplines that typically require candidates to undergo extended additional training.

However, Dr Munira Al-Osaimi, general director of nursing at the Ministry, said the overseas course slots have been selected for convenience rather than the quality of the degree on offer.

"Some countries only offer specialist courses to their citizens. So we usually choose countries that have courses that are easy to get on to and are accredited here," she said.

The announcements are part of a widespread campaign to attract more national nurses to Saudi's healthcare workforce. Saudiisation plans, announced last year, dictate that the country's nursing workforce must demonstrate a 60% national majority in the next five years.

Al-Osaimi said the Ministry planned to offer courses in specialties that have been flagged by national hospitals as being particularly understaffed. Nursing scholarships will also be available for national candidates at King Saud University.