Emergency on the wards

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Senior nurses agree that encouraging more locals into nursing and midwifery in countries such as Saudi, the UAE and Qatar is urgently needed. But a deep-rooted belief among many national populations that nursing is a lowly, undesirable job is proving a large barrier, discloses Murshid.

"One month ago I was very down so I sent a text to all the Saudi nurses I know asking if anyone one knew the future of nursing in this country," she says. "They replied, and some said there was no future, because this is a country that does not see nursing as a profession. Others said it will take a lot of effort, but there is a future."

The stigma of nursing and midwifery as unacceptable occupations for women is even stronger in Qatar, which was forced to shut down its one and only nursing school for nationals because local fathers refused to let their daughters enroll there, Murshid adds.

Minority report

Both the Saudi and the UAE governments have launched schemes to encourage locals into the profession. Government-backed nursing institutes, colleges and universities have sprung up during the last fiveLast year just over 200 Emiratis qualified as registered nurses with a diploma or degree.

However, the number of local candidates completing the degree programme at the University of Sharjah's Nursing School has dropped from 15 to seven in the last seven years.

Meanwhile, Dubai is set to run the country's first postgraduate degree in midwifery for locals and Arab nationals, beginning in February next year. The course will hopefully be followed by an undergraduate midwifery degree.

In Abu Dhabi nurse education became an all-graduate affair at the beginning of September when the health authority scrapped diploma training in a bid to boost the image and quality of nursing.years, as part of widespread nationalisation programmes.

Judy Wollin, head of the nursing school at the Fatima College of Health Sciences in Abu Dhabi, says the health authority realised it needed to grow its own Arab and English speaking nurses.

"Nursing is not viewed as a high status profession here, and the role reflects something seen 30 years ago in the Australia and the UK," she observes.

"The place is growing so much they've had to recruit from outside, but the worldwide shortage of nurses is having an impact, and so they wanted to grow their own Arab and English speaking registered nurses."

The two campuses in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain are running undergraduate degree nursing programme for 54 students and a bridging programme for 35 students who wish to turn their diplomas in to a degree.

There are a "small" number of Emiratis on the course and the rest are mainly expatriate Arabs who have lived in the UAE for many years, Wollins says. "There's a lot of enthusiasm, the nurses on the wards want to upgrade - we have over 60 people queued up for the February intake."

Another scheme that trains Emirati nurses in leadership has been supported by the MoH for the past three years and run in collaboration with the International Council of Nurses. It trains up to 30 local nurses a year in leadership tolls, some of whom go on to qualify as trainers. So far the scheme has benefited 78 nurses, according to Al Rifai.

"It is very positive, and one thing about it to look at is that these are leadership skills that can be utilised anywhere, at all levels," she says. "The country will achieve two objectives: nurses taking on leadership skills as well as producing local trainers."

The situation in Saudi is not so positive, according to Murshid, who says similar schemes have been largely unsuccessful.

The Kingdom has supported nursing initiatives for almost 50 years and only last month announced the launch of a nursing scholarship scheme to train 1,000 Saudi girls.

It has also established five nursing colleges that run alongside five private institutes, offering degrees to Saudi nationals wanting to become nurses. Each is able to take around 100 students a year.

But, reveals Murshid, who was the only national to graduate from her degree class of 20 students in 1988, few actually go on to work as nurses, especially the males.

"On graduation you will find more males to females. However, the majority are not working in nursing positions, but working in administration positions over nursing."

Government policies preventing women from driving, a lack of public transport and failure to provide crèches facilities at work also disincentivise Saudi women to work as nurses or midwives, she adds.

A celebrity-led campaign, perhaps by a member of the royal family is the only way nationals will be encouraged into the profession, Murshid concludes.

"The image of nursing in the US is the best in the world and that did not come easily - but that's what we really need to see in this country."

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