JEDDAH, 17 April 2008 -- In order to fill a void in specialist nurses in the Kingdom, the Ministry of Health is offering, over the next three years, 1,000 scholarships for Saudi men and women to pursue specialist-nursing education in Jordan, Australia, the US, the UK and Bahrain.
The ministry is also offering training to nurses who graduate with diplomas from health care institutes within the Kingdom. Specialties in demand include those with training in intensive care, nursing the elderly, neonatal care, ER, kidney disorders and child care.
"Some countries only offer specialist courses to their citizens," said Dr. Munira Al-Osaimi, general director of nursing at the Ministry of Health.
"So, we usually choose countries that have courses that are easy to get on to and are accredited by the ministry here," she said.
In foreign countries, nursing courses in intensive care are not easy to join for international students. Some countries only offer places to nurses who have a high level of English and are registered in that particular country.
In addition to scholarships abroad, the ministry is also offering scholarships at King Saud University. "Scholarships within the Kingdom are better for women. Not all women can travel abroad to pursue education," said Al-Osaimi.
Besides the scholarships, courses and workshops in rare nursing specialties are being offered in the Madinah, Qassim and Jeddah regions.
Al-Osaimi said nursing attracts few students and that people want to send their children to study medicine, engineering or banking. She added that nursing involves long work hours and that the atmosphere is stressful.
She added that there are many general nurses but not enough to fill the Kingdom's health care centers, clinics and hospitals.
By Lulwa Shalhoub
© Arab News 2008
