Government of Dubai Media Office : Under the patronage of the Wife of Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, HRH Princess Haya bint Al Hussein, President of the UAE Nursing and Midwifery Council and Chairperson of Dubai Healthcare City Authority; HE Dr. Mohammad Salim Al Olama, Undersecretary of the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP), chaired the first meeting of the UAE Nursing and Midwifery Council for the year 2018 on Thursday (1 February 2018), at Al Wasl Hall in the Dubai International Convention Centre.

The meeting was attended by HE Dr. Yousif Al Serkal, Assistant Undersecretary for Hospitals Sector and HE Dr. Amer Ahmad Sharif, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Healthcare City Authority – Education Sector. Members of the Board representing the Ministry of Health and Prevention, Dubai Health Authority, Dubai Healthcare City, Abu Dhabi Health Services Company, University of Sharjah, Fatima College of Health Sciences, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Interior and Emirates Nursing Association also attended the meeting.

The meeting began with HE Dr. Mohammad Salim Al Olama welcoming the audience and praising the achievements made during the past years since the establishment of the Council and the work of the scientific committees of the Council in the field of standardisation of education, registration and practice. Following this, the agenda of the meeting and the most important initiatives of the committees were presented.

The board members reviewed the progress of the three projects requested by HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, President of the UAE Nursing and Midwifery Council and Chairperson of the Dubai Healthcare City Authority, during the previous board meeting held in early 2017:

  • Excellence Recognition Award: To recognise nursing units, departments and healthcare institutions that have implemented the UAE NMC standards and guidelines

  • Nurses and Midwives salary profile: to develop trends and suggest recommendations.

  • Nurses and Midwives satisfaction: to repeat the survey on satisfaction and hospital quality that was conducted in collaboration with Dr. Linda Akein from Pennsylvania University in 2013, or to collect satisfaction results from UAE hospitals that could be compiled to provide overall current trends.

The Ministry of Health and Prevention presented its experience on implementing the initiative ‘Enhancing the Attractiveness of the Nursing Profession’ and its success in increasing the number of students studying for the Bachelor of Nursing program in the UAE. In this regard, the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) was commended for attracting Emiratis to enroll in nursing programs, which culminated in the graduation of the first batch of 26 future nurses under the patronage of Her Royal Highness Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein. The number of the students in nursing programmes in these colleges reached 177 this year.

The Emirates Nursing Association, presented a report on the Association’s hosting of international conferences for nursing and midwifery, and the formation of the leadership society for nursing and midwifery at the association.

A brief report of SEHA's study to improve the planning strategy of the nursing workforce through the formation of task forces to assess the current level of nursing care. The results of this evaluation will be used later to plan for the nursing workforce of the future.

The most important achievements of the scientific committees of the Council and the future plans for 2018-2019 were reviewed as follows:

  • Practice Committee: The committee held eight training sessions for Nursing Leaders in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. A total of 372 participants were made familiar with the documents developed by the Committee and were encouraged to apply them in their work. These documents include: The scope of practice, user manuals for interpreting the scope of practice, the code of conduct for nursing and midwifery, and guidelines for ensuring a positive environment for practising the profession.

  • Research Committee: The Committee identified strategic priorities for research at the local, national, regional and international levels. It also conducted three workshops on research publication skills. The Committee discussed the importance of including research standards in educational curricula, the importance of identifying and finding research grants, funding and publication sources, and studying the obstacles faced by nursing and midwifery researchers in the UAE.

  • Education Committee: The Committee is currently analysing the salaries of the nursing staff in various government bodies and departments in the country. The result will be reported during this year. It also develops the framework for the ‘Excellence Awards’, which recognise academic institutions that implement the standard education issued by the UAE Nursing and Midwifery Council. The committee will also review the current status of the academic nursing programmes to continue the efforts to standardise academic and clinical nursing education.

The Council concluded its meeting by recommending the involvement of the Council in the relevant national committees, such as the National Qualifications Commission, the National Committee for Health Research Ethics, the career ladder and the professional qualification requirements for the licensing of healthcare professionals. 

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© Press Release 2018