Experts want urgent steps to attract more Emirati nurses
▶ Wider role and better working hours and pay could take their numbers up from under 3%
Health experts have called on the UAE government to increase nurses’ salaries and reduce their hours to attract more Emiratis to the profession.
Senior hospital officials said much more needed to be done to change attitudes and encourage more men and women into the profession.
Emiratis make up less than three per cent of nursing staff at the Abu Dhabi Health Services Company, or Seha, the government healthcare provider.
But medical staff say better hours, broadening responsibilities and increasing wages could help to improve that situation.
“We need to change the way people look at nurses,” said Dr Anwar Sallam, chief medical and clinical affairs officer at Seha. “In the past they were perceived as doctor’s assistants but now that’s different. Today they’re on the front line and triage my patients.
“They know a lot about the management of patients and diseases, and can help to address patient and family concerns and questions. But we have a problem because as it stands, the nursing profession here is not attractive.
“Let’s make it attractive by adjusting working hours and allowing nurses to work like other government employees.”
Dr Sallam made his comments at the International Council of Nurses conference in Abu Dhabi, which was organised by the Emirates Nursing Association and Seha.
He said that Seha, which operates six major hospitals in the emirate as well as clinics and family medical centres, was committed to hiring 100 Emirati nurses a year.
Reports revealed that during the first day of a well-promoted nursing recruitment campaign last year, no Emirati had applied. Authorities received thousands of applicants from Far East and Asia.
Dr Ali Al Obaidli, chief clinical officer at Seha, said one area in urgent need of redress was the limited responsibilities of nursing staff. He said that by offering specialties, hospitals could attract more to the profession.
“This is an area that we are working hard to develop,” Dr Al Obaidli said. “Increasing the specialties for nurses will help us to develop different career paths for them. Just like physicians have different career options, nurses should also have that option.
“Some might want to work with the elderly or in paediatrics or in behavioural sciences. Specialisations must be developed.”
Recent figures show 7,900 nurses work in Seha-run hospitals. Of these, only 180 are Emirati.
Emirati nurses working in government-run hospitals are paid between Dh10,000 and Dh25,000 a month, as well as housing and education allowances. By contrast, foreign nationals who work as nurses typically receive much less – between Dh4,000 and Dh15,000 a month.
Lord Crisp, co-chair of global campaign group Nursing Now, agreed that more needed to be done to expand the role of nursing.
He said many countries treated nurses like “handmaidens” simply because of their gender.
“Nurses can do a lot more than they are allowed to do,” Mr Crisp said. “Too often they’re not able to work to their full capability.
“In many countries nurses prescribe drugs and you see nurse practitioners being the first responders in an emergency. They shouldn’t just be handmaidens of doctors.
“We want people to think about what nurses are capable of because in the long run they can have a bigger impact than doctors. You empower 23 million nurses [the current global figure] and that is the single biggest thing you can do to improve health globally.”
As the law stands, nurses working in the UAE are prevented from taking on greater responsibility.
“We need the support of legislation,” said Samah Mahmoud, chairwoman of the International Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Conference. Currently, the law does not allow nurses to prescribe medication or to be more than caregivers. They are not given a licence.
“The system needs to convince families that nursing is an excellent option for their children.
“Once we do that then it will be easy for families to buy in to and the image of nursing will change.”