IN SAUDI ARABIA, NURSING FACES A NUMBER OF CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR POLICYMAKERS
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Abstract
Brief history As part of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, the health sector of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is currently undergoing rapid change in accordance with the National Transformation Programme. This is being done as part of Saudi Arabia's vision for the future. A low nursing school capacity, a high employment of expatriates, a fragmented labour market, a scarcity of nurses in remote regions, uneven quality, and gender difficulties are some of the challenges that are faced from the perspective of nursing human resources for health (HRH). Presentation of the case In this case study, a summary of the appraisal of the present issues that the nursing profession in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is facing is provided by the Saudi Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Saudi Health Council (SHC). We propose policy interventions to lend support to the transformation of nursing into a profession that contributes to the provision of healthcare that is both effective and of high quality for each and every Saudi citizen. An improved pipeline of nurses that leads from middle and high school to nursing school, followed by a broad career path that includes postgraduate education, will be essential to the success of modernising the Saudi workforce. This pipeline will be the key to the success of the modernization endeavour. In order to keep nurses in the profession, there are chances to make nursing practice more appealing and accommodating to families. Reducing the duration of shifts, revamping the nursing team to incorporate more allied health workers, and implementing locum tenens staffing are all examples of interventions that can be implemented to achieve a more balanced workload. There are potential to modernise the postgraduate education that is now being offered to nurses, to launch new postgraduate programmes in nursing, and to create new positions and career paths for nurses, such as telenursing, informatics, and quality. There should be the establishment of rural pipelines, along with incentives and improved pay packages for areas that are not currently being supplied. Concluding remarks The engagement of the Ministry of Health with partners from throughout the spectrum of the healthcare system, notably the commercial sector, is essential to the implementation of these proposed reforms. It is imperative that planning for human resources be implemented across the whole industry, and that nurse leadership be improved at every level.
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