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Emiratis urged to get into nursing field

DUBAI - Emirati national, Fatima Khalifa, is waging a silent war with her family to perform her daily duties as a nurse at Rashid Hospital.

The 25-year-old is among the handful of Emiratis who have opted to choose a profession that is still looked down upon in a conservative Arab society. A four-year training programme launched by Rashid Hospital recently aims to train Emiratis as future leaders and encourage more Emiratis to join the field.

The Centre of Excellence for Emirati Nurses is currently training 15 nurses to be deployed at either Rashid Hospital or any of the Dubai Health Authority’s health centres. Of the total 3,500 nurses employed by the DHA, only 54 are Emirati, and all are females.

“This is a real challenge,” said Jane Griffiths, director of nursing at Rashid Hospital. “We really encourage male Emirati nurses to enrol in the course,” she said. The DHA employs 1,400 non-local male nurses.

“Eight per cent of the patients at Rashid Hospital are males,” said Jane. “And compared to international benchmarks, having a 20 per cent male workforce is quite a good number,” she said.

The course trains the nurses in a clinical environment while the trainees are salaried by the DHA. It is, however, important for the nurses to have studied nursing sciences from a local university to qualify for the programme.

Besides stigmatisation, low salaries and long working hours prevent locals from joining the profession.Despite these shortcomings, Naeema Mohammed Rajab, 35, has been linked to Rashid Hospital for the past 13 years.

“The nature of the job is stressful and people have a negative image of my profession, but I am very passionate about my work,” said the Emirati who played with a first aid box as a child.

“It is very satisfactory when patients are appreciative and give a positive response,” said Naeema whose family has been very supportive throughout her journey.

Likewise, Hind Mahmoud Younus has also been breaking barriers but with support from her father. “It’s the patients who have taught me the real meaning of life,” she said.

asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com