UAE: Veteran nurses discuss major challenges confronting industry

Experts highlight talent shortage due to factors such as lack of potential educators, high turnover rates, and an uneven distribution of the workforce

A shortage of nurses across the UAE amid the country’s booming health sector is like an unsaid call for more young professionals to join the frontline of care, according to a senior Emirati nurse.

Ayesha Ali Ahmed Al Mahri, a nurse with over 25 years of service and former president of the Emirates Nursing Association, said nursing talent shortage persists due to various factors such as lack of potential educators, high turnover rates, and an uneven distribution of the workforce.

“When I started my role in leadership, my biggest task was to develop a strategy that’ll enable overcoming the shortage of nurses. It’s been an ongoing challenge. We want to retain nurses and are perpetually looking out for well-qualified and competent nurses. This is a problem that people are facing worldwide.

“The unique thing about healthcare professionals as compared to other professions is that from day one, from the time you pursue it academically it’s embedded in our minds and soul that this is a kind of a profession where you dedicate your life for others. It’s not about yourself, it’s about the patient,” said the group chief nursing officer at Burjeel Holdings.

Read Full Story : Khaleej Times

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