Two Emirati nurses tell why their jobs are so rewarding

Suaad Awadh Hasan, director of nursing at the Ministry of Health and Prevention, has urged other Emiratis to consider a career in nursing. Victor Besa for The National

ABU DHABI // One Emirati who did choose nursing and is encouraging her compatriots to do the same is Zahra Ali Abdi, deputy chief nurse at Abu Dhabi’s Corniche Hospital.

Ms Ali Abdi believes the shortage of Emiratis choosing nursing is compounded by a lack of nursing and midwifery programmes.

“If we want to encourage local men and women to enter the profession, we need to develop pathways for them to do this,” she said. “At present, there are very few nursing schools and no midwifery schools in the UAE, which means that Emiratis have to go abroad to study.

“This is not always possible with family and other commitments.

“Pay, professional status and the lack of clear career development also have an adverse effect on recruitment, as well as no clear career development.”

But she hopes the work of the UAE Nursing and Midwifery Council - established in 2010 to oversee the licensing and regulation of nursing, alleviate some of the profession’s problems and strengthen the education of nurses and midwives – will help in addressing these issues.

“They have produced separate scopes of practice for nurses and midwives, and are currently working with the regulatory bodies to develop a standardised registration and licensing process which will make it easier for nurses and midwives to work across all of the Emirates,” she said.

Ms Abdi said nursing can be an incredibly rewarding career.

“I looked after a woman who lost her baby at 20 weeks,” she said. “I was delighted to meet them again the following year to find that she was pregnant again.

“I looked after her throughout her pregnancy and cried when she showed me her beautiful baby.

“It is things like that make our job worthwhile.”

Suaad Awadh Hasan, director of nursing at the Ministry of Health and Prevention, also urged other Emiratis to consider a career in nursing.

“The reason I chose to become a nurse was because I always felt good when I helped others and it gave me great pleasure to see people recover after their illness,” said the 51-year-old Emirati, who first began as a practical nurse in the military before completing her Higher Diploma in Nursing at the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT), her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN) degree from Sharjah University and, finally, a masters degree in quality management from Wollongong University in Dubai.

Ms Hasan, who is now doing a second masters focusing on psychiatry and mental health in nursing at the Ras Al Khaimah Medical Health Sciences University (RAKMHSU), has never regretted her choice of a nursing career.

“For those that want to serve the people and their country, nursing is the right choice,” she said. “It can be challenging and stressful at times but that is all part of life - there is no job that is stress-free.

“What is most rewarding in my day-to-day job is earning the respect from other healthcare professionals and, in the long run, from the community.”

She believes, eventually, more Emiratis will join the nursing profession.

“The Ministry of Health has supported the nursing profession tremendously and has initiated many campaigns to promote awareness and benefits of nursing,” Ms Hasan said. “The public and community are getting familiar with the term nursing as a noble and rewarding profession.”