Wedad Syoty
King Fahd Armed Forces Hospital, Saudi Arabia
Title: The development of nursing profession in Saudi Arabia with special focus in nursing education
Biography
Biography: Wedad Syoty
Abstract
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was established in 1932. It has the largest and the fastest growing population among the Gulf countries, and according to the United Nation projection, it is estimated to reach 39.8 million by 2025 and 54.7 million by 2050 as a natural outcome of the birth rate of 23.7 per 1000 population. Although the government of Saudi Arabia has given high priority for the development of the healthcare services, there are a number of issues pose challenges such a shortage of Saudi health professionals, changing of the diseases pattern, high demand for free services, lack of national health information system and the underutilization of the potential of electronic health strategies. With the fast development of Saudi Arabia specially in the health care field, the Nursing Profession and the Education has to meet the demands for ever increasing population and technology in the health care field. The first formal training for nurses was established at a Health Institute in 1958, in Riyadh (the capital city) as a result of collaborative effort between the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization for training 15 male nurses for one year after they complete six years of elementary schooling. In 1964, two nursing schools for one-year training program were established for female who were graduated as Nurse Aides. In 1976 and 1977, the Ministry of Higher Education introduced the Bachelor Degree in Nursing in King Saud and king Abdul Aziz Universities. In 1987, the Master Degree in Nursing was established in king Saud and King Faisal Universities. In 1994, three years Nursing Diploma was established by the Ministry of Health for female who were graduated as Nurse Technicians and in 1996, a PhD scholarship program was set up by the Ministry of Higher Education for Saudi nurses to study abroad. The challenges facing the health care workers in general and the challenges facing the nursing profession in specific in Saudi Arabia will be discussed in this presentation.