The education and health sectors are very
important indicators of a country’s development, as these two sectors provide a
sign of the living conditions and
environment each country’s government is trying to present to its people. As a
result, it gives a view of how developed the countries are. This paper will
focus on the health sector, however; its main focus will be about the doctors
who are providing this service in the UAE.
There were around seven hospitals and twelve health centers when the UAE federation was established in 1971 compared to 65 hospitals and more than 150 health centers around the UAE last year. Furthermore, one of the main focuses of the UAE government vision 2021 is to continue the improvement strategy of the health care and increase the ability of the health service in the UAE to reach everybody anywhere in the country with the latest health care.
To provide all of these and more, all these hospitals and health centers are equipped with the latest health equipment and well qualified doctors and nurses to provide a high quality health care for the nationals and residents of the UAE. However, there is a serious problem when we compare the UAE national doctors with the expats. In an interview with The National newspaper (2004) Dr Ali Shakar, Secretary-General of the Emirates Medical Association and Assistant Director of Rashid Hospital for Medical Affairs said: "Today there are no more than 500 UAE national doctors working in the UAE but that number is growing steadily. Compare this figure to just ten UAE national doctors working in the UAE in the 1970s. National doctors account for no more than eight to nine per cent of practicing doctors but this figure must be seen in the context of the size of the UAE national population compared to expatriates”. Last year ; in Abu Dhabi, only 8 to 10 per cent of doctors and nurses are Emirati, said Zaid Al Siksek, chief executive of the Health Authority - Abu Dhabi (HAAD).
The growth of UAE nationals in the health sector has been low compared with non-nationals working in the same sector. In 2010 there were only 1,145 UAE nationals working in the health sector compared to 14,943 non-nationals. In 2011, the number of UAE nationals increased by approximately 16% only to be 1,328 nationals compared to 19,555 non-nationals. According to the government vision, the non-nationals were brought to the country so that they can transfer their knowledge as well as to train the UAE nationals to run and operate the hospitals in case of emergencies.
The growth of UAE nationals in the health sector has been low compared with non-nationals working in the same sector. In 2010 there were only 1145 UAE nationals working in the health sector compared to 1,4943 expats. In 2011, the number of UAE nationals increased by approximately 16% only to be 1,328 nationals compared to 19,555 expats. According to the government vision, the non-nationals were brought to the country so that they can transfer their knowledge as well as to train the UAE nationals to run and operate the hospitals in case of emergencies.
If we look at the reasons causing this difference between UAE nationals and expat doctors and nurses in the health sector, we will find many factors, two main reasons are: culture and qualifications.
Normally, a doctor's medical career will require him/her to spend five years in training and around seven years in the area of surgery. Many Emiratis are unwilling to enter this career as they are not willing to leave their families to finish this period abroad. Furthermore, it is required form those who will enter the medical career to have a high qualifications and licenses from different medical authorities around the world to reach a level of acceptance in this career. On the other hand, the few number of UAE national doctors who are in the field prefer to work for the government rather than private sector for many reasons. "The UAE national graduates want to work in the public sector, where they get better training and continuous medical education opportunities abroad. Public hospitals invest in the young national doctors for the long term; private hospitals do not. May be this situation will begin to change in ten years or so and we would begin to see more graduates going to work at private hospitals," Dr Najib Al Khaja, cardio-thoracic surgeon at Dubai Hospital said.
Different solutions can be proposed to change the under-presentation of UAE nationals being doctors or nurses in the UAE health sector. The Emirtisation initiative that the UAE government started in the early 2000’s could be implemented to help in solving this problem. More steps should be implemented by providing training hospitals and health centers to allow the newly graduated doctors to practice and get the needed experiences instead of traveling outside the country.
The situation might differ for nursing, since there are many colleges and universities within the UAE that offer degrees in nursing; however. There are some the families who do not allow their daughters to enter this profession because of the culture and the society's point of view.
The main
solution to solve this lack of UAE national nurses is to create social
awareness about this profession and try to provide a level of flexibility
especially in working hours and support for the families to accept this
profession and encourage their daughters to enter this field.
References:
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