Saudization of Nursing

Background: Saudi Arabia is heavily dependent on an expatriate nurse workforce. Although nursing education has been available in Saudi Arabia since 1958, today only 35% of nurses are Saudis. This dependency on expatriates leaves Saudi Arabia and its population vulnerable in several ways, and the Saudization process is therefore under scrutiny. Saudi women, who increasingly seek education and employment outside the home, might have an interest in nursing as a career. They are, however, met with challenges, such as the perception of their family and society of what is a suitable job for a Saudi woman, the mixing of men and women in the same work setting and the work schedules of nurses. Many of these challenges have already been discussed (Gazzaz, 2009; Al-Shmemri, 2014), but nearly a decade later little seems to have changed. Aims: The main aims of the study were to develop a conceptual framework and model for the Saudization of nursing and provide recommendations for policy and practice regarding the implementation of the model, and thus, the development of a sustainable Saudi nursing workforce. Method: A constructivist grounded theory approach has been used as a method in this research. This approach has allowed the researcher to gain insight into complex aspects surrounding women and their quest for a career in nursing, while at the same time being invited to explore the experiences of relatives and other members of Saudi society. Data collection took place through individual semi-structured interviews. The data analysis uses initial and focused coding with a constant comparative method, involving theoretical sampling and memo writing. Both data collection and analysis took place through an iterative approach and included 19 participants. Findings: The findings are presented under seven emergent categories, identifying factors that encourage or discourage the process of Saudization in nursing process. The major factors impinging on successful Saudization were identified as: unsocial working hours, challenges maintaining a work-family balance, lack of gender segregation in nursing, women’s traditional role in the family and society, and the social images of nursing, especially those pertaining to the perception that nurses are nothing more than educated maids in the hospital. Conclusion: While research in the past has merely described the challenges, and provided their related recommendations, the findings from this research were used to inform a conceptual model for the Saudization of nursing which was developed to guide stakeholders, as well as making a number of recommendations which, if acted upon, should help to decrease Saudi Arabia’s dependency on expatriate nurses