Cultural view of nursing in Saudi Arabia

Background: Modern nursing in Saudi Arabia is a complex issue in which cultural diversity presents the major challenge to the evolution of Saudi nursing as an independent indigenous professional workforce. Historically, patients and the nurses in Saudi Arabia come from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds with the reliance on a predominantly foreign nursing workforce, resulting in culturally based conflicts. Aim: This report opens a window into Saudi Arabian nursing practice in action for international readers, through which the complexities of the problems from a Saudi standpoint are presented. Discussion: Literature shows misunderstandings and conflicts with patients through the lack of cultural skills in how to interact with them in a culturally appropriate manner which can give rise to conflicts and tensions. These can endanger patient care and increase the risk of errors, the consequences of which could prove fatal. Recommendation: Care should be taken during the processes of recruitment and orientating foreign nurses practising in Saudi Arabia. Cultural sensitivity of the nursing cultural requirements needs to be enhanced by the development of educational protocols for cultu ral competency for all nurses. Conclusion: The distinctiveness of the culture of the Saudi Arabians and the control by foreigners with scant knowledge about their culture, heightens the challenges of providing nursing care that is culturally proficient. Nurses should understand and acknowledge variations that define patients from different cultural settings. If nurses have a good grasp of the cultural attributes of their clients, then they are well placed in caring for them