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The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland – Medical University of Bahrain (RCSI Bahrain) has launched a Positive Promotion of Nursing campaign with the aim of encouraging high school seniors to take up the health care profession as a viable career.
The initiative was unveiled under the patronage of Lieutenant General, Dr Shaikh Mohammed bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, chairman of the Supreme Council of Health, at RCSI’s headquarters in Busaiteen alongside nurses, doctors and officials from the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education…all eager to one day welcome a new batch of graduates to the kingdom’s nursing ranks.
“The Positive Promotion of Nursing campaign has been a key focus of RCSI Bahrain’s recruitment activities over recent years with a number of events taking place to introduce and promote the career of nursing,” said Dr Eman Tawash, RCSI Bahrain’s director and lecturer of the BSc in Nursing Programme. “Among these are the Future Doctors and Nursing Open Day programmes, which are aimed at current high school students, and a number of networking events for our own students and alumni.”
Eman had conducted research on the perception of nursing in the kingdom, entitled ‘Promoting Nursing as a Career Choice in Bahrain: Implementation and Evaluation of a Stakeholder Model for Best Practice’and had conducted a presentation at the event to showcase some of her findings. She believes that the first step to encouragement of young people is to change the public image.
“To encourage young people to join a nursing career, it is essential to influence the public image of the profession in the Arab communities,” she said. “According to the literature, nursing as an occupation in the West is less successful in attracting new recruits, mostly because of factors related to administrative and financial circumstances. However, in the Middle East, the predominant negative images and perceived low status of nursing were found to be greatly influenced by religious and sociocultural factors.
“For example, the findings from my research show that although the high school students had positive perceptions about nursing, very few of them showed interest to join a nursing career. According to their parents, culturally it is difficult to accept that girls provide care to male patients and vice versa. It is also difficult to accept that girls work shift duty, especially at night.”
She also found during her research that the majority of high school students and career guidance counsellors refused the idea that nursing is a profession only for women. “Some parents believe that nursing is not a suitable career for males because they lack the compassion and tenderness,” Eman explained. “In the past, most cultures in the Middle East, including Bahrain, perceived nursing as a natural gift which required nothing but a caring wife, mother or daughter.
“Hence, nursing was very much seen as a female job, a fact that discourages many families from encouraging their sons to join a nursing career.
“Given the sensitivities in terms of culture, religion and gender in a Muslim society, a sufficient number of males in nursing are important in supporting nursing and health policy in Bahrain and in meeting the needs of male patients.
“Acknowledging these facts, collaborative initiatives should be taken to clear misconceptions and improve the numbers of male students entering nursing, knowing that attracting more males from Bahrain to join the nursing profession will definitely improve the satisfaction of patients.”
Eman joined nursing because she had a lot of interest in health related studies and was advised by a nursing academic that it had many opportunities that she could invest in and develop personally and professionally.
She completed her BSc in nursing in the College of Health Sciences-University of Bahrain and then completed her Master degree in health professions education from the Arabian Gulf University. In 2016, she graduated with a PhD in nursing from RCSI in Ireland, Dublin.
In her early career days, she worked as a staff nurse in one of the hospitals in Bahrain and after a few years, she joined the College of Health Sciences as a nursing lecturer. Afterwards, she became a curriculum specialist and educator in the Educational Development Centre. In 2006, she joined the School of Nursing and Midwifery in RCSI Bahrain as the first nursing lecturer and in 2012, she was appointed as the director of the BSc (Hons) Nursing Programme.
Eman trusts that this campaign will help improve the awareness of nursing in the community of Bahrain and it will continue to support recruitment to nursing. “The development of nurses with expanded skill sets is a priority in all countries of the world and in particular Bahrain,” she said. “Given that professional regulation of nursing is in an evolutionary stage with a need for enhanced standards of practice for nurses in the majority of GCC countries, this has impacted on the quality of health care services.”
RCSI Bahrain will recruit ambassadors including current nursing students, alumni, career counsellors, teachers and nursing and medical professionals to help continue building the positive perception of nursing in the kingdom.
The ambassadors will be a part of the University’s Mobile Engagement team, who will visit local schools and communities to educate them on the role of a nurse, the value of the occupation and the career opportunities available.
