ABU DHABI // A serious drive is needed to make the nursing profession more appealing to Emiratis, health officials have said.
Figures revealed at the Abu Dhabi Medical Congress on Sunday show that just 3 per cent of the 23,000 to 25,000 nurses across the emirates were UAE nationals.
There were also calls to “glamorise” nursing to increase its attractiveness as a profession.
While discussions are ongoing to triple the number of Emirati nurses over the next two years, an effort was needed to encourage more to join the nursing workforce, said Noora Abdul Majid Abubaker, a nursing educator at Dubai Hospital.
“The number of Emiratis working in the nursing profession is very, very low and this needs to be addressed,” said Ms Abubaker, speaking at the fourth Nursing Conference at the congress.
While just 3 per cent of nurses were UAE nationals, the average was slightly higher in Abu Dhabi at 8 per cent, said the Emirati nursing educator.
“Hopefully this will change in the future,” she said, adding that there were discussions by the Emirates Nursing Association to increase the numbers of Emirati nurses.
Ideally, at least 10 per cent of the nursing workforce would be Emiratis by 2015, she said.
Ms Abubaker believed the promise of career progression and more senior roles would entice more into the profession.
Emilo Galea, head of the nursing education department at Mafraq Hospital, Abu Dhabi, said that old-fashioned views and misconceptions about nursing could be holding back many Emiratis.
“Nursing needs to be glamorised to show that we are a real professional body, that you need to be really proud to be part of,” said Mr Galea, speaking on the first day of the congress at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre.
“We have to show Emirati youngsters and their families that nursing is actually a profession in its own self in which our young females can grow. Nursing is not just to give care to patients but also an avenue where they can progress to higher levels such as management.
“We are trying to change the perspectives of what some Emiratis think about what nursing is. What we obviously hope is that we will get more and more and more Emiratis – then we can show ... how good it is for them to choose this profession.”
Despite the lack of nurses, Mr Galea felt the standard of care given by those working in the nursing profession had risen steadily over the past five years.
“The quality of nursing practice has gone up to an international level where it makes you so proud that we have such a bunch of people who are really really dedicated to their practice,” he said.
Prof Gwen Sherwood, associate dean for academic affairs at the Chapel Hill school of nursing, University of North Carolina in the US, said a skewed perspective on nursing prevails around the world.
Many people, she said, did not believe it was a career to be proud of.
“That is part of the work of this conference,” she said.
“It requires the best minds, the best thinkers to be able to practise in the holistic way that we are advocating.”
Ms Abubaker said while the number of Emirati nurses was very low, there was a shortfall of nurses in general. “The demand for registered nurses, both Emirati and expatriates, in the country outstrips supply,” she said.
Ms Abubaker is calling on more people to choose the profession she described as a “calling”.
She started in the nursing professional in 2011 and described it as a highly demanding but also rewarding job.
Good quality nurses can make a patient’s ordeal in hospital far more bearable, she said.
“The feeling I get from my patients are wonderful,” said the Emirati, as she shared her experience in the sector to a 1,000-strong audience.
A drawback of so many expatriate nurses was being able to break down local and cultural barriers, she added.
As an Emirati nurse, Ms Abubaker felt she could communicate better with local patients.
“People say to me I understand more what they are going through as a local,” she said.
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Best Men's Player of the Year: Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
Maradona Award for Best Goal Scorer of the Year: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
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What vitamins do we know are beneficial for living in the UAE
Vitamin D: Highly relevant in the UAE due to limited sun exposure; supports bone health, immunity and mood.
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Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill
Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
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Rating: 4/5
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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