Tariq Al-Aradi
I HAD an interesting talk with a Saudi intern who joined my clinic as a male nurse. When I entered the clinic I saw the young man sitting in a corner playing with his mobile phone. After exchanging greetings, I told him to close his mobile and engage in constructive work.
I told him that I expected him to go through the files of patients to learn new medical terms and medicines. I also came to know that he was not well versed in English and did not know many important medical terms, although he has obtained a bachelor’s degree from a government university.
I asked him why he selected the nursing profession. He replied: “I found it easy to get an admission, so I applied for it.”
I asked him whether he knew about its challenges and the problems with the Saudi health system. I also asked him whether he followed the media criticisms about poor services in the public health sector in the Kingdom.
All his answers were in the negative. I told him that he was likely to cause problems for his patients because of his lack of knowledge and experience. He said, God willing, nothing would happen and that everything would be fine.
I presented this dialogue to a group of Saudi nurses who said this was the reality. If this youth and his likes did not get up from their slumber, their future would be bleak.
This nurse will spend most of his time during the internship on WhatsApp and then move on to the public service. Since he is a graduate of a government university, there no test will be held by the Saudi Health Specialization Authority. He will become a burden for any department that employs him.
The youth may get an administration job with the support of his parents who will use the influence of tribal leaders. This is not an individual case. Most graduates of public and private medical colleges maintain poor standard.
The dialogue with the Saudi youth shows that there is big problem in our medical education. In order to improve the condition, we have to introduce strict personal interviews with candidates, teach English at medical colleges, and students should be briefed on local health conditions. They should also be taught the etiquette of the profession.
Work on proposed hospitals at new universities should be completed as quickly as possible. We have to focus more on manpower training rather than technology to improve the health services.
It seems that our educational institutions are not aware of the challenges facing the country. Many of our medical technicians have disappeared from the profession and joined administrative jobs as they are not qualified to perform technical jobs.
We have to make drastic changes in our medical education and set up modern schools with experienced teachers to produce well-qualified medical professionals.
