The UAE looks forward to growth and best practices in the field of nursing

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: The 4th SEHA International Nursing Conference finished today with scientific papers and a plethora of representatives from many nursing fields from the Gulf and around the world.

The two-day conference began at the Emirates Palace Hotel with an opening ceremony on Tuesday, 24 November 2015, under the patronage of H.H. Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak (mother of the UAE).

Keynote lectures included “Integrating patient and family centered care in the ICU” by Dr. Ruth Kleinpell and “Achieving excellence in Peripheral intravenous catheter care by Dr. Gillian Ray-Barruel. Dr. Fatima Al Rifae discussed UAE Nursing Vision in her presentation “The journey of a profession”.

Over 600 participants enjoyed 60 lectures focused around the theme: Innovate, Integrate and Motivate, Leading the Journey Towards Nursing Excellence. This year’s agenda included new research from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Australia, the UAE and Pakistan.  Organizations who took part included regional leaders like the Emirates Nurse Association, Fatima College, the Nursing and Midwifery Council, and the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority.

The second day began with keynote lecture by Aisha Al Mehri President of the Emirates Nursing Association who spoke about the Emirates Nursing Association.

Dr. Matar Al Darmaki, Group CEO of SEHA stated, “The company's quality of care is dependent on qualified SEHA nursing staff helping patients heal and ensure patient safety.

Nursing is one of the most needed and important roles in healthcare,” added Dr. Al Darmaki. “This is a profession that offers long term job security as well as both tangible and intangible rewards.  One of our long term strategic goals is to attract more Emiratis to join the nursing profession and help build the security of the nation by reducing the UAE's dependence on foreign labor in the healthcare field.”

Mrs. Samah Mahmoud, Assistant Director of Nursing in SKMC and the Chairman of the conference said, “This conference will provide an excellent platform to discuss all topics related to nursing profession. It will be a great opportunity to our local nurses to learn from the international knowledge this conference gather. We aim at keeping nurses abreast of the latest global developments, by means of disseminating and discussing the latest in the healthcare sector.”

With delegates from many regional hospitals and specialty centers this conference should yield many opportunities to expand and network in the vital field of nursing and research.