Background

RN loves working in the emergency department where she managed all aspects of the department, adults and paediatric patients, triage, resuscitation, trauma, medical and surgical cases. She has worked in busy, large hospital departments (military as well as civilian) in her native South Africa, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Changes in SEHA's Sheikh Khalifa Medical City lead to her redundancy and return to South Africa.

But a call to Odyssey started a new job search which was fruitful and RN was soon back on the plane to Dubai to start work as a Charge Nurse in the Emergency Department of a public hospital preparing for an upgrade and vital assessment by the Joint Commission International for the cherished JCI accreditation. Impressed with her expertise in similar JCI accredited hospitals in both Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the hospital had no reservations about hiring her.

Discussion

Q: Tell us about your career background, where did you qualify and where have you previously worked?

RN I qualified as professional nurse in my native South Africa. After qualification I worked at Elim Hospital, Limpopo Province for 7years, Johannesburg General Hospital (now known as Charlotte Maxeke Hospital) for 8 years, then proceeded to the Middle East Gulf Region where I started in the Hijaz, the Western Region of Saudi Arabia at the King Fahad/ Faisal Military Hospital ​and stayed for 3 years. 

After Saudi Arabia, I moved to finally UAE working at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City Hospital in Abu Dhabi for 12 years in a senior nursing role in the busy Emergency Department. After being made redundant recently, I have a new role at Al Qasimi Hospital in Sharjah UAE, one of Emirates Health Services major hospitals, where I am Charge Nurse in the Emergency Department working in a project to make this a top level Joint Commission International (JCI) accredited department.

LIVING IN THE UAE

Q: Why did you initially decide to move to the UAE?

RN: I chose to work in this area for better financial remuneration, as many people do and for career development, working in senior roles in various settings.

Q: What sort of person is suited to a move to the country?

RN To be in the Middle East you need to at least have degree qualification in nursing. This is a new rule introduced this year. For emergency department nurses, life support courses are mandatory, especially BLS.

Q: What challenges do you face on a day-to-day basis, and how do these differ to those you faced elsewhere?

RN: The language barrier is an issue in emergency departments because the majority of patients who attend the public hospital emergency departments in the UAE are construction workers who cannot speak English and usually speak only Hindi, Urdu or regional languages of the Indian subcontinent. Patience is essential. Otherwise working conditions are excellent.
 
Most food is imported from other countries so often expensive and not so fresh. The lifestyle in the UAE is similar to that of western countries and it is easy to adapt after arrival. Saudi Arabia, however, is very different; the culture is very tough and needs to be followed strictly which is restrictive.

Q: What advice would you give to a candidate thinking of working in the UAE?

RN: Be ready to change your life style and miss your family for a while, but the network is available to communicate thus makes life a bit easy.

RECRUITMENT PROCESS 

Q: Tell us about your recruitment journey with Odyssey. How was your experience? 

RN Recruitment with Odyssey has been amazingly fast. I never expected to receive the good news of an interview and job offer on the same day I applied for a job! Recruitment can move slowly in the UAE and it often takes weeks just to get a job interview. However, Odyssey co-ordinated the process very effectively and got me a good job offer, which of course, I accepted.

After my swift offer of employment and acceptance, I started work within just 3 weeks, transferring my license with HAAD to MOH and visa sponsorship to my new employer. With Odyssey, you can do everything online within a wink of an eye, which is great if you don’t have access to a printer and scanner.

Summary

• The job market in the UAE for nurses is highly competitive and candidates with extensive training and experience in a subspeciality and /or tertiary care hospitals tend to be favoured over less experienced applicants. 
• Experience working in JCI accredited hospitals is advantageous as many hospitals aspire to achieve this accreditation and familiarity with the standard policies and procedures is beneficial.
• There is no single UAE professional regulatory authority which means that changing job will often require a new licence application so it is advisable to keep all documents organised for applications.

If you are interested in finding a job in the UAE, register your CV and contact us to discuss your options.

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