Sidra Medicine by joining with partners is playing an active role in encouraging more Qataris to join the nursing profession. Along with the other nursing leaders in Qatar, the organisation has been working to promote the profession in Qatar, said Julie Smith (pictured), Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) at Sidra Medicine.
“We are doing this through the platform created by Nursing Now, an International Campaign to enhance the understanding and profile of nursing across the world. We are always looking for opportunities to show the community what nurses do and what excellent careers nursing offers,” she told The Peninsula.
Nursing Now Qatar was launched by the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH), an initiative of Qatar Foundation. WISH has partnered with the global Nursing Now Campaign and the International Council of Nurses to train young nursing leaders from around the world to amplify their voices and positively influence healthcare policy, ahead of attending the annual World Health Assembly.
Senior representatives of Sidra Medicine including Julie, are board members of Nursing Now Qatar. “I always strive to ensure the voice of nursing is strong, understood and contributes to the progression of care and treatment of our patients at Sidra Medicine and their impact on the overall health care system in Qatar,” Julie added.
The nursing team at Sidra Medicine is made up of over 40 nationalities, with many highly trained nurses in a range of areas across specialist pediatric and women’s services, including specialist nurses practitioners and nurse educators. Qatar has more than 16,000 registered nurses and Sidra Medicine has approximately 1,500 nurses. Developing nurses to become Nurse Practitioners is also a focus for Sidra Medicine.
“Nurse Practitioners are highly trained and skilled nurses who have taken on extended roles in delivering patient care in an area of specialty. They have undertaken additional training and education at a Masters level to undertake this role. They provide the medical teams with expert input to their patient group and can undertake duties that would have historically been undertaken by junior doctors” said Julie.
“This group is highly valued by both the nursing and medical professions, providing 24/7 specialist hands-on care. We have approximately 50 nurse practitioners at Sidra Medicine. We are very proud to have our first Qatari nurse currently undertaking her post graduate education to become our first Qatari Nurse Practitioner at Sidra Medicine,” she added.
She also said being a nurse is a privilege, to help people at their most vulnerable is very humbling and rewarding
“Nursing practice is based on evidence and science and provides a progressive and rewarding career,” she said.
