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Volume 6 Journal of Child and Adolescent Behavior Psychiatry Neuro 2018
November 12-13, 2018
November 12-13, 2018 Dubai, UAE
30th International Conference on
&
Joint Meeting on
Psychiatry and Mental Health
25 th Cognitive Neuroscience Congress
Looking through a social constructivist lens to identify social and cultural factors influencing nursing
in the UAE
Briliya Devadas
Fatima College of Health Sciences, UAE
Background & Aim: The nursing profession today is facing significant global
challenges in the area of workforce imbalances and underlying this multifaceted
problem is one of decreased supply and increased demand, with negative impacts
affecting health care systems around the world. The situation is true in the UAE as
well. The purpose is to critically explore the issue through a social constructivist lens,
with a view to broaden understanding on the phenomena and highlight the complex
web of inter-related socio-cultural circumstances that surround the Emirati nursing
students’, their families and their immediate local community’s perception of the
nursing profession in the United Arab Emirates.
Method:Review of existing literature and a hermeneutic phenomenological interview,
conducted with an Emirati nurse currently pursuing a post-graduate bridging nursing
degree in Abu Dhabi while working in the Emirate, to elicit some empirical findings
on the issues.
Findings: Select socio-cultural factors influencing the profession in the country
include the changing face of nursing and the nursing student, night shift duty, disapproving family members and relatives, lack of
awareness among the local population, poor media portrayal and limited role models. Islamic factors having a bearing on the societal
perception of nursing include contrasting values such as strict ethical and moral principles in society. Political factors influencing
the local perception include poor governmental resources for nursing and nursing schools and approval of licensure for immigrant
workers. Professional factors contributing to the phenomenon includes nursing being a developing profession.
Conclusion: Each of the factors, by themselves contribute to the poor societal recognition of nursing in the UAE, together they form
a formidable web of interrelated factors demonstrating the uphill battle that leaders in nursing face, in professionalizing nursing in the
country.
Recent Publications
1. Devadas B (2017) Nursing Education Leaders Experiences of Emirati Nursing Student Recruitment and Retention. The Journal of
Middle East and North Africa Sciences; 3(11): 12-24.
2. Devadas B R (2017) Emirati student recruitment and retention in nursing education using a mixed methods approach. Learning
and Teaching in Higher Education: Gulf Perspectives;
Biography
Briliya Devadas is working as an Assistant Professor at the Fatima College of Health Sciences, UAE. Her use of the socio-constructivist model has helped to gain
insight in the culture of the nursing profession. Her investigations are in recruitment and retention within the organization, in nursing education and the role of nurse
education leaders in dealing with the issue.
Briliya Devadas, J Child Adolesc Behav 2018, Volume 6
DOI: 10.4172/2375-4494-C2-009