KKUH focuses on Saudi nursing skills

King Khalid University Hospital (KKUH) is focusing on developing skills of its nurses and trying to attract more Saudis to the profession, according to a hospital administrator.
Mubarak Al-Faran, dean at KKUH’s college of medicine, said here on Monday: “We are always evaluating the performance of nurses and seeking to improve services. Our nurses are aware of quality improvements and new technologies to upgrade their skills.”
Al-Faran was speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the hospital's annual Nursing Day 2013 entitled “Technology, Innovation and Informatics: Equipping Nurses for Efficiency.”
He praised KKUH administration and the nursing department for helping to make the event successful.
“We continue to deliver high quality compassionate healthcare to all Saudis through more than 1,000 beds at KKUH.”
“We have different programs for the development of nursing including patient care, surgical, communication skills and many others,” he said. He said the hospital has more than 1,000 highly trained nurses including 100 Saudi nurses. "We are seeking more professional local nurses.”
Mohammed Moufleh, director of the nursing department, said: “Nursing is an exceptional service that requires a good healthcare professional, and I am proud that we have these professionals in the hospital.”
Moufleh said the Saudization program in the nursing department focuses on developing young Saudis for the workplace. "The nursing department developed a six-month training program to improve the performance of Saudi staff,” he said.
Mohammad Atallah, associate director of nursing education and quality, said: “Rapid changes are taking place in the healthcare sector. This requires due attention to the implementation of quality improvements and management concepts in nursing operations.”
“We aim to improve the recruitment of nurses and monitor newly-hired Saudi nurses through a comprehensive departmental teaching plan."
“KKUH also provides the highest quality education possible to nursing students and stimulates the critical thinking skills necessary for nursing practice and leadership,” he said.
Abdulaziz Al-Saif, vice dean of KKUH affairs, said: “Nurses are the ones who provide proper care for patients. Sometimes the efforts of the nurses are not recognized by others.”
Al-Saif also presented services awards for the top hard working and dedicated nursing staffers.
Khawla Al-Harbi, IT director of KKUH, said the hospital is preparing the nursing workforce to contribute to a quality and safe healthcare environment. This includes becoming accustomed to a new paperless computerized reporting system.
“The Electronic System for Integrated Heath Information (ESIHI) is a big project that will be launched in October next year. It will help to educate our nursing staff and increase the quality of care for patients,” she said. Accompanying the event was an exhibition, which included the latest technical and academic developments in the field. The exhibition included the art and science of clinical practice.