The Healthcare Workforce in the UAE - Essay Example

The Healthcare Workforce in the UAE Name: Unit: Professor: Submission Date Assignment: The Healthcare Workforce in the UAE [Associated ZU Objectives: National and International Perspectives; Governance] The Gonzales, et al chapter provides an analysis of the workforce challenges in the UAE. The reading by Hannawi and Salmi describes the specific challenges facing the health workforce in the UAE. Using the material from these materials, write a response to each of the following questions: The Gonzales, et al (2008) chapter on the UAE makes several observations about the workforce in the UAE. However, these comments do not directly address the health sector. Some of the comments may not be applicable to the health sector. Based on your experience and any additional information you are able to obtain, interpret each of the following statements from the chapter in reference to the health care system. Are these statements accurate in reference to the health system? Are they less applicable to the health system? You are free to consult others, but do not consult other class members: 1. Page 111. “Nonetheless, the greatest barriers to participation of Emirati females in the workforce remain social and cultural factors. These can include social and family obligations that prevent workforce participation, the refusal of male family members to grant females permission to seek work, and perceived social and cultural factors that discourage females from joining the workforce.” (Limit your response to a maximum of 400 words) In the UAE, female participation in the workforce for the locals and the non-nationals is low; less than half of the total population. The case cuts across all the sectors of the economy and not just the health sector. Further, published research estimates show that the female nationals constitute less than 15% of the female physicians in the medical profession and also the nursing profession. The low participation of female professionals in the workforce across all the sectors and especially in the health sector can be attributed to social, economic, and political factors. For instance, it is a difficult struggle for women to achieve professional status in UAE due to their low status in the community and their over dependence on their male counterparts. This explains why over three quarters of the nursing workforce is composed of foreign expatriates and the region’s dependence on foreign nursing expatriates. Further, the cultural values, sociocultural and religious norms hinder women participation in the nursing profession because they are constantly embarrassed by their counterpart male healthcare professionals. The Islamic gender-separation policy is controversial and females may not be allowed to undertake nightshift duties. Additionally, the Arabic and Islamic cultures degrade the nursing profession to the level that nurses are viewed as patients’ maids and physicians’ assistants. Further, female physicians and nurses are exposed to limited training programs, educational capacities, and receive low remunerations, therefore, lacking financial incentives and poorly motivated as well as dissatisfied. Illiteracy rates are extremely high among the female native population. These partially explain why foreigners congest the nursing profession in UAE. The increased participation of foreigners in the health sector is associated with various negativities. These include sociocultural differences, language barriers, and different religious affiliations due to the diverse backgrounds of the expatriates. These in turn lead to confusion in the healthcare practice, development of conflicting health goals as well as non-adherence to treatment procedures as expatriates impose conflicting values. Therefore, there is the need to empower the female natives through exposure to modern training programs and education as well as provide incentives and motivate them to participate in the medical and nursing professions. There is also the need to desist from cultural beliefs that undermine women and their capabilities if an effective healthcare system is to be achieved. Occupational segregation discriminating women from working in particular fields alongside males in various contexts should also be curbed to promote gender equality and empowerment (Watson, 2012, Gonzalez, Karoly, Salema & Goldman, 2008, Hannawi & Al Salmi, 2013). 2. Page 112. “Officials in the government and private sector suggested that an insufficient number of Emirati graduates of secondary school and university possess the skills needed to meet the growing demands of the country.” (Limit your response to a maximum of 400 words) One of the key challenges facing the UAE and the neighboring countries in the contemporary world is the promotion of the human resource capital development. The education system is greatly wanting and produces unqualified graduates leading to mismatch between acquired skills and the job market requirements. The deficits in the education systems and, hence, the workforce skills in the region cause deficiency in the supply of skilled workforce and increased rates of unemployment. Although Progress has been made in raising the literacy levels, education outcomes have not been on a par with the international standards and those of the other developed countries. The education system does not consistently produce professional graduates with competitive skills required by the global economy. With the high economic growth experienced by UAE today due to discovery of oil and gases, one of the consequences is that the high demand for skilled and qualified workforce is slowly outpacing the dwindling supply of skilled workers. Another problem facing the UAE workforce is the outmigration of qualified graduates especially in the health sector due to unemployment, lack of incentives and low levels of motivation. Health workforce outmigration affects service delivery and provision, healthcare quality, and the distribution of health staff across administrative units. This causes a serious issue of health workers maldistribution causing inequalities in healthcare service, skill imbalances as well as geographical maldistribution. The difficulties associated with understaffing are compounded by skill imbalances, morale problems, geographical maldistribution, weak knowledge base, and poor work environment, most of which reflect poor human capital resource management. The problem of outmigration also contributes to the domination of the workforce by foreign workers who impose culturally impulsive practices complicating the healthcare service delivery. For UAE to wrestle properly with the demanding good health system, the education system should be tailored to provide well trained, motivated, and supported workers. The staff should be appropriately prepared for technology dynamics and should be internationally competitive, an endeavor that calls for a strategic workforce planning. The illiteracy rates should be lowered and the skill mismatch symptom addressed by adopting appropriate education system. For effective workforce strategies, three core elements should be incorporated that include lowering workforce turnover in the health sector, improving recruitment, and skill development to make existing staff better. The challenges and solutions discussed above are not solely secluded to the health sector but also apply to all the other sectors of the economy (Watson, 2012, Gonzalez, Karoly, Salema and Goldman, 2008, Hannawi and Al Salmi, 2013). 3. Page 115. “One recent study found that in addition to pointing to deficits in technical skills, employers point to weaknesses in the areas of ‘communication, interpersonal skills, customer relations, and work ethics’ among college graduates.” (Limit your response to a maximum of 400 words) A country’s basic education infrastructure and the effectiveness of public institutions fundamentally determine the outcome of the education institutions and the training system. The process of raising the skill levels of the contemporary and future workforce requires a critical focus not just on primary and secondary education but also the tertiary education and the training system. A strong foundation at the primary level and incorporation of all the aspects and requirements of the job market in the secondary and subsequent tertiary training institutions ensure that the graduates possess the required communication, interpersonal and customer relations as well as proper work ethics. The efforts to address education and training needs to match the skill requirement are not as systematic and well sustained as to curb the prominent workforce challenges in the Arabic world. The locals are not actively engaged in education and training reforms and hardly participate in international student assessments partially due to foreign domination of the local economy and partially due to poor governance. Reports published by the World Bank and research institutions indicate that the inadequacy of the knowledge capital and declining quality of education are the greatest challenges of the Arab world. For instance, research by UNESCO and WHO indicate that the instructions of the English language are not taught well to students to enable them communicate effectively in the English language and keep up with the modern developments in information technology. With the modern developments in technology, the human capital needs vary over time. With little investment in the human capital through education and on-the-job training, the situation is bound to worsen in all the sectors of the economy. The problem can be addressed by developing national plans that target ‘education for all’ and establishing institutions that promote early childhood education and development. The health sector is a sensitive one involving interaction of people from different backgrounds and allowing no room for error. Therefore, those planning to undertake medical and nursing professions should be exposed to thorough and effective training to prepare them adequately to deal with the demands and challenges associated with the profession. Therefore, various goals need to be achieved to facilitate the acquisition of quality education by students. They include the expansion and improvement of comprehensive early childhood development and education especially for the disadvantaged in society, promoting girl child education especially among the ethnic minorities, provision of equitable access to learning facilities, promote gender equality, and the improvement of all aspects of the quality of education (Watson, 2012, Gonzalez, Karoly, Salema and Goldman, 2008, Hannawi and Al Salmi, 2013). The three comments below are from the two articles by Hannawi and Salmi (2013), and Almazroui (2014). Based on your experience and any additional information you are able to obtain, discuss the accuracy of each of these statements. Reference to the health care system. You are free to consult others, but do not consult other class members: (Limit your response to a maximum of 400 words) 4. (a) “The limited number of native physicians/nurses raises the concern as to whether language barriers, religion and sociocultural differences between the majority expatriates who come from diverse educational and cultural backgrounds, and their patients would affect the quality of health care.” (Hannawi and Salmi, 2013). The greater percentage of the health workforce of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and generally the Arabic world is composed of non-nationals. Natives in the health care are approximately a quarter of the total workforce. The increased participation of foreign expatriates in the health sector is associated with various negative effects. These include sociocultural differences, language barriers, and different religious affiliations due to the diverse backgrounds of the expatriates. These in turn lead to confusion in the healthcare practice, development of conflicting health goals as well as non-adherence to treatment procedures as expatriates impose conflicting values and norms. The imposition of customs, values, and norms that are not congruent with those of the natives cause noncompliance with treatment protocols by the natives causing stress, conflict, and ethical dilemmas (Hannawi and Salmi, 2013). (b) “In the UAE, medical training is recent but lacks the necessary funds; the career development activities are uncoordinated, and there is no systematic performance appraisal. . . The continuing education programmes are episodic and often unplanned. The quality of care offered by the physicians and nurses thus bound to deteriorate over time.” (Hannawi and Salmi, 2013). The UAE education and training system is poorly coordinated and organized due to poor governance and excessive government bureaucracy. One of the greatest challenges faced by UAE today is the promotion of the human resource capital development. The education system is greatly wanting and produces unqualified graduates leading to mismatch between acquired skills and the requirements of the healthcare service. The deficits in the education systems and, hence, the workforce skills in the region cause deficiency in the supply of skilled workforce. Further, on-the-job training receives little support from the government and public institutions. Although progress has been made in raising the literacy levels, education outcomes have not been on a par with the international standards and those of the other developed countries. Moreover, millions of Arabians in the region are deprived of education or receive poor quality education and training that does not adequately and appropriately prepare them for the technological era or make them internationally competitive (Hannawi and Salmi, 2013). (c)“Compared to neighboring countries, UAE physicians are blessed with better salaries,” Dr Alseiari said, “but take into consideration the number of working hours, the extensive training, the calls and liabilities, all of these make the medical profession less appealing” (Almazroui, 2014). The process of human capital development, recruitment, and retention of workers does not necessarily involve better remuneration. The non-financial incentives have been identified as factors that improve health workforce sourcing, recruitment and retention. The process of effectively managing the human resources involves not only education expansion and workforce planning but also the provision of better working environment and conditions. Therefore, there is need to address the issues of working conditions of the health workforce in UAE and how they relate to the recruitment and retention of the workforce. The better salaries offered need to be complemented by improved benefits and reduced workloads to facilitate effective service delivery (Almazroui, 2014). References Gonzalez, G., Karoly, L.A., Salema, L.C.H., Goldman, C.A. (2008). The United Arab Emirates. Education and Labor Market Initiatives in Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. Santa Monica CA: Rand-Qatar Policy Institute; 1-299, retrieved 10/2/16 http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/monographs/2008/RAND_MG786.pdf Hannawi S., Al Salmi, I. (2013). Health workforce in the United Arab Emirates: analytic point of view, International Journal of Health Planning and Management: DOI: 10.1002/hpm.2198, retrieved 10/2/16 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hpm.2198/full Watson, T. (2012). Global Workforce Study: UAE Report. Dubai: Towers Watson, retrieved 10/2/16, https://www.towerswatson.com/Insights/IC-Types/Survey-Research-Results/2012/07/2012-Towers-Watson-Global-Workforce-Study. 5. Almazroui, A. (2014). Why do Emiratis shy away from a career in medicine? The National, retrieved 10/2/16, http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/comment/why-do-emiratis-shy-away-from-acareer-in-medicine. Read More