Manama: A Masters degree programme in nursing will be launched next year in Qatar to make the nursing profession more attractive to Qataris.

Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) and the University of Calgary-Qatar (UC-Q) said that they would start the programme to open opportunities for Qataris. According to Dr Nabila Almeer, executive director of nursing at HMC and chairperson of Nursing Scientific Committee, only 6 per cent of the 6,000 nurses from 50 countries working at HMC are Qataris.

"The lack of interest among young Qatari men and women... is one of the biggest challenges facing Qatar's premier health institution," she told the Qatar Tribune daily.