The emirate's medical authority will hire graduates of UAE nursing programmes to replace departing expatriate nurses, a health official said.
"Recruiting new graduate nurses will ease the staffing shortage we face, due to recent mass resignations submitted by expatriate nurses," said Dr Yasser Eisa Al Nuaimi, head of the Ras Al Khaimah medical district.
The district has lost about 100 nurses in the past few months. The foreign nurses in the emirate come mainly from the Philippines and India.
Yesterday, 16 national nurses joined nursing teams in Ras Al Khaimah.
"With next year's batch of graduates from the Ras Al Khaimah Nursing Institute, we hope the emirate's hospitals and medical centres can meet their basic staffing needs," he said.
"The graduates of UAE nursing programmes represent the only way to overcome shortages," Dr Al Nuaimi said.
"The Ministry of Health is totally committed to recruiting the graduates once they receive their degrees," he said.
The nurse shortage in Ras Al Khaimah stems in part from interest among expatriate nurses in applying for jobs in Europe, the United States, Canada and Australia.
The health authorities offered the expatriate nurses various incentives to stay, but the nurses turned them down.
"Replacing a departing nurse is a real problem for the district. A nurse can resign in one day, but we need months to replace her," he said.
