Ras Al Khaimah: Arab world’s Florence Nightingale, the UAE’s first and oldest nurse, died yesterday at age of 80 years at a private hospital in Ras Al Khaimah, an official source said.

Salma Al Sharhan, who was also dubbed as the UAE’s Florence Nightingale, was admitted to the Obaidallah Geriatric Hospital a few days ago, as she was suffering from age-related diseases, the official source at the Ras Al Khaimah Medical Zone said.

Her death came one week after a decision by the Board of Trustees of the Institute of Applied Technology to have a laboratory named after her at the Fatima College of Health Sciences in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain.

The initiative comes in recognition of Salma’s pioneering role in nursing as she was the first ever Emirati nurse to dedicating her life to serving sick people.

Salma, who never married, started her career in the early 1960s. She was trained in nursing by the British Health Mission during the British Improvement Council. She was given a permanent room at the Saif Bin Gobash Hospital, which is her home. The Ministry of Health decided never to retire her and continued to give her a full salary. In the early days, she would walk to reach her patients, even those in the mountains.

Four years ago, Salma was honoured by His Highness Shaikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, in appreciation of her outstanding contributions to nursing.

She also won the Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Medical Sciences as an appreciation for her work.

Salma was born in the early 1930s and when she was 14 years old, a Shaikh in Ras Al Khaimah chose her to be a nurse and then was trained at Al Nakheel Pharmacy, which served the entire emirate.

The pharmacy composed of three rooms and a clinic. The clinic belonged to the British Council.

She was trained by the first doctor in Ras Al Khaimah, a British national named “Fayroz”, who taught her the basics of nursing. Then they moved to the Palm Hospital, which was opened in 1961 by the British Council.

Salma used to advise nurses to preserve the secrets of patients and to welcome them with a smile always, and to put up with them because the nursing profession requires great patience, as well as to maintain the ethics and work hard in serving the UAE.

Salma was a role model as she opened the way for the UAE women to work in the field of nursing. She will always be remembered for her dedication and hard work.