Dubai: Doctors, nurses and medical technicians will now have to put in certain hours to further educate themselves in their fields of specialisation if they wish to renew their medical licences.
The new requirement from the Ministry of Health has been put into effect retroactively from last month, and will help raise the standards of health care services and improve the performance of doctors in the country, the Ministry said in a statement.
In addition to the professional development programme, doctors must complete 30 hours training, pharmacists must finish 20 hours, nurses 15 hours and technicians 10 hours.
This is in addition to annual performance appraisals and will be a basic requirement for promotion and benefits.
Dr Ameen Al Amiri, executive director for medical practices and licences at the Ministry, said the new requirements are for both public and private sectors.
He said a special website has been launched where doctors, pharmacists and technicians can renew their licences and obtain the required information.
Learning process
The Ministry has already begun the process of professional development and continued learning for medical and pharmaceutical staff, he said.
It is organising various educational training workshops for doctors, pharmacists and technicians in both public and private sectors.
Owners of hospitals earlier said the licensing procedure for medical professionals is lengthy and time-consuming and needs to be streamlined.
There is a huge demand for doctors and nurses across the country as the number of health care providers grow.
Recently, it was announced that Abu Dhabi alone needs to recruit about 3,400 doctors and nurses every year to meet demand.
Health Authority Abu Dhabi said that if demand for health professionals remains the same as last year, another 1,600 doctors and almost 1,800 nurses will be required annually.
It is estimated that up to 5,000 more doctors and 6,500 nurses will be required by 2019.
Do you think these tests are a good idea? How would you rate the quality of the medical care you have received in the UAE over the years? Do think this step will help raise standards in health care?
