The Saudi government is currently facing multiple challenges in achieving “The Gold Standard” in nursing practice. This is not limited to educational challenges, staffing shortage, paucity of international and national benchmark evidence, absence of clear and defined scope of nursing practice, and lack of appropriate policies and regulations. This study presented a comprehensive plan for developing a policy based on current challenges, recognition of policy goals, assessment of potential options and alternatives, identification of stakeholders, proposition of recommended solutions, and implementation of the framework to transform nursing standards and link these changes with the Saudi Vision 2030. However, amendments are required in the present strategic plan for the better management of the nursing profession. It is doubtful that the current nursing profession status quo is capable of meeting the golden standards for health care. Thus, the transformation of the nursing profession in Saudi Arabia is necessary.

Aim The present study aimed to analyse the disaster preparedness among Saudi nurses through self‐regulation survey. Background Nurses along with other healthcare professionals face difficulty in terms of management during disastrous condition. Moreover, there is a need to improve the abilities of nurses in managing disaster events by examining the disaster preparedness of nurses. Methods It employed quantitative descriptive design by conducting a self‐regulation survey among 350 nurses recruited from five government hospitals in Medina, Saudi Arabia. Data related to the motivation, commitment and self‐regulation of nurses concerning their participation in disaster preparedness activities were collected. Results Self‐regulation scores were significantly related to the nationality (t [328] 3.95, p < .001), nursing education (t [328] 2.14, p < .05), age group (F [2,327] 4.75, p < .01) and experience (F [3,317] 4.891, p < .01), whereas insignificant association was found with gender (t [328] 1.84, p > .05) and hospitals (F [4,325] 0.925, p > .05). Conclusion The level of knowledge of the healthcare nurses was satisfactory for the disaster preparedness, while there prevails a neutral level of involvement, preparedness and commitment among them. Implications for Nursing Management There is a crucial need for hospital management to arrange disaster preparedness awareness and understanding programs for nurses and hospital staff to be competent for overcoming the risks associated with these events.

Low recruitment of Saudi nationals into the nursing profession, coupled with a growing population, has led to a severe nursing shortage in Saudi Arabia, particularly of nurses with advanced qualifications in clinical nursing. While the role of nurse practitioner has been successfully integrated into the healthcare systems of the U.S., Canada, the UK and Australia for decades, the advanced practice registered nurse (APRN), which includes nurse practitioners and clinical nursing specialists, is still not being implemented effectively in Saudi Arabia due to a variety of regulatory, institutional and cultural barriers. The author looks at some of those barriers and offers recommendations of how they might be overcome. Given that in many parts of the world, nurse practitioners are considered an essential component to meeting healthcare demands, the author considers the question of whether APRNs can find a role in Saudi Arabia’s healthcare system.

Inadequate pain management affects the patient outcome. Pain assessment and management are fundamental in nursing care, and nurses must be equipped with adequate knowledge and a positive attitude toward pain assessment and management. This study aims to evaluate nurses’ knowledge and attitudes regarding pain assessment and management at King Fahad Hospital, Al-Madinah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A quantitative, cross-sectional survey, using a self-administered questionnaire, was conducted from January to February 2020 with 660 registered nurses working in the Emergency Department, critical care units, inpatient and outpatient departments at King Fahad Hospital in Al-Medinah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The data were analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics. Of the 660 nurses, 291 responded, resulting in a response rate of 44.09%. The participants’ scores ranged from 17.7% to 100%, with a mean score 45.29%. The majority of the participants (70.1%) had a poor level of knowledge and attitudes (score < 50%). Nurses working in the outpatient department scored significantly higher than the group working in the Emergency Department and inpatient wards. Deficient knowledge and negative attitudes were found and nurses continue to underassess and undertreat pain. Nursing school curricula and in-service continuous education must equip nurses with the required knowledge and attitudes to enable them to manage pain effectively.

Negative experiences on an internship can adversely affect the attitude and confidence of nursing students. This highlights the need to explore the experiences of nursing students as they progress through their training. The present study examines the challenges and problems faced by nursing students during their internship program at a hospital in Medina, Saudi Arabia. The study employed a qualitative exploratory study design by recruiting eight nursing students. Face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted to gather data. Moreover, the data were thematically analyzed. The major challenges and problems experienced by the nursing students were lack of support, distrust, improper behavior, and absence of a preceptorship program. There is a negative impact of these issues on nursing practice in clinical settings. The study concludes that positive outcomes are likely to be achieved by improving the internship program.