The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the history of nursing in the Sultanate of Oman, focusing in particular on the past 50 years. The information cited in the paper is retrieved from the official documents of the Directorate General of Nursing Affairs at the Ministry of Health of Oman, unless otherwise cited. Modern nursing in Oman began in the early 1900s, with the arrival of the American Missionary Association. The key events for the development of nursing in Oman occurred in 1970, when the Ministry of Health was established, and in 1979, when the Directorate of Nursing emerged as an independent department within the Ministry office. It is hoped that this article will be used by Omani and other researchers to further explore the evolution of nursing as a profession in Oman.

Objectives: This study aimed to determine the extent to which physicians and nurses in Oman were aware of the importance of and adhere to patients’ rights and whether this differed according to role, nationality, position and institutional healthcare level. Methods: This analytical cross-sectional study was carried out between December 2015 and March 2016 at various governmental healthcare institutions in Oman. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 1,385 practitioners at all healthcare levels. Results: A total of 1,213 healthcare practitioners (response rate: 87.58%) completed the survey, of which 685 (56.47%) were nurses and 528 (43.53%) were physicians. Overall, awareness of the importance of patients’ rights was high (91.51%), although adherence to these rights in practice was low (63.81%). The right of the patient to be informed was considered least important and was least adhered to (81.2% and 56.39%). Nationality, role and institutional level were significantly associated with awareness (P = 0.002, 0.024 and 0.034, respectively). Non-Omani staff were significantly more likely than Omani staff to be aware of (odds ratio [OR] = 1.696; P = 0.032) and adhere to (OR = 2.769; P <0.001) patient rights. Furthermore, tertiary care staff were twice as likely as primary care staff to perceive the importance of patient rights (OR = 2.076; P = 0.019). While physicians were more likely than nurses to be aware of the importance of patient rights, this difference was not significant (OR = 1.516; P = 0.126). Conclusion: These findings may help inform measures to enhance awareness of and adherence to patients’ rights in Oman.Keywords: Medical Ethics; Patient Rights; Awareness; Adherence; Physicians; Nurses; Oman.