Advancing Nursing Practice: The Emergence of the Role of Advanced Practice Nurse in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

BACKGROUNDThe roots of advanced practice nursing (APN) can be traced back to the 1890s, but the nurse practitioner (NP) emerged in Western countries during the 1960s in response to the unmet healthcare needs of populations in rural areas. These early NPs utilized the medical model of care to assess, diagnose and treat. Nursing has since grown as a profession, with its own unique and distinguishable, holistic, science-based knowledge, which is complementary within the multidisciplinary team. Today, APNs demonstrate nursing expertise in clinical practice, education, research and leadership, and are no longer perceived as “physician replacements” or assistants. Saudi Arabia has yet to define, legislate or regulate APN.AIMSThis article aims to disseminate information from a Saudi APN thought leadership meeting, to chronicle the history of APN within Saudi Arabia, while identifying strategies for moving forward.CONCLUSIONIt is important to build an APN model based on Saudi healthcare culture and patient population needs, while recognizing global historical underpinnings. Ensuring that nursing continues to distinguish itself from other healthcare professions, while securing a seat at the multidisciplinary healthcare table will be instrumental in advancing the practice of nursing.

Nursing Education in Saudi Arabia: History and Development

“…Secondly, there is no guarantee that nursing graduates will practice what they have learned and trained for during their studies. These issues also work against Saudi nurses who graduate from international nursing schools, including advanced nursing practitioners who are not guided by clear nursing practice regulations [33].…”

Variation in job titles within the nursing workforce

“…Other countries, which are introducing such roles, now tend to favour pursuing a professional and regulatory framework during the development of the role (Hibbert et al., ) in which job titles are protected and can be used only by certified and credentialed individuals. The confusion over the naming of nursing roles and their various functions or scopes of practice has been an issue for some time, not just for nursing but other healthcare professionals too and serves to feed role dissonance (Bryant‐Lukosius, DiCenso, Browne, & Pinelli, ; Gardner, Chang, & Duffield, ).…”

Nurse Practitioner: Is It Time to Have a Role in Saudi Arabia?

“…In addition to an overall nursing shortage, there is a severe shortage of nurses with advanced qualifications in clinical nursing. Although several studies have shown the importance of APRNs in the healthcare system, advanced nursing practice is still not implemented effectively in Saudi Arabia, except in one tertiary hospital (King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre) which hires experienced expatriates for this role [ 19 ].…”