president of the uae nursing and midwifery counciluaenmc.gov.ae/data/files/2016june/uae nmc annual...

PRESIDENT OF THE UAE NURSING AND MIDWIFERY COUNCIL

HRH PRINCESS HAYA BINT AL HUSSEIN,

WIFE OF HIS HIGHNESS SHEIKH MOHAMMED BIN RASHID AL MAKTOUM,

VICE-PRESIDENT AND PRIME MINISTER OF THE UAE AND RULER OF DUBAI

[Annual Report 2015] UAE NURSING AND MIDWIFERY COUNCIL

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BACKGROUND

In March 2009, HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime

Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, issued a Cabinet Resolution (No. 10 of 2009),

establishing the United Arab Emirates Nursing and Midwifery Council under the leadership of

the Council President HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, wife of His Highness Sheikh

Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of

Dubai, and with the support of His Excellency, the UAE Minister of Health.

The decision to establish the Council reflects the government’s dedication to improve

healthcare by advancing nursing and midwifery as an essential component of high quality

healthcare for the UAE. The Council, in line with the highest international standards, will

establish unified, national standards for practice, education and professional conduct. The

ultimate aim is to protect the health, safety, and wellbeing of the public with safe nursing

practice.

HRH Princess Haya’s role as President has been a key driving force for the establishment of the

Council. Her commitment towards providing access to high quality healthcare across the UAE is

highlighted in Her encouragement and ongoing support in identifying sustainable solutions

towards upgrading nursing care.

Council members represent all relevant healthcare and educational entities in the UAE. This

includes representatives from the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Interior,

Ministry of Higher Education, Health Authority of Abu Dhabi, SEHA, Dubai Health Authority,

Dubai Healthcare City Authority, Higher Colleges of Technology, Sharjah University, Fatima

College of Health Sciences, the Armed Forces Medical Services, Emirates Medical Association,

Emirates Nursing Association, and the private healthcare sector.


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MISSION

Our mission is to protect and promote the health of the people of the UAE by unifying

standards for nursing and midwifery practice, education, and licensure and to contribute

systematically to improving the health status of the people of the UAE.

VISION

Our vision is for nursing and midwifery to be regulated, and for nurses and midwives of the UAE

to practice in accordance with unified national standards and to provide reliably high quality

nursing and midwifery services in all care settings throughout the UAE.

VALUES

Our values ground the work of the Council in our mission of protecting the health of the public.

We strive for excellence and a high level of professionalism in all we do.

We are accountable to the public as we act in the best interests of those we serve.

We are fair and act with integrity in setting and applying standards.

We are collaborative, engaging all stakeholders in our work.

We are effective, setting and maintaining high standards for efficiency and service.

We are innovative, searching for the best solutions to meet the public’s needs.


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BOARD MEMBERS

By end of 2015, several changes to the UAE NMC Board membership occurred in response to

requests from entities represented in the Council. Current membership includes:

1. First Lieutenant. Amna Al Danhani, Chief Director of Nursing – Zayed Military Hospital,

Military Health Services

2. First Lieutenant. Asma Mohamed Al Mazim, Head of Health Education Office,

Department of Medical Services, Ministry of Interior Framework

3. Ms. Aysha Al Siri, Director of Nutrition and School Health Department, Ministry of

Education

4. Dr. Corrien Van Belkum – Head of Department of Nursing - Fatima College, Institute of

Applied Technology

5. Dr. Fatima Abdullah, Senior Vice Provost, New York University-Abu Dhabi, Emirates

Nursing Association

6. Dr. Fatima Al Jasmi, Asst. Prof., Faculty of Medicine - Pediatrics, UAE University

7. Dr. Fatima Al Rifai, Nursing Affairs Advisor, Ministry of Health, Secretary of UAENMC

8. Dr. Khaled Aljaberi, Director, Health Regulation Division, Health Authority of Abu Dhabi

9. Dr. Layla Al Marzouqi, Acting Director, Health Regulation Department, Dubai Health

Authority

10. PROF. Mona AlRukhaimi, Consultant Physician and Nephrologist. Prof. of Medical, DMC,

Emirates Medical Association

11. Dr. Muhaditha AlHashimi, Director - HCT Sharjah Colleges/Executive Dean, Health

Science Program, Higher Colleges of Technology

12. Dr. Ramadan Ibrahim, Managing Director- Regulation Sector, Dubai Healthcare City

Authority

13. PROF. Sameer Awadallah, Acting Dean, College of Health Sciences, University of Sharjah

14. Ms. Zahra Ali Abdi, Deputy Chief Nursing Officer, Al Corniche Hospital, SEHA


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BOARD MEETINGS The Council Board convened three times during 2015:

1ST MEETING) 29 JANUARY, 2015(

Chairperson of Dubai Healthcare City Authority and President of the UAE Nursing and Midwifery Council HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein chaired the first meeting of the UAE Nursing and midwifery Council Board for 2015. HE Abdul Rahman Mohammed Al Owais, Minister of Health, HE Engineer Essa Al Haj Maidour, Director General of the Dubai Health Authority, HE Dr. Raja Al Gurg, Deputy Chairman of the Dubai Healthcare City, and HE Nasser Khalifa Al Budoor, Assistant Undersecretary, Ministry of Health, Director of the Office of the Minister of Health attended the meeting. In addition, representatives of the Al Jalila institution, Cleveland Clinic in Abu Dhabi attended as guests.

Members of the Council representing the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Interior Defense, Dubai Health Authority, Health Authority Abu Dhabi, Dubai Healthcare City, University of Sharjah, Higher Colleges of Technology, Emirates Nursing Association, and Emirates Medical Association were in attendance as well as chairpersons and coordinators of the Scientific committees of the Council.


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The meeting focused on reviewing the Council directions and plans for 2015, including the Council’s guidelines to achieve "positive work environment" to enable nurses and midwives to e provide safe and quality care.

HRH, guests and the Board members were informed about the five domains of the positive work environment framework that was developed by the Scientific Committee on Practice. These domains include Leadership and Management, Job satisfaction and job security, Work life balance, Professional development and Environmental health and safety. Continuing with the same topic, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi presented their Model of Governance to reach Magnet standards. The focus of this model is engaging nurses and midwives and promoting the provision of positive work environment. This presentation provided the Council’s team an opportunity to share experiences and discuss strategies in this field.

The Ministry of Health representative presented an updates on the initiative "Enhancing and Promoting nursing as an attractive profession in UAE" which resulted from the Government Ministerial Retreat in December 2013. Ways to support the implementation of this initiative discussed. Representatives of the various entities expressed their interest and willingness to support the activities and the programs of the initiative in order to develop and strengthen the nursing profession and to attract nationals to enroll in it.

The Board members reviewed a number of topics related to the work of the Scientific Committees. The Council's Members discussed and reviewed the reports of the committees. They acknowledged the achievements and approved the future steps for each committee.

2ND MEETING (5 JUNE, 2015)


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The UAE Nursing and Midwifery Council held its second meeting for the year 2015 on Thursday, November 4, 2015 at Dubai Healthcare City Authority - Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Academic Medical Center. The meeting was attended by Council Members, in addition to a number of Council Committees’ chairs, and coordinators and a number of Emirati nurse leaders from the Ministry of Health and other health authorities.

The meeting

agenda included

updates from

partners and

stakeholders. A

presentation on

“Growing our

own nurses” by

SEHA

representative

identified current

and potential local supply pipe line for undergraduate and post graduate specialist nurses in

Abu Dhabi, and explored the benefits of growing locally trained nursing workforce and what can

be done to make this a reality.

Another update was from the Ministry of Health on the achievements and activities of the initiative "Enhancing and Promoting nursing as an attractive profession in UAE”. The initiative aims to enhance the attractiveness of the nursing profession through the development of programs designed to increase the number of national nurses and to improve working and practice environment in healthcare institutions.

The Goals of the Initiative:

1. Attract UAE nationals to work in the nursing profession and retain them by providing an attractive work environment

2. Provide nursing education programs in higher education institutions in all seven Emirates

3. Raise awareness about the profession in UAE society, especially among young people to elevate the nursing profession

Council members and the audience expressed their commitment to continue to support this initiative and acknowledged the progress that has been made.

Board members also, reviewed topics related to what has been accomplished through the scientific committees of the Council. In this respect, the Practice Committee presented the outcomes of the Chief Nursing and Midwifery (CNMO’s) Forum: Advancing Positive Practice


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Environment across the UAE, which was held on 5 May 2015 at the Rosewood Hotel, Maryah Island – Abu Dhabi in collaboration with Cleveland Clinic, Abu Dhabi.

The objectives of the Forum were to:

- Reflect on the study conducted in 2011 on ‘Nurse and Patient and Quality of Care in the UAE Hospitals’

- Discuss the Positive Practice Environment Guidelines developed by the Practice Committee

- Share initiatives implemented by private and government health authorities based on the outcomes and recommendations of the study

- Identify approaches for expanding Positive Practice Environment across the UAE.

There were sixty participants including Practice Committee members that attended this event. The attendees were CNMOs from all over the Emirates, including private and government health authorities.

During the Forum, Dr. Linda Aiken shared the findings and outcome of the cross-sectional study of the 24 hospitals across the UAE. CNOs from HAAD and DHA presented and shared their initiatives that they implemented related to enhancing positive practice environment within their facilities. The Forum participants reviewed and further developed the “Positive Practice Environment Guidelines” that the committee had prepared.

Finally, the Board members approved and signed the standards for the "effective clinical learning environment standards" developed by the Scientific Committee on Education.

3RD MEETING (22 OCTOBER, 2015)


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The UAE Nursing and Midwifery Council successfully conducted its third board meeting for 2015 at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Academic Medical Centre in Dubai Healthcare City. Present at the meeting were members of the Council Board, Chairs and Coordinators of the Council Scientific Committees and invited guests.

During the meeting, the Ministry of Health highlighted the successful implementation of its ‘Enhancing the Attractiveness of the Nursing Profession’ initiative. Under the initiative, 40 Emirati undergraduates, 19 Emirati nurses to complete the BSN bridging programs, and five practicing nurses who are pursuing a Master’s degree were granted academic scholarship.

The Council members and other attendees expressed their support to the activities and programs of this initiative.

In addition, the Board members reviewed the initiatives of health authorities and educational institutions towards realizing the Council’s strategic directions and the utilization of the Council’s standards and guidelines. For example, the effort of various educational institutions to encourage Emiratis to enroll in the Bachelor of Nursing programs has resulted in an increase in the number of Emirati students. About 73 female local students have enrolled at Higher Colleges of Technology, while 130 female Emirati students entered the program at Fatima College of Health Sciences. In addition, University of Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah College of Health Sciences also reported an increase in their enrollment of Emirati students.

During the meeting, attendees reviewed reports presented by the Council’s various committees. The Committee on Practice completed and circulated to members of various scientific committees the Council’s guidelines on establishing a positive work environment for review and feedback. The guidelines will be ready for approval and publishing during the Board next meeting.

The Scientific Committee on Education contributed to the development and standardization of the Admission Criteria for the enrollment in the nursing programs in universities and colleges. The recommendations will be submitted to the Ministry of Health and the Council for further review. In addition, the Scientific Committee on Education also informed the Council that it will participate at the 6th Nursing Conference- Arab Health where it will present working papers on the committee’s standards and guidelines.

The Committee also briefed the Council’s Board members about the progress of the Ministry of Health’s meeting with the Academic Accreditation Committee of the Ministry of Higher Education based on recommendations raised by the Board during their last meeting. Both Ministries are closely coordinating to resolve the issue of recognizing the Diplomas of nursing of previously existing programs within MOH and other institutions.

The Board members approved a proposal to conduct an annual forum during December 2015. This Forum is proposed to bring the Council’s Board, the Scientific Committees members, Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officers and stakeholders and partners from service and education


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together. The objectives of the forum are to celebrate achievements, identify challenges and to envision the future.

THE SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEES

The following is a brief on the Councils’ Scientific Committees activities during 2015:

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE FOR REGISTRATION AND LICENSURE

• The committee worked on the development of national registration and licensure

standards which are:

Standard 1: Titles, Definitions and Requirements (finalized)

Standard 2: License Renewal (finalized)

Standard 3: Re-entry to Profession / Returning to practice (in process)

Standard 4: Fitness to Practice (in process)

Standard 5: Continuing professional development : (in process) • Committee members’ list was updated to ensure the willingness of the existing members

to continue and to ensure the availability of members representing the different regulatory

entities in UAE.

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE FOR PRACTICE

• Practice Committee members have finalized the Positive Practice Environment (PPE)

Guidelines which has gone through the strict process established by Council and is for final

approval by Board members

• Education session Planned for Nurses during the Abu Dhabi Nursing Conference (2nd

November, 2015 at ADEC) to capture a large audience to share:

Scope of Practices

Code of Conduct

User guide for Scope interpretation

PPE

Awaiting appeal to have Board support unifying all document developed by Practice Committee in order to shape practices

• Maintain Webpage to display Practice Documents for public view


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SPECIALIZATION COMMITTEE

• The committee has finalized and completed all 4 Specialty RN Scopes of Practice (SOP) for

the following specialties: Critical Care, Psychiatry Mental Health, Pediatrics and

Community.

• Proposed Advance Practice Nursing model ready for development by the committee

• The (SOP) will be presented to the Council for their approval and support to move ahead

with the initiative.

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE FOR EDUCATION

• The Scientific Committee for Education posted the clinical learning standards on the

Council’s website.

• A visioning session was organized on 24 April, 2015 in collaboration with the Emirates

Nursing Association (ENA), and with support from Dubai Healthcare City Authority (DHCA),

at Mohammed Bin Rashid Academic Medical Center, DHCA, Dubai. The goal of the event

was to seek stakeholder input for the development of ‘clinical learning environment

standards. Around sixty participants including, nurse leaders, educators and regulators

attended the event.


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OTHER ACTIVITIES

CHIEF NURSING AND MIDWIFERY OFFICERS (CNMO) FORUM

‘ADVANCING POSITIVE PRACTICE ENVIRONMENT ACROSS THE UAE’

The CNO Forum was held on May 5, 2015 at the Rosewood Hotel, Maryah Island – Abu Dhabi.

The UAE NMC Scientific Committee on Practice organized the Forum in collaboration with

Cleveland Clinic, Abu Dhabi.

The forum started with a recitation of holy Quran followed by a welcoming note by Dr Fatima Al-

Rifai who acknowledged and

appreciated the efforts of the

practice committee members.

Linda Haskin (DON of SKMC,

chair of the practice

committee) proceeded with a

brief introduction of the day

activities and the practice

committee members.

Dr. Linda Aiken, the Principal

Investigator of the research


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study was the keynote speaker of the Forum.

The objectives of the Forum were to:

Reflect on the study conducted in 2011 on ‘Nurse and Patient and Quality of Care in the UAE Hospitals’

Discuss the Positive Practice Environment Guidelines developed by the Practice Committee

Share initiatives implemented by private and government health authorities based on the outcomes and recommendations of the study

Identify approaches for expanding Positive Practice Environment across the UAE.

Sixty participants attended this Forum including, Practice Committee members and the CNOs from all over the Emirates, representing private and government health authorities.

During the Forum, Dr Linda Aiken shared the findings and outcome of the cross-sectional study of

the 24 hospitals across the UAE. CNOs from HAAD and DHA shared their initiatives that they

implemented in relation to the outcomes and recommendations of the study. They focused on

activities and programs enhancing positive practice environment within their facilities. Next, a

Practice Committee member introduced the Positive Practice Environment Guidelines that the

committee had prepared and explained the five (5) domains of these guidelines.

The last session was group activity in which the participants were divided into five (5) groups.

Each group discussed one domain and gave their feedback and comments on the document.

CNOs expressed that this was a very beneficial session and they appraised the interaction and

the enthusiasm of the practice committee members.

At the end, all participants completed an evaluation form that had a set of questions related to

the following:

1. The forum organization (objective, program content and presentations, discussion,

expectation)

2. General arrangements (venue, hall, technical support, date, break, audio-visual aids)

Overall evaluation: (86% rated the forum as excellent or very good).

3. General comments were collected under the following headings:

a. Main and relevant aspects to your work?

b. Suggestions that would help us to improve our work?

c. Others?


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The following summarizes the general comments received from the participants:

Relevant aspects Suggestions for improvements Others

Survey results appropriate Network and important to

contribute and shape the

Nursing and Midwifery Council

direction

A good initiative to discuss the

nursing documents and the

enthusiasm by the committee

was great

All domains are applicable More collaboration between

public /private hospital

Informative day

Promoting Nursing and

Midwives

Role of NMC to be disseminated

throughout UAE

Enjoyed the result and survey

presentation

How do we incorporate Positive

Practice Environment

NMC work to have a role in the

UAE regulation

More opportunities to network

with nurses from the seven (7)

Emirates

Develop framework for nursing

and midwifery practice

More legal support for nursing

and midwifery

Standardize practice and license

across UAE is crucial

Standardize practice across UAE Unified standards of nursing and

midwifery practice across UAE

Thank you, very good work of

the committee

Conclusion:

The overall feedback/evaluation received from the participants was positive and the Forum had

very pleasing results and met the objectives. The next step is to incorporate the participants’

comments from the workshop into the positive practice environment document, finalize it and

forward it to the UAE NMC board for approval.


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INTERACTIVE PATIENT CARE: AN INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO CARE

DELIVERY

29 July, 2015 – Abu Dhabi

The UAE NMC Scientific

Practice Committee organized

a session on “Interactive

Patient Care: An Innovative

Approach to Care Delivery”

which was held at Sheikh

Khalifa Medical Center

[SKMC].

The session was conducted by

Mr. David Wright, the Senior

Vice President and General

Manager, International Operations for GetWellNetwork, an interactive patient care solutions

company providing hospitals, health systems and other health care professionals innovative

technology, tools and resources to actively engage patients to have a greater role in managing

their health

The agenda included: Current Goals and Initiatives on Patient Engagement, Interactive Patient

Care: Overview and Clinical Model, Full demonstration of GetWellNetwork Cross Continuum

Interactive Patient Care Solution, Demonstration of Innovative and Unique features:

1. Video conferencing

2. Asynchronous videos for virtual visits

3. Data collection and patient rounding tool

There were thirty participants including Practice Committee members that attended this event.

The attendees were from all over the Emirates, including private and government health

authorities such as Ministry of Health, Health Authority Abu Dhabi, Emirates Nursing

Association, Dubai Health Authority, Dubai Healthcare City Authority, Zayed Military Hospital, Al

Jalilah Hospital, Saudi German Hospital – Dubai, Rashid Hospital. The overall

feedback/evaluation received from the participants was positive.


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ICN REGULATION AND CREDENTIALING FORUM

2 – 4 NOVEMBER 2015–Dubai

The UAE NMC has ENA to host the ICN Regulation and Credentialing Forum of 2015. Sixty-

two representatives from 24 countries Participated in this Forum. This annual Forum,

brings invited participants from National Nurses Associations with an interest in

credentialing and from regulatory organizations at countries’ national level to interact,

share information and to dialogue on international issues pertaining to credentialing

and regulation.

The main issues that were discussed in this Forum included: Global Human Resources for

Health strategy, evolving scopes of practice, advanced nursing practice, regional

regulatory collaborations, assessment of internationally educated nurses, and technology

and e-learning. These topics were derived from the environmental scan conducted by ICN

prior to this gathering.

Recommendations of the Forum:

Develop nursing specialization and implement processes and mechanisms for awarding

certification and continuous assessment.

Secure governments’ decision for the unification of Licenses at country level.

Regulatory Approaches: adoption and application of just culture, right touch regulation

and a principle-based approach to nursing regulation


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Introduce Harmonizing Assessment of Internationally Educated Nurses (IENs)

Revise standards to meet emerging health and social and new evidence

Advanced practice, specialization, expanding scopes and nurse prescribing i.e. Addressing

Specialty vs. Sub-specialty

Equity in the access to nursing care

Consider work force challenges and planning

UAE NMC SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEES CHAIRS AND

COORDINATORS MEETINGS

The UAE NMC Scientific Committees Chairs and Coordinators met three times during 2015 to

discuss committees’ plans and activities and to recommend future projects and strategies for

each committee.