Jordan: Drive to promote nursing careers to women

AMMAN - A nationwide campaign tailored to attract young women to the nursing profession kicked off on Tuesday.

The campaign, which targets schoolgirls between the ages of 13 and 16, seeks to encourage women to take nursing jobs across the Kingdom, of which currently 70 per cent are held by men, Jordanian Nursing Council (JNC) Secretary General Daad Shokeh said yesterday.

Shokeh made her remarks at a ceremony launching the campaign yesterday held under the patronage of HRH Princess Muna.

Sponsored by the JNC and the USAID-funded SABEQ Programme, the campaign seeks to increase knowledge and understanding of opportunities available within the profession.

Experts in the field told The Jordan Times earlier the high cost of tuition at public and private universities was a leading factor behind the low number of students enrolling in nursing programmes. Experts added that private universities often accept a large number of male students who can work and afford the tuition.

As part of the programme, a website linked to the JNC homepage will be launched listing basic information on the field, benefits and privileges of the profession and job opportunities.

Under the campaign, seven “nurse ambassadors” will tour schools across the country to familiarise students with the benefits of the profession and share their personal success stories.

In addition, field visits to several hospitals will be arranged so that young women can observe the daily duties of real nurses.

Ikhlas Hammad, a nurse at the King Hussein Cancer Centre (KHCC), who is also a nurse ambassador, said she was certain she can attract many young girls to study the profession.

“I will tell them how good the job is and the high demand for nurses in the labour market. I graduated on a Wednesday and was hired three days later,” Hammad told The Jordan Times on Tuesday.

Kawkab Shishani, associate professor in nursing at the Hashemite University, commended the campaign.

“There is a severe shortage in female nurses in the country and with the number of nurses expected to decrease in the long-term, we need to encourage more female students to study this field,” Shishani told The Jordan Times.

The campaign will not only target young women, but also reach out to their families to enhance perceptions of the profession, according to organisers.

“This goal will not be achieved overnight,” Rodrigo Ortiz, USAID/SABEQ chief of party, said.

“It is a process that will take considerable time and effort from all the stakeholders,” he added.

Also yesterday, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the USAID-funded SABEQ Programme and the JNC.

For his part, USAID Mission Director Jay Knott emphasised the importance of supporting women and their role in economic development.

“Within the framework of the various activities USAID carries out with its partners, an essential element is demonstrating the importance of the role of women in every sector of the economy; the medical services sector and nursing profession are no exception,” Knott said.

According to the Jordan Nursing Association, there are some 11,500 nurses in the country, of whom some 3,000 work in the public sector.

There are also around 3,500 nurses working abroad and 1,000 non-Jordanian nurses working in the Kingdom, according to the syndicate.

By Mohammad Ghazal, Jordan Times