In common with those in many other Gulf countries, the medical system in Bahrain has traditionally relied on foreign personnel to meet a large proportion of its staffing needs. This is partly for historical reasons – the first modern hospitals in the region were set up by American missionaries – and partly due to population size – Bahrain’s population is over 1m, of which nationals account for just under half. Given the challenges of finding specialists, health authorities have traditionally relied on overseas recruitment to make up for the shortfall. However, this is set to change.
Changing Faces
Until recently, a large proportion of health care workers have come from three main regions – other Arab countries, Western countries such as the UK and Asia (particularly South Asia). Now, however, for a variety of reasons it is becoming more difficult to attract Western expatriates to Bahrain, while many doctors from the Indian subcontinent are finding that they can earn good salaries and enjoy greater opportunities for professional development in their home countries. Increasingly, therefore, there is a renewed emphasis on developing and training a cadre of Bahraini staff at all levels of the health care system, in both the public and private sectors.
There are currently two institutions that offer instruction in medicine in Bahrain. Arabian Gulf University, which was founded in 1979, is a GCC institution offering courses in medicine, business, IT and accounting, open to students from across the region. It admits up to 150 students a year. Just under 120 students graduated in 2012. The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland Medical University in Bahrain (RCSI-Bahrain) was founded in 2004 and is a partnership between the Ministry of Health (MoH) and the Dublin-based college, which already had a long history of receiving Bahraini students prior to opening the sister institution in Muharraq. The course and marking standards are the same as those for students studying in Ireland, and the teaching staff is primarily Irish. The university boasts a 100% pass rate on Bahrain’s own medical accreditation exams conducted by the National Health Regulatory Authority (NHRA), against an overall national pass rate of around 40%, according to Stephen Harrison-Mirfield, chief operating officer at RCSI-Bahrain. MoH statistics show the institution had 892 students enrolled in its doctor of medicine programme in 2013. The university enjoys close links with King Hamad Teaching Hospital in Muharraq, which officially opened its doors in 2012 and boasts over 300 beds.
Training Nurses
RCSI-Bahrain also offers degrees in nursing, as does the College of Health Sciences at the University of Bahrain. The College of Health Sciences had 214 students enrolled in the first semester of the 2014/15 academic year and graduated 266 students in nursing and related specialisations in 2013. The nursing profession has a low Bahrainisation rate for the sector – some 49% of nursing staff were Bahraini in 2013, compared with 83% of doctors. However, improved medical education is likely to change this over the long term, as the public comes to realise the extent of the skills required in the profession and its prestige grows. There are signs that this approach is already starting to bear fruit – the MoH told local press in April 2015 that it expects to hire 240 Bahraini nursing staff by the end of the year to work at the Salmaniya Medical Complex, one of the largest primary care centres in the country.
Other Staff
Bahrain is now looking to improve the skills of its health administration personnel. RCSI-Bahrain offers master’s degrees in health care management and quality, and safety in the medical field. While the positive effects of enhanced education opportunities will take time to bear fruit as cohorts first graduate and then move up the ladder to take on more senior positions, over time it should prove possible for Bahrain to fill an increasing number of posts in the sector from within its own population.
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