Critical Thinking. Policy and Supply and Demand
Various programs to increase employment in the healthcare sector have recently been introduced in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. As a result, an increasing number of foreigners have been provided with the opportunity work in the Kingdom. Studies show that 30% of the workforce in Saudi Arabia consists of expatriates (expats), or individuals from other countries who reside in the Kingdom.
Assuming the role of Director of Human Resources, you have been tasked with filling a number of open positions in your hospital. One strategy you are considering is to recruit expats. There are national policies and procedures that employers must follow before recruiting for and hiring expats. Create a PowerPoint presentation for your facility’s Board of Directors with the following heading items in your submission:
Identify and describe an open position that needs to be filled.
Rationalize the need for this position.
Explain national policies that restrict expat employment in the Kingdom.
Describe how to “sell” the strategy of recruiting and hiring expats to the Board of Directors.
Conclusion.
Your presentation should meet the following structural requirements:
Be 10-11 slides in length, not including the cover or reference slides.
Be formatted according to APA and Saudi Electronic University writing guidelines.
Provide support for your statements with citations from a minimum of six scholarly articles. These citations should be stated in the Notes section of the slide in which they appear. Two of these sources may be from the class readings, textbook, or lectures, but four must be external.
Presentation notes are required for each slide to support the slide content. These must be a part of the presentation, and so the presentation cannot be submitted in PDF format, which does not make notes visible to the instructor. About 150 words on each slide in the presentation notes area will suffice.
Utilize headings to organize the content in your presentation.
You are strongly encouraged to submit all assignments to the Turnitin Originality Check prior to submitting them to your instructor for grading. If you are unsure how to submit an assignment to the Originality Check tool, review the Turnitin Originality Check Student Guide.
One position that needs immediate filling is that of a senior nurse manager. This role oversees a team of 20 nurses and plays a vital part in coordinating patient care on a busy ward. The previous manager resigned suddenly due to family reasons, leaving a significant gap. Maintaining consistent leadership is important for staff wellbeing and providing a high standard of service.
Saudi national policies aim to prioritize local employment opportunities. However, as we struggle to recruit qualified Saudi nationals for some specialized roles, carefully selecting expatriate candidates allows us to deliver on our mission. Several factors support this strategy.
Firstly, Saudi nursing programs have historically focused more on training technicians than managers. While domestic recruitment efforts continue, few local applicants possess the 5+ years’ management experience required (Almalki et al., 2011). Secondly, the global shortage of nurses means qualified expat nurses are readily available and accustomed to working internationally. This addresses our immediate need.
To gain board approval, I will emphasize our duty of care to patients. A temporary expatriate hire allows continuity of senior oversight as we expand training programs to develop future Saudi leaders. I will also note that expat candidates often stay long-term, contributing stability compared to short-term local hires unable to adjust (Al Yami & Watson, 2014). Finally, recruiting one high-level expat now versus multiple replacements disrupts staff and patients less.
In conclusion, filling this critical role with a carefully vetted expatriate upholds our commitment to patients during national workforce development. Ongoing reporting ensures transparency and accountability. With board support, we can recruit the strongest candidate to steer our nursing team through this transition period.
Almalki, M., FitzGerald, G., & Clark, M. (2011). The nursing profession in Saudi Arabia: An overview. International nursing review, 58(3), 304-311.
Al Yami, M., & Watson, R. (2014). An overview of nursing in Saudi Arabia. Journal of Health Specialties, 2(1), 10.
