Wael Al Zayyer
Saudi Commission Board of Nursing, Saudi Arabia
Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Cancer Sci Ther
Over the last decade, cancer diseases and their treatments have been the focus of many populations around the globe. This is as a result of the growth and aging of the worldâ??s population and the increase in underlying incidence rates of several cancer diseases. According to the World Cancer Report (2014), the worldwide morbidity of cancer increased to approximately 14 million new cases per year in 2012 and it is estimated to increase to 22 million per year within the next two decades. During the same interval, cancer mortality rate is estimated to rise annually from 8.2 million to 13 million, and almost 70% of the death cases will involve deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries (WCR, 2014). Correspondingly, there is a shortage of healthcare professionals who are specialized in oncology. While there is no information on the number of Saudi nurses working in oncology, according to the Saudi Ministry of Health (MOH) the overall percentage of Saudi nurses in the kingdom only represent 36.5% (2016). Thus, there is a considerable demand for Saudi nurses in many areas including oncology. The global increase of cancer incidence and the shortage of oncology nurses must be accompanied by a plan to increase oncology workforce (physicians, nurses, etc.), (IOM, 2009; MOH, 2016). All of these factors make the establishment of training and educational programs in oncology crucial to address and overcome these challenges. This gap calls for professional organizations to develop specialized training programs that prepare enough number of oncology professionals. In 2015, SCFHS launched an oncology nursing program to train nurses (mainly Saudi citizens) with bachelor degrees to be specialized in oncology. The development of this program aligns with the SCFHSâ??s strategic goals in order to meet the demands for oncology nurses in the kingdom. This presentation outlines the history of this program and its development. Recommendations to enhance the program along with future directions will be discussed as well.
Wael Al Zayyer is a Saudi Nurse Practitioner with twenty years’ experience in Nursing. In addition to his extensive clinical experience, he also has an outstanding academic background that includes two Bachelor’s degrees (a BS in Zoology and a BSN in Nursing) and two Master degrees (MSN and Master of Health Service Administration), two graduate certificates in education and administration and one PhD. He is currently a member at the Saudi Commission Board of Nursing and the Founder and Chairperson of the Saudi commission oncology nursing program scientific committee.
E-mail: alzayyer@gmail.com
Cancer Science & Therapy received 3968 citations as per Google Scholar report
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