King Faisal Specialist Hospital (KFSH) launched the three-day Third International Nursing Conference, Sunday at the Jeddah InterContinental Hotel. Over 250 local and international speakers will discuss four topics at the conference: Evidence based practice, Quality Care, 100,000 to 5 million lives Campaign and JCIA (Joint Commission on International Accreditation) updates. Sandy Lovering, KFSH chief of Nursing Affairs, said that nursing has undergone noticeable changes in Saudi Arabia within the last 10 years. “Saudi female nurses at KFSH have proven that they are more capable than others, especially non-Arabs,” Lovering said. “They already are aware of the patient culture they deal with and as a result they make contact easier,” she said. “The patient also feels more comfortable when he is cared for by a Saudi nurse.” Kay Nambiar, program coordinator at KFSH Nursing Education said that over the past 10 years, more and more Saudi women have been taking to degrees like Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN). “I am in charge of Saudization of nursing in the hospital and I can say that the estimated percentage of Saudi nurses has increased up to 20 percent. This a big change compared to 10 years ago,” Nambiar said. Alan Pearson, an executive director of the Joanna Briggs Institute in Southern Australia, and on his third visit to the Kingdom, lectured on evidence-based practice. Pearson said that the main priority of the conference is teaching the importance of patient safety. __
