Mason's Saudi Arabian Students Prepare for Nursing Careers

By Patty Snellings

Although academic collaborations are commonplace on university campuses, the College of Nursing and Health Science (CNHS) and the English Language Institute (ELI) have a unique element to theirs--Saudi Arabian students.

Sixteen students from Saudi Arabia have enrolled in a CNHS program that prepares them to become registered nurses. The students represent a variety of educational and professional backgrounds. Some already are nurses who are pursuing advanced degrees in the profession, some have careers in science-related fields, and others come from careers unrelated to health care. While at George Mason, they will pursue undergraduate or graduate degrees to prepare them for new or advanced careers in health care when they return to Saudi Arabia at the completion of their studies.

"The nursing work force shortage has escalated to a global level, and the Saudis realize they must prepare their own citizens to meet the health care needs of their nation," says Rita Carty, CNHS dean and director of the program.

With the arrival of 10 of the students earlier this summer, ELI was on hand to assess and help the students improve their language skills and offer them assistance in adjusting to life in the United States. The remaining six who began this fall were able to receive this same assistance through the technology of distance learning before arriving in the United States.

During the summer, the first group of students spent 12 hours a week in ELI classes. The students attended core ELI classes to improve their language skills and classes with ELI instructor Mary Charleza, who worked as a registered nurse for 15 years before switching to teaching. Charleza focused her lectures on medical abbreviations and terminology. To develop communication and speaking skills, she encouraged them to share their clinical and classroom experiences with each other.

"Good communication is at the heart of good nursing," says Charleza. "Whether the task is conversation, comprehending medical terminology, or charting patient information, a nurse needs to be able to understand and relay information to provide professional health care."

"Language learning was the ultimate goal of the program," says ELI director Kathy Trump, "but students learned about culture along with language instruction, and they heard it with an American accent."

The second group of students received a similar orientation through distance learning before coming to George Mason. John Pope, assistant director of ELI, and a team of ELI faculty developed a CD-ROM of audio and video segments of language and culture instruction that students could install on personal computers in Saudi Arabia. Students received reading and writing assignments, nursing-specific vocabulary, a virtual campus tour, and communicated with their instructor through e-mail.

"The success of any distance learning program rests on our ability to keep students engaged," says Pope. "In this case, the students were highly motivated because the material was nursing-related, and they knew they would be coming to George Mason and actually meeting the 'voices' they heard online."

Although the students face 18 months of rigorous studies and clinicals before returning to Saudi Arabia, they are motivated by an admirable goal: to help their country by improving health care for its citizens. They see themselves as pioneers, and they understand the scope of the responsibility that goes along with the opportunity they've been given.

Some speak of teaching nursing in Saudia Arabia when the dream of a nursing school is realized one day; others see nursing as a stepping stone to a more complex career in health care. Ahmed Abu Shaigh, a health care administrator, plans to bridge the gap between administration and medicine to provide a higher level of hospital care in his country. Osama Samarkandi, who has a background in chemistry and business administration, plans to add his knowledge of nursing and work toward improving patient care. Microbiologist Saeed Al-Ghamdi plans to use his education to become the only professional in Saudia Arabia to specialize in infectious disease control.

The five-year, $1.8 million dollar program is funded by the Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Foundation as part of a comprehensive nursing and scientific education initiative to address the shortage of qualified health care workers in Saudi Arabia. This venture marks the second time George Mason has been invited by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to offer this advanced training, Carty says. A similar program was implemented in 1995.

"Globalization and international education is a major focus of George Mason, and it is extremely significant that Saudi Arabia chose us to assist in its nursing education programs," Carty explains. "Not only are we producing leadership for Saudi Arabia's future, the university is establishing a reputation and visibility in the Middle East and emerging internationally as a leader in nursing education."