Nursing in Saudi Arabia
“There are so many misconceptions about this country”, this attractive blonde 24 year old told me when she was recently home in New Zealand, getting her visa for her next adventure.
Words: Gilly Oppenheim Photography: Supplied
After leaving Craighead in 2012, Laura did her Bachelor of Nursing at the Otago Polytechnic, after which she worked for 2 ½ years in the gynaecological department at Christchurch Womens’ Hospital. A nursing friend suggested they
attend an information evening about nursing in Saudi Arabia and the perks of the job sparked Laura’s interest. These included no living costs, tax free benefits and 54 days of annual leave. And so began an amazing 13 months for Laura in this fascinating country, the site of several ancient cultures and a mainly Muslim population. Contrary to what we are led to believe about the poor treatment of women, Laura didn’t find this at all. She wore an abaya when out on the street, but she didn’t have to cover her head and she felt quite safe going out alone. She learned some basic Arabic and the important medical terms for her job at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre in the capital city of Riyadh. She was very well paid and she made friends from all over the world amongst her colleagues. The huge hospital had state of the art equipment and over 1,500 beds. Laura worked in in the VIP ward for five months caring for members of the royal family and her shifts were long, often 12 hours or more. However, the upside was the free time and Laura managed to clock up visits to 24 countries during her time there. Her favourite country was Lebanon. Although it was a war-torn country, there are still beautiful buildings, a great atmosphere and wonderful Roman ruins at Baalbek and Byblos. She also really enjoyed visits to Beirut with its amazing clubs and night life, Jordan with its extraordinary archaeology at Petra and trying to swim in the Dead Sea, the vibrancy of Istanbul and the dawn service at Gallipoli. Besides these side trips, Laura said they had a wonderful social life in Riyadh. She went quad biking and horse riding in the desert, to the famous Edge of the World escarpment, snorkeling in Jeddah with its beautiful beaches and to up-market balls at several of the embassies. Things happen slowly in Saudi Arabia and prayers are said five times a day, when everything stops and the shops all shut for half an hour. Laura loved the food, especially the humus, the dates and the stuffed vine leaves. The hottest temperature she had to endure was 46 degrees.
Laura said that this was the most exciting social experience of her life and she would love to return to Saudi Arabia. From September 19th this year tourist visas have been issued and those places untouched by tourism are on her bucket list - places such as the old tribal villages and abandoned palaces and souks. Al-ula is the Saudi equivalent of Petra and she would also like to go snorkelling at Farasan Island in the Red Sea. In the meantime she is taking a break from nursing and applying for nannying jobs in London. I’m sure that she will return to Saudi Arabia when time and finances permit.