• Home

Medical institute of Singapore to help overcome nurses' shortage

DUBAI — Singapore-based Health Management International Ltd (HMI) is planning to move into the Middle East, and Dubai will be their base.

HMI's education arm, the HMI Institute of Health Sciences, is focused on training and placement of foreign nursing personnel for the Singapore healthcare market, and are planning to offer the same services to the growing Middle East healthcare market.

HMI Institute of Health Sciences has been training foreign nurses from China as well as Singaporeans for employment in Singapore hospitals and other healthcare institutions since 2002.

"Chinese nurses have a comparable training in terms of curriculum to nurses in the West. We fill in the gaps where needed," revealed Chin Wei Jia, Manager of Business Development, HMI. "However, we instill the practice of total patient care, and as a result our nurses' skills base is excellent," she added.

The Certificate in Nursing Practices for Foreign Education Nurses is a unique programme developed by HMI-IHS for the conversion of foreign registered nurses into Singapore Registered Nurses. The programme comprises ten months of occupational nursing English language training, nursing practices and skills laboratory-based learning. The placement success rate for all CFENs student to date is 100 per cent.

With a strong track record in Singapore, HMI has made contact with public and private hospitals in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Most of the hospitals approached indicated a strong interest in the services offered by the company. So far an order for 100 nurses has been made by a Dubai based hospital.

"We are collaborating with hospitals in Dubai, and 100 nurses are coming out. We're still working on details with the hospital, but we are targeting this year. This will be our first batch," said Francis Lim Poon Thoo, Group Managing Director, HMI. "There will also be a support structure in place for the nurses," he added.

• UAE