A lack of training programmes in many areas of medicine is hampering efforts to persuade more Emiratis to become specialist doctors, experts say.
Training in several specialities is available only abroad, requiring doctors to leave their families for long periods. Many are reluctant to do.
Dr Humaid Al Shamsi, an oncologist and associate professor at the University of Sharjah College of Medicine, believes more residency programmes would encourage Emiratis who choose medicine to specialise.
“We have a good number of students choosing medicine but not all of them go for a sub-speciality for many reasons,” Dr Al Shamsi said.
“They include the lack of availability in the country, having to move abroad and leaving their loved ones behind, and the difficulty of being accepted at a medical facility outside the country, which can be very competitive.”
Recently, Abu Dhabi and Dubai health authorities have embarked on campaigns to encourage Emiratis to enter the medical profession
The Health Authority Abu Dhabi launched a social media campaign in April to encourage them to pursue careers in medicine and the healthcare sector, targeting citizens between the ages of 16 and 18.
The Dubai Health Authority launched a programme last year to show the merits of working in medicine to young people at schools and universities.
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“Specialisation training programmes are available here but not for all specialties, and we are trying to provide one for oncology,” Dr Al Shamsi said.
“Students should think deeply and consult experts and specialists in order to choose a suitable specialty as some of them require years of studying and research, therefore students should be aware of the long process.
“They should also invest their time in research and look for specialties that are rarely available in the country, such as surgery or oncology.
“The Khalifa Foundation can help them and guide them through the process but they should keep in mind that it’s a long process that requires hard work, dedication and passion.”
He is the first gastrointestinal oncologist in the country and works at a US centre in partnership with the Khalifa Foundation.
“Noticing many patients travelling abroad for cancer treatment and my passion to make a difference made me take the decision and specialise in oncology and eventually be the first gastrointestinal oncologist,” Dr Al Shamsi said.
“It wasn’t easy and required more than 10 years of hard work, but it sure is worth it.”
There are 2,289 Emiratis working in the healthcare sector, of which 49 per cent are doctors and 14 per cent nurses. Nine per cent work in dentistry, 4 per cent in pharmaceuticals and the remaining 24 per cent provide support.
Only 1 per cent of nurses in Dubai are Emirati and 14 per cent of paramedics are nationals, who also make up only 27 per cent of doctors working for the health authority.
The Abu Dhabi Health Services Company, or Seha, said in September that despite having more than 7,000 Seha nurses in Abu Dhabi, only 124 are Emiratis and only one of them is male.
One of those who decided it was worth taking up a specialist residency abroad is Dr Jamal Al Amiri, 28, an Emirati who joined the urology programme at the Mayo Clinic in the US.
One of his goals is to establish a world-class urology service and residency programme in the UAE.
“I made a difficult decision at a young age to leave the comfort of my country, my family and my loved ones to pursue a dream,” Dr Al Amiri said.
“This dream, for which I have worked relentlessly, is to be an extraordinary physician who will one day return to his home country to advance their healthcare system.
“The healthcare system in the UAE is evolving rapidly but we have a shortage of Emirati urologists and we do not have a urology residency programme to help fill this gap.
“This has encouraged me to set goals and a vision of what I want to contribute to the system in the future.”
Joining the Mayo Clinic will be the foundation on which he can build his dream,” he said.
“By getting acceptance to one of the most competitive urology residency programmes in the US, I have the opportunity to learn from the experience of world-renowned urologists and achieve my goals,” Dr Al Amiri said.
“I am the first Emirati resident at Mayo Clinic, which is a huge honour for me and my country. I wouldn’t have achieved this without the support of my country throughout my career.”
He was inspired by his late father, who established the first urology department at Sharjah’s Al Qassimi Hospital.
“I was 7 years-old when I lost my father,” Dr Al Amiri said. “He is my inspiration to pursue this dream. I am grateful that I witnessed and can remember the role my father played as a physician.”
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
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7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
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9.30pm: Forever Young
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Company Profile
Founder: Omar Onsi
Launched: 2018
Employees: 35
Financing stage: Seed round ($12 million)
Investors: B&Y, Phoenician Funds, M1 Group, Shorooq Partners
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
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Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
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MATCH INFO
Brescia 1 (Skrinia og, 76)
Inter Milan 2 (Martinez 33, Lukaku 63)
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The specs
Engine: 4 liquid-cooled permanent magnet synchronous electric motors placed at each wheel
Battery: Rimac 120kWh Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (LiNiMnCoO2) chemistry
Power: 1877bhp
Torque: 2300Nm
Price: Dh7,500,00
On sale: Now
