Hamad Medical Corporation's initiative to recruit more citizens to its Nursing Department at Women's Hospital, as part of Qatarisation, has caused consternation among the foreign staff. The foreign nurses will have their noses pressed to the glass as they watch their Qatari counterparts walk away with much coveted positions in the department. Despite these concerns, the department is setting a fine example for the ongoing nationalisation projects in Qatar by conducting training workshops to boost the medical skills of the Qatari staff, according to an official. "The Women's Hospital has 22 Qatari nurses now," said Heila Salim, Assistant Executive Director of Nursing Services, Women's Hospital. "The department is providing training for improving their medical abilities. Five of them are under an intensive training programme to be promoted," she told The Peninsula. In 2007, a mere 19 percent of Hamad Medical Corporation's employees were Qatari nationals and only 30 percent of the doctors were Qataris. HMC's Qatarisation strategy aims to raise this to 80 percent. "Our aim is to bring Qataris into top positions in the departments. For this all the necessary training will be given. We want Qataris to be leaders," Salim said. All the HMC departments have been working to establish a standardised framework to be used as the future basis for promotions. HMC strives to conduct workshops in order to develop the skills and potential of qualified Qataris to better prepare them to assume senior positions. "By the end of this year, five of the Qatari nurses will be promoted to higher sections according to the vacancies available. Their qualifications and experience will also be counted. We are preparing them to lead in the second line management positions. Later, according to vacancies, more promotions will take place," Salim added. Some of senior positions, like Director of Patient Education, Directors of Nursing and Assistant Executive Director of Nursing Services are occupied by Qatari nurses. The Peninsula

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