ArticleHeliyon2020
The experiences of foreign doctors in Saudi Arabia: A qualitative study of the challenges and retention motives.
Article in Heliyon, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- The maternal and child mortality in the Middle East and North Africa between 2000 and 2020: the role of health financing.Global health research and policy · 2025Article
- Competence development among healthcare professionals through an online diversity training - a scoping review.BMC medical education · 2025Article
- Ophthalmology workforce over a decade in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: demographics, distribution, and future challenges.Human resources for health · 2024Article
- Self-reported preferences and barriers to continued professional development in primary care physicians: a cross-sectional web-based survey in Qatar.BMC primary care · 2023Article
- Inequitable treatment as perceived by international medical graduates (IMGs): a scoping review.BMJ open · 2023Article
- Social construction of the image of the psychologist and of the patient: the role of implicit premises.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Article
- A Qualitative Investigation of Factors Affecting Saudi Patients' Communication Experience with Non-Saudi Physicians in Saudi Arabia.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Dermatology workforce over a decade in Saudi Arabia: demographics, distributions, and future challenges.Human resources for health · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe Saudi healthcare system is mainly staffed by foreign doctors who constitute about 73% of the total medical workforce. But, the high rate of turnover among these foreigners had deposited an additional unbearable cost and threatens the stability of the provided healthcare services in the country.
objectivesThis study was conducted to explore the professional and personal challenges that were experienced by foreign medical doctors while working in one of the major governmental tertiary-care hospitals in Riyadh city. The study also seeks to explore the factors that could influence or motivate their retention.
methodsA qualitative study based on semi-structured interviews was conducted on January 2018. A total of 16 foreign doctors were recruited purposefully using a maximum variation sampling strategy. The interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using thematic analysis technique.
resultsThree primary themes have been emerged based on the data analysis: (1) Work-related challenges such as; communication and discrimination challenges. (2) Living-related challenges such as; supportive services and restricted movement challenges. (3) Factor motivating retention such as providing good children education, offering flexible traveling regulations, and providing professional development opportunities.
conclusionsThe findings of this study have indicated that there are more important motivators than money for improving the retention of foreign doctors in the country. Several policy actions have been recommended to maintain their essential role. For example; implementing an ethical code to protect them from receiving deceptive hiring information, developing a specialized pocket dictionary to overcome language barriers, embracing "workforce diversity management" techniques to minimize discrimination at institutional level, and finally it is also recommended to include the foreign doctors' family needs and other living related challenges in any future retention strategies.
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