January 2018 saw the opening of the new, freestanding facility for Emergency Medicine at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital, Riyadh.

The King Faisal Specialist Hospital is the choice tertiary-care referral hospital for the entire Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. But the old Emergency Medicine Department was hard-pressed to meet the demands of a hospital with 1000 beds. The old ER saw 175 patients per day. And although the department had 32 beds, it had 54 beds occupied. So the need for an expanded service was urgent.

The new tower, which opened with 50 beds, will have in excess of 100 beds when fully opened. It will have three sections: one floor for pediatric emergency patients; one for adult emergencies; and one floor for the Clinical Decision Unit, i.e., the Observation Unit.

A new staffing model is also being implemented. The new facility has a Nursing Program Director for EMS, plus three Nurse Managers for Emergency Medicine (one for each area), and five Assistant Nurse Managers.

So if you are open to taking your skills to a multinational setting and if the idea of building and growing a new emergency medicine service excites you, joining the EM team at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital would, I believe, be the adventure for you.

Do call us.

Helen Ziegler