MUSCAT, Oct 24 - Technicians who seek to get certified by the Ministry of Health (MoH) need not have to secure 60 per cent in their Prometric tests, but a mere pass will make them eligible to be certified by the ministry, according to the Nursing and Paramedics Licensures Section at the Directorate General of Private Health Establishments at the ministry.
However, the rule which requires prospective nurses to secure 60 per cent in the same test remains the same and the test can be undertaken either in the Sultanate or outside the country.
According to the Sultanate’s rules governing the sector, any patient care technicians (PCTs) intending to work with the ministry or any private healthcare institution needs to be certified by the ministry and to do this, the ministry asks the candidate to take Prometric test before it can approve his or her candidature.
“We have revised the requirements for a technician for a hospital or a polyclinic or any other health institution and minimum pass is sufficient for him to work for any of these organisations. Apparently, the rule of 60 per cent wouldn’t be applied in future,” Rashid al Habsi, Head, Nursing and Paramedics Licensures Section told the Observer.
He added that the new rule was introduced in the wake of lesser number of technicians passing the test and there is a dearth for such skilled workers in the sector.
“This revision is to help more technicians to work in the health sector as only a less number of technicians were able to secure the desired 60 per cent in the past.”
This new rule is applicable to both citizens and expatriates and any qualified technician can take the test. While the locals wouldn’t need to have a licence if he possesses sufficient experience and is licensed by the ministry to work in the same role, an expatriate cannot transfer his visa to a new healthcare institution unless he has a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from the present sponsor.
Similarly, if he or she stopped working in the similar capacity some two years ago, he would need to take the take test afresh and apply again. “On the other hand, if the expatriate technician possesses a licence from the ministry and is allowed by the present sponsor to join a new organisation, he or she can transfer his or her licence to the future employer with no hassles,” Al Habsi added. He further said that there has been a remarkable increase in the number of expatriate nurses enrolling with the ministry for certification in the recent past, which is a clear indicator that the healthcare sector both in government and private is flourishing.
“We see an exponential increase in the number of expatriate nurses enrolling with the ministry in the recent past, and that is a clear indicator that the private sector is in need of more qualified nurses and paramedical staff to excel in the national mission of offering better healthcare services to locals and expatriates.” The ministry used to receive a monthly average of 50 applications from nurses with Prometric certificate to take the exam and to be licenced by the ministry last year.
KABEER YOUSUF
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