IIR Middle East launches dothealth jobs recruitment site dedicated to medical professionals in the Middle East

dothealth jobs will have the facility to allow candidates to upload their CVs onto the web site and employers to search CVs as well as post job vacancies.

Amit Chopra, Online Sales Manager, dothealth jobs, believes the web site will offer a valuable service that has been over looked until now.

"Healthcare recruitment in the Middle East can be a complex process because the majority of positions are filled with medical professionals coming from outside the region," he said.

"dothealth jobs aims to break down the hurdles faced by both employers and job seekers when dealing with recruitment from a distance. For the employer it allows Human Resources to review candidates themselves as opposed to going through an agent in a far off country. For health professionals it gives them direct access to specific jobs available that meet their skills set, and again they can do this without going through a third party."

dothealth jobs will also allow health professionals already working in the region the opportunity to keep abreast of what jobs are available and the rising level of skills required to apply successfully.

Brian De Francesca, CEO, Tawam Hospital in the UAE believes recruitment is essential to the long terms success of the healthcare industry in the Middle East and is interested in dothealth jobs.

"The quality of healthcare services provided is directly related to recruitment and retention policies and practices. As a priority there is opportunity for significant enhancement of the way we manage talent. World class healthcare requires not only world class buildings and equipment but world class personnel," he said. "A website dedicated to healthcare recruitment in the Middle East is worthwhile, and it is something that is of real interest to Tawam Hospital."

"The growth of the healthcare sector in the region has been incredible and is showing no real signs of slowing down. The quality of healthcare provision is constantly improving as well, and although there are many vacancies available across all areas of health, employers are looking for the best qualified and most experienced candidates possible," Chopra continued. "dothealth jobs will allow candidates to understand fully what employers are looking for and will offer the latest employment news and tips about how to improve their skills. It really is a one-stop-shop for healthcare recruitment."

Several job recruitment firms in the Philippines claim they are currently looking to fill around 20,000 nursing jobs in the Middle East, and hospital representatives from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other countries in the region are regular visitors to South-East Asia.

Dr Mubashar Sheikh, Executive Director of the Global Health Workforce Alliance, who will speak at the upcoming Arab Health Congress on the issue of the healthcare workforce believes the scale of recruitment is an issue that needs careful consideration.

"We know that health services in the Middle East rely heavily on the influx of migrant workers to equip the region's health systems. This issue of health worker migration is one that needs to be carefully managed to ensure benefits for both source and destination countries,"

said Dr Sheikh.

"Ethical considerations and practices need to be undertaken by recruiting agencies to protect the rights of the health worker and to ensure that this type of recruitment does not have adverse effects on the countries 'exporting' health workers. Currently the World Health Organization, with partners, including the Global Alliance, is working to develop a Global Code of Practice on international recruitment of health workers. This instrument will be designed to ensure that all best practices are followed and protect the rights of workers while providing a framework for recruitment agreements."

There are many human resource issues facing recruitment in the Middle East healthcare sector, but there are few statistics addressing the subject. To this end dothealth jobs will be running a poll throughout the four days of Arab Health. Visitors to their stand (3D40) will be asked to answer one simple question: What is the biggest recruitment issue facing the Middle East healthcare sector in the next two years?