The Committee of the Deans of the Colleges of Nursing in Saudi Universities held the 18th virtual meeting, which was hosted by Umm Al-Qura University, represented by the College of Nursing, via the "WebEx" platform with the aim of transferring knowledge and exchanging experiences related to supporting nursing programs and educational practices. The meeting was attended by the Supervisor of the University Vice Presidency for Educational Affairs, Dr. Ahmad Babalghaith.

Dr. Ahmad Babalghaith praised the efforts made by the committee in achieving the targets of the Saudi Vision 2030, which aims at improving the quality of healthcare in order to meet national needs. He pointed out that nursing is regarded the main engine and the most important link in the health system. He added that the university is proud to support these efforts to discuss the most important and prominent challenges facing the educational process in the colleges and departments of nursing in the Saudi Kingdom. He also praised its role in serving the health field in general, and the efforts made to serve the visitors of the Sacred House of pilgrims and Umrah performers in particular.

Dr. Babalghaith added that one of the most important policies to improve the quality of the nursing profession is to raise the level of training in colleges of nursing, establish professional ethics in order to raise performance rates in the health sector, and to provide the largest amount of quality features in nursing education, relying on effective systems and measurements. He stated that the meeting hosted by the College of Nursing is an opportunity to exchange ideas and visions to contribute to raising the level of the nursing specialization in the kingdom and to exchange experiences between the various colleges.

The Supervisor of the University Vice Presidency for Educational Affairs emphasized the importance of setting standards for quality assurance in nursing education and its development, and ensuring the dissemination of good practices in light of contemporary changes. This could be achieved by instilling the principles of quality in the culture of the colleges of nursing. Dr. Babalghaith wished that recommendations are made that would benefit the nursing profession and the challenges it faces, whether on the professional or scientific side.

In turn, the Dean of the College of Nursing at Umm Al-Qura University and the Deputy Head of the Deans Committee of the Colleges of Nursing in Saudi Universities, Dr. Fatimah Al-Sulami, stated that the members of the committee shed light on the most important fields in nursing education in the kingdom, the most important of which was included in the outputs of the Crown Prince's Nursing Program.

She emphasized that the members of the committee agreed on a number of recommendations, the most important of which is working to support existing nursing programs and forming sub-committees to study the practices used in international nursing programs. The aim of this is to seek to develop local programs and encounter the challenges facing the nursing profession in both its professional and educational fields.