لخّصلي

It has been projected that by the year 2025, the population of KSA will reach 37 million [4].This new law would pose a challenge to nurses working in primary healthcare centers, most of whom are experienced nurses who have families to tend to. Imposing night shifts on female nurses, especially married ones, could place a mental and psychological strain on them and affect their disposition and satisfaction toward their jobs as healthcare professionals.Recently, to alleviate pressure on hospitals and make healthcare readily accessible to patients, the Ministry of Health in KSA instituted a policy requiring on-duty primary healthcare centers to provide services for medical emergencies that do not necessarily need to be attended to [5].Unfortunately, low levels of job satisfaction have been primarily responsible for shortages and high turnover rates of nurses in several countries, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia [1].

It has been projected that by the year 2025, the population of KSA will reach 37 million [4]. This rapid growth will be accompanied by a demographic shift in disease occurrence, which is a global trend; it will also be accompanied by a surge in demand for healthcare services and a heavy workload on nursing services [3]. Based on previous studies, some predictors of job satisfaction among nurses include working conditions, relationships with coworkers and leaders, pay, promotion, organization culture, organization climate, security of employment, responsibility, and working hours [2]. Unfortunately, low levels of job satisfaction have been primarily responsible for shortages and high turnover rates of nurses in several countries, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia [1]. There is an increase in the attrition rate as dissatisfied nurses prefer to relocate to more developed countries and work there, giving relatively better working conditions in those countries [4].

Recently, to alleviate pressure on hospitals and make healthcare readily accessible to patients, the Ministry of Health in KSA instituted a policy requiring on-duty primary healthcare centers to provide services for medical emergencies that do not necessarily need to be attended to [5]. While this policy will favor patients, it implies that healthcare centers will have extended work shifts to provide service for 24 hours [5]. Unfortunately, current employees, especially nursing staff, would need to adjust their shifts and accommodate evening/night duties in the primary healthcare centers. This new law would pose a challenge to nurses working in primary healthcare centers, most of whom are experienced nurses who have families to tend to. Imposing night shifts on female nurses, especially married ones, could place a mental and psychological strain on them and affect their disposition and satisfaction toward their jobs as healthcare professionals. This challenging situation is aggravated because of the extreme bottlenecks regarding nurse recruitment.