Andy Davies has been in the nursing field for greater than 30 years working his way around the globe. He completed his hospital training in 1991, gained a Critical Care and a Coronary Certificate, then a Masters of Education & finally a PhD.

Along the way he has held multiple Nursing Education positions in Australia, Qatar & Saudi Arabia.

“It’s interesting - My first placement in Saudi was in 1993 & only lasted 7 months; I was very homesick. Since then I have spent in total 16 years in Saudi Arabia plus three & a half years in Qatar. ”

Andy has come a long way since being homesick though. In 1997, he returned to Saudi to become the Nursing Education Co-ordinator for the Prince Sultan Cardiac Centre (PSCC).

With the full support of the hospital, he and other Nursing Education staff transformed PSCC Nursing Education with the development of over 20 study days, workshops and courses. During his time at PSCC & under his guidance, over 52 Nurses have progressed to become Clinical Nursing Educators.

“If motivated I believe there are many career opportunities for nurses willing to grow & develop. In PSCC, we provide nursing education up to five days a week.”

After travelling to Qatar and then back to Australia as Nurse Lecturer at University of Southern Queensland, Andrew returned to PSCC in 2018 as the Deputy Director of Nursing – Nursing Education. 

“[Nurses are] Meeting and working with people and cultures from all over the world. The potential for developing into higher nursing positions happens more quickly than in Australia & I think this is very important feature of working in the Middle East.”

Andy is realistic about the work though, “…it is a very different culture to Australia. The workforce is multinational… One has to be prepared for working in differing ways. This is true for shifting hospitals in Australia and it is true here.”

Having said this, the changes Andy’s witnessed since returning to Saudi have been immense. “In the 1990s, Saudi was extremely different to Australia. It really was a foreign world and very alien.

Fast forward to the present, 2019 … the difference is much less…. The choices for shopping, eating out, and buying clothes are infinitely better than when I first arrived in the 1990s…. It makes life feel much more normal.”

Andy continues to develop the Nursing Education Department in the Prince Sultan Cardiac Center with the full support of his Australian Director of Nursing, Melissa McDonald.

The Prince Sultan Cardiac Centre will be in Australia this November to conduct interview & information sessions. For more details contact CCM Recruitment International at info@ccmrecruitment.com.au or call 1800 818 844