IIUM: Male nursing undergrads on the rise since 2015

KUANTAN: The International Islamic University of Malaysia's (IIUM) Kulliyyah of Nursing has seen a steady increase of men entering the profession since 2004, with some securing jobs abroad.

IIUM rector Professor Emeritus Tan Sri Dr Dzulkifli Abdul Razak said the university's four-year degree programme in nursing began in 2004 with only one male student in the first batch.

Today, some 15 per cent of the 523 nursing undergraduates are males.

"The enrolment of male nursing students at IIUM displayed an upward trend from 2015 onwards.

"The Kulliyyah of Nursing has the capability to train both male and female nurses."

He added that there was a growing demand for male nurses, especially in hospitals and health clinics where their physical strength is needed, such as in the operation theatre, orthopaedic wards and emergency department," he told reporters here today.

Earlier, Dzulkifli had accompanied Deputy Higher Education Minister Datuk Mohammad Yusof Apdal at the launch of the 3rd International Nurses Conference 2023.

The conference themed "Future Global Direction in Nursing and Midwifery for Sustainable Healthcare Workforce" was attended by some 200 practitioners and experts from Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Dzulkifli said male nursing graduates are in demand both locally and abroad.

"Some move abroad to work in countries like Singapore, Germany and Saudi Arabia. Each year, a total of 150 male and female students join the nursing programme at IIUM and to date, we have produced some 900 graduates."

On the three-day conference, Dzulkifli said the objective was to gather nursing practitioners and experts to exchange ideas, present research outcomes and latest findings related to the field.