Nursing in Abu Dhabi is a regulated profession. Hence, any nurse who intends to work in Abu Dhabi will have to first and foremost meet the requirements and apply for nurse licensure with the Health Authority—Abu Dhabi (HAAD). HAAD is the recognized sole regulatory body for all the medical related professions including Nursing.
These are the basic preliminary requirements for licensure:
1.) BSN DEGREE
2.) REGISTERED NURSE IN HOME COUNTRY (PRC)
3.) AT LEAST TWO YEARS OF WORKING EXPERIENCE WITH ONE YEAR IN MEDICAL-SURGICAL FLOOR.
(Training and volunteer experience is not considered).
*** If you possess the three basic preliminary requirements stated above, then you may consider the idea to take the HAAD-RN licensure examination offered by PEARSON VUE.
Once you have passed the HAAD-RN licensure examination, you can already apply for licensure/registration with the Health Authority. You can do it on your own, or through your sponsoring hospital.
For more details on the licensure requirement and processing, please follow these links:
For details on how to register and schedule the HAAD-RN examination, please visit this link:
http://www.pearsonvue.com/haad/
TAKING THE HAAD-RN EXAMINATION
As mentioned earlier, this exam is being held in pearson vue testing centers. In the Philippines, the testing center is located in Makati Trident tower, same venue for the NCLEX-RN.
You can schedule for the exam at your own convenience through online transaction. Register, schedule and pay the due fee ( 90 US DOLLARS) via credit card. The confirmation letter which will be shown on screen after a successful transaction is the one that you will have to print and carry with you to the testing center on the day of your exam.
The exam is computer-based, 150 items multiple choice type of questions answerable in 3 hours. The questions are similar to CGFNS and NCLEX-RN but of more easier and simplified type. The exam covers fundamentals of Nursing, Maternity nursing, Med-Surg nursing, Psychiatric nursing and nursing management and leadership.
Unlike NCLEX-RN, the HAAD-RN result is made available very quick, in just some few minutes from the time you completed the exam, you will already be able to know if you passed or failed the exam. If luck is not on your side, you have to wait for 3 months before you can retake the exam.
FINDING AN EMPLOYER:
Through employment agencies:
The trend now is, agencies in the Philippines will not consider an application to any of their Abu Dhabi client hospitals if an applicant is not yet done with the HAAD-RN exam. They will only entertain and will give priority to HAAD-RN passers. Therefore it is well suggested to take and clear the exam first, before even considering the idea to apply.
Through Direct-hiring:
There are some hospitals in Abu Dhabi who practice direct hiring through the utilization of their website online application feature. An applicant can submit his application and or resume online along with the HAAD-RN passing letter. In most cases, once an application is considered, the applicant will receive a communication from the Hospital’s HR informing the him/her of the interview schedule which is usually conducted through telephonic interview. Once successful, a job will be offered and further process will take place.
Going to Abu Dhabi through visit visa:
It has been a long standing practice to enter UAE through a visit visa initially, then once there, job hunting will follow. While this is true, I am not in favor with this idea as I consider it very risky. There is no assurance that one will be able to find a job in UAE in a month or two timeframe. Once visit visa gets expired, he/she must definitely have to go on exit with or without a job. It is only favorable to some degree for persons who have relatives that are well settled on that end. Otherwise, again it is risky.
