Al Saikhan, Lamia;
Al Ghamdi, Lamis;
(2023)
Occupational survey of the educational outputs of the first established program of cardiac technology speciality in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (2013–2022): A cross-sectional study.
PLoS ONE
, 18
(12)
, Article e0295655. 10.1371/journal.pone.0295655.
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Abstract
Background: The demand for qualified cardiac technology (CT) graduates is increasing in Saudi Arabia. This study aimed to provide the first descriptive occupational survey of the educational outputs of the first established CT speciality program in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia over the past 10 years. Methods: This was a cross-sectional, survey-based study. An online self-administered survey was distributed to all alumni who graduated from the CT program between 2013 and 2022 at the Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University (IAU) in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Results: Of the 238 graduates, 164 completed the survey (72.2%). All the respondents (100%) were women, 56% were aged 25–30 years, 58.5% were married, the majority (95.7%) held a bachelor’s degree, and (93.3%) lived in the eastern region. Of the respondents, 33.7% specialised in cardiac catheterisation and 66.3% in echocardiography. Of those, 66.4% were employed, which was similar between both subspecialties and predominantly in the Eastern region (83.9%). A total of 57.9% of participants attributed the reason for unemployment to limited opportunities in the Eastern province (vs. 15.8% across the country). A total of 76.6% of the respondents reported that most job opportunities were in the Central region (Riyadh). The main barriers and limitations to unemployment reported by the alumni were the need for childcare assistance, further training, and poor job search/interview skills. Of the respondents, 42% expressed a desire to change their career path because of limited job opportunities (10.7%) followed by a change in career interest post-graduation (7.9%). Conclusions: The employment rate of IAU CT alumni was high (66.4%) and predominantly based in the Eastern region of Saudi Arabia, and 42% expressed a desire to change their career path due to limited regional job opportunities. The findings from this study will help inform the future of speciality across the kingdom and shape the potential for expansion.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Occupational survey of the educational outputs of the first established program of cardiac technology speciality in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (2013–2022): A cross-sectional study |
| Location: | United States |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1371/journal.pone.0295655 |
| Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0295655 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright: © 2023 Al Saikhan, Al Ghamdi. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. |
| Keywords: | Science & Technology, Multidisciplinary Sciences, Science & Technology - Other Topics |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Cardiovascular Science |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10195251 |
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