Dubai: Dubai's healthcare sector is seeing growing interest in nursing, with rising student enrolment, increasing Emirati participation and thousands of licensed nurses and midwives now working across the emirate.According to the DHA Medical Professional Registry, Dubai hosts 34,733 licensed nurses and midwives, which accounts for 35% of the city’s healthcare workforce.The growth comes as healthcare providers continue to expand services to meet demand from Dubai's growing population, placing renewed focus on a profession that remains the backbone of patient care.Behind every hospital admission, emergency room visit and recovery journey is a nurse — often working long shifts, making critical clinical decisions and supporting patients through some of their most difficult moments.Sean Costello, Head of Business Development for the Middle East and Africa at Aspen Medical, understands those demands firsthand. Before moving to Dubai in 2024 to take up his current role, the Irish national spent eight years working as a registered nurse in Ireland and Australia.His experience offers an insight into the realities of a profession that is attracting growing numbers of recruits in Dubai, despite its reputation for long hours, physical demands and emotional pressure.The world of frontline workersSean Costello, Head of Business Development for the Middle East and Africa at Aspen Medical. Picture credit: Supplied In any hospital, nurses are the first people you see or speak with. Their brisk efficiency instils confidence, their kindness calms fears, and their guidance keeps patients anchored in the middle of medical emergencies.But the job is as tough as it gets, and comes with a host of challenges, like long hours, physical exertion, mental fatigue, and even stereotyping.Costello graduated as a registered nurse from Dublin City University, Ireland, in 2018, and worked in the field for eight years, in both Ireland and Australia, before he moved to Dubai in June 2024 to pursue his current role.He said: “I come from a family of nurses. Both my parents were nurses, and my sister is a nurse in Australia, with my youngest sister also doing a stint as a student nurse.”Costello’s parents trained in mental health or psychiatric nursing and met while working together. They went on to create a business of multiple nursing homes in Ireland, “which taught me everything I know about person-centered care and how you can still make a real difference in people’s lives while still being entrepreneurial in the private sector”.Despite his family’s legacy of nursing, Costello nearly didn’t follow in their footsteps.He was conflicted – he originally wanted to become a physiotherapist, because of his keen interest in sports. He also knew that in most places, nursing “had a reputation of hard work for little monetary reward”.After much deliberation, however, he made up his mind. Costello said: “It was only because of the recommendation of my parents that I decided to go for nursing instead.”A big hurdle he had to overcome before becoming a nurse, was the stereotype that the profession is for women. Costello grappled with this issue: “At the time, I was being naïve… and [fell into] a bit of stereotyping, but honestly, once I saw how much clinical expertise there is inside the profession, I have never looked back.”Check if you have this bias, too. Close your eyes, and picture a nurse – do you see a man or a woman?You’re technically right – most nurses are women. According to the US Bureau of Labour Statistics data from 2023, men represent only 12% of all licensed practical nurses, registered nurses, and nurse practitioners in the United States. Moreover, men currently account for approximately 10% of the global nursing workforce, according to the World Health Organisation.Where most people go wrong, is ‘why’ they assume nursing is a woman’s job. The role has taken on historical and cultural connotations of domestic labour and subservience, with many assuming it is a low-skill, assistant-level job.Costello soon discovered the idea was laughable. He found nursing to be a gruelling role, no matter where in the world you are, with constant demands on your mental health, physical fitness, executive functioning, and decision-making skills.A day in the life of a nurseCostello described a typical day as a nurse, which although varies depending on the country, hospital, and specialty you work in, has one aspect that is fairly consistent: “You are ‘on’ from the moment you start until the moment you finish.”In Ireland, most hospitals have 12- to 13-hour shifts, day or night, while in Australia, most nurses commonly work between 8- to 12-hour shifts, depending on their unit or roster. In the UAE, nurses typically work for 48 hours per week, in 12- or 8-hour shifts, depending on the hospital or facility’s requirements.Costello said: “In reality, shifts often run over. This is usually because of staffing pressures, delayed handovers, high patient acuity, documentation, or simply because you cannot safely leave until the next team is properly briefed. In busier settings, there is very little downtime as you are constantly reprioritising.”Needless to say, at the end of a shift, nurses are usually exhausted. Costello explained: “Not just physically from being on your feet all day, but mentally as well. Nursing requires constant attention. You are interpreting clinical observations, assessing for signs of deterioration, calculating medications and nasogastric feeds, calculating and reviewing fluid balances, all while supporting people through some of the worst moments of their lives.”Costello said when he was working as a nurse, he made it a priority to keep motivating himself so he wouldn’t burn out: “I made a real effort to protect my work-life balance through exercise and making sure I still had a social life. The other big motivator was professional development. This is something nurses do but rarely gets talked about. Nurses are constantly putting themselves through courses for skills development and staying on track – it’s both a legal requirement and something they just have to do. That professional growth gave me a sense that I was always moving forward, even during the harder periods. It also made the job even more interesting, as you were always realising all that you don’t know.”Nurses need a supportive environmentIt helps to have an ecosystem that supports the profession, offers timely initiatives, and regulates the industry so that nurses are able to do their job well, while taking care of themselves.Costello said he found this balance in Dubai’s healthcare sector, where he has been working for two years: “It has been good. The healthcare sector tends to be multicultural wherever you go, but here even more so, than anywhere else. It’s a hub of innovation and has strong regulators, in the likes of Dubai Health Authority (DHA), Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services (DCAS), and Emirates Health Services (EHS). There are so many initiatives that I need to keep track of and help to support through our various projects.”Last month, the world celebrated International Nurses Day on May 12. Hospitals across Dubai honoured their nurses with award ceremonies and initiatives to show their appreciation for their hard work.Dubai, in general, is seeing an increase in interest in the profession. The Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences (MBRU)’s Hind Bint Maktoum College of Nursing and Midwifery has seen an increase in student enrolment in nursing programs this year by 125%, since 2020, with Emiratis accounting for 43% of students. Dubai Health, the city’s integrated academic health system, also stated that the total number of Emirati nurses in their group rose to 120 in 2026 – that’s an increase of 150% since 2023.The numbers are promising, and show that people aren’t afraid to work long hours, or work hard, on the frontlines of healthcare. Costello encouraged young people to channel their love for service into nursing. He shared some advice: “Go for it if you like people. It’s a hugely varied role with so much scope – there is a role for every pace and interest. You never know where it can take you.”
