Navigating Professional Registration and Development Pathways: Perspectives of Healthcare Practitioners

The Saudi Commission for Health Specialties (SCFHS) has undertaken a comprehensive evaluation of its registration and classification services to pinpoint areas for optimization. Recognizing healthcare professionals as essential stakeholders, SCFHS actively solicited their perspectives to better understand their needs and to collect actionable suggestions for service enhancement. Employing a multifaceted research approach, this study utilized focus groups, a large-scale survey involving over 700,000 healthcare practitioners, and comparative benchmarking against selected G-20 nations. The findings indicate a strong desire among practitioners for a reorganisation of the current registration and classification procedures. Notably, there was a consensus for extending the registration period, with a predominant preference for a five-year duration. Participants also advocated for various improvements, such as an increase in Continuing Medical Education (CME) hours, financial cost reductions, and streamlining of registration processes. While benchmarking revealed that SCFHS's existing registration durations are generally on par with other G-20 countries, it also highlighted potential opportunities for diversifying registration types to better meet the needs of healthcare professionals.