College of Health Sciences, Bahrain

Region: Manama Country: Bahrain

Dean's Welcome Message
CHS Dean Welcome to the College of Health Sciences, a dynamic institution with a long heritage. The College is an exciting environment in which to learn and work.

The College of Health Sciences was established in 1976 and was the first college of its kind in the region. Since then it has trained and educated thousands of Nurses and Allied health professionals who are currently working in various hospitals and health care services in Bahrain. In addition, many students from other Gulf countries have completed their studies at the College.

Currently the College offers B.Sc. in Nursing and Associate Degree in five different Allied Health specialties. These are Pharmacy, Public Health, Medical Laboratory Technology, Dental Hygiene and Radiography. All of these programs will be offered at the B.Sc. level in the near future. In addition the college offers a Bs completion (bridging) program in Nursing and a 1 year Diploma course in various nursing specialties.

Over the last few years the College of Health Sciences has witnessed major achievements. These developments have touched every aspect of the college work, such as the curricula, academic departments, educational technologies, as well as student services and the learning environment in general.

One of the major accomplishments is the introduction of the Foundation Semester, an introductory 16 week program that aims to improve the entering student's English language level and learning skills. This has resulted in a marked improvement in the first year students' academic performance. Another important achievement is upgrading the IT infrastructure and learning technologies as well as the student facilities.

These accomplishments are just the beginning, and we will continue to build on our successes. We will continually strive to raise our standards of training to the highest level possible.

The future looks very bright at the College of Health Sciences. We are building on our proud heritage to ensure that the College of Health Sciences remains at the forefront of health professions education. So whether you are a future student, past graduate or an employee, I invite you to spend time browsing our website. I hope that you will find something that will interest and motivate you to join us.

History
Health manpower development is an area of utmost importance to the Ministry of Health. As early as 1959, a small School of Nursing was established in Bahrain to train local people as nurses. One year after the opening of Salmaniya Hospital, the School started offering a four-year training program for students who had completed the elementary school level. In the ten years between 1965 and 1975, other in-service training programs were initiated by the Ministry of Health in response to the needs of various clinical departments, i.e. the need for laboratory and radiography technicians, pharmacy technicians, nurse-midwives, etc. All these training programs were largely non-academic in orientation and stressed practical, on-the-job training. With the rapid development and expansion of health services in Bahrain, it became evident that a central training institution for preparing Nurses and Allied Health Professionals was crucially needed.

In April 1976, the College of Health Sciences was established to meet the health manpower needs of the health services in Bahrain. In October of that year, the College accepted its first intake of students. By December 2004, more than 4,000 students graduated among different specialties and became some of Bahrain's much needed middle-level health professionals.

Nursing and Allied Health Education has evolved over the past four decades. Today, the College of Health Sciences is the sole provider of high quality health care education and training for Nurses and Allied Health Professionals in the State of Bahrain.

The College, which is primarily a Community Based College, was established in 1976, under the Governance of the Ministry of Health. The College developed over the past three decades to hold a reputable place in the region. It continually responded to the changes and demands from the health care industry. This led to a steady increase in Bahrainization of nursing and allied health human resources.

The College is located in Manama, the capital of the State of Bahrain. It is situated in the Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC) together with Salmaniya Hospital and the Arabian Gulf University. This location works to the advantage of the students, all of whom must spend considerable time gaining experience in various departments and clinical areas of the hospital. In addition to these training opportunities, students have access to different health centers, the Public Health Directorate and other specialized hospitals. Today, as the College enters the new millennium, it faces major challenges that include: