Building Professional Capacity of the Healthcare Workforce in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract

Professional capacity building is a cornerstone of safe, high-quality, and resilient healthcare systems. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), healthcare delivery is undergoing rapid modernization shaped by demographic growth, epidemiological transition toward chronic diseases, and ambitious reforms aligned with Saudi Vision 2030. These shifts increase the demand for a workforce that is clinically competent, digitally enabled, leadership-ready, and continuously learning. This paper examines professional capacity building for the healthcare workforce in Saudi Arabia by synthesizing key challenges and identifying high-impact opportunities. Challenges include workforce shortages and uneven regional distribution, variability in training quality and clinical exposure, limited protected time and institutional incentives for continuous professional development (CPD), leadership and management competency gaps, rapid digital transformation that outpaces workforce readiness, and constraints related to interprofessional collaboration, research capacity, and staff wellbeing. Opportunities arise from national transformation programs, expansion of health sciences education and simulation-based training, stronger regulation and competency frameworks through the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties, accelerating digital health initiatives, international partnerships, and increasing emphasis on quality, safety, and value-based care. The paper proposes actionable strategies for hospitals and policymakers, including competency-based pathways, structured mentorship, leadership development, protected learning time, workforce planning driven by data, and evaluation systems that link CPD to patient outcomes.