A policy of this magnitude requires gradual establishment. The upgrading of the nursing education to degree level, continuous professional development, mentoring and role modeling of expert nurses should be established to prepare local nurses for the localization of the nursing workforce.

Hypertension (HTN) is a major independent risk factor for the development of stroke, coronary artery disease (CAD), peripheral arterial disease (PAD), heart failure (HF) and chronic kidney disease (CKD). HTN is a growing public health problem in Oman, almost certainly the most prevalent modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). The risk of CVD in patients with HTN can be greatly reduced with lifestyle modifications and effective antihypertensive therapy. Randomized trials have shown that blood pressure (BP) lowering produces rapid reductions in CV risk. Several studies have shown that the majority of the hypertensive patients remain uncontrolled. It is well established that the observed poor control of the disease is not only related to poor adherence to medications, but also to limited awareness and adherence to evidence-based management of hypertension among physicians. Several guidelines for the management of patients with hypertension have been published. However, the aim of this document is to provide the busy physicians in Oman with more concise and direct approach towards implementing these guidelines into clinical practice.

In 2012, Oman Heart Association (OHA) published its own guidelines for the management of patients with unstable angina/non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction, the aim was not to be comprehensive but rather simplified and practical in order to reduce the gap between the long comprehensive guidelines and our actual practice. However, we still feel that the busy registrars and residents need simpler and direct clinical pathways or protocol to be used in the emergency departments, coronary care units and in the wards. Clinical pathways are now one of the main tools used to manage the quality in healthcare concerning the standardization of care processes. It has been shown that their implementation reduces the variability in clinical practice and improves outcomes in acute care.