Background: Saudi Vision 2030 prioritizes health-system transformation; however, nursing shortages remain despite advances in education and practice. A synthesis of existing evidence is needed to guide reform.
Objectives: To map the literature on nursing in Saudi Arabia and identify development opportunities aligned with Saudi Vision 2030.
Methods: A scoping review was conducted using the Arksey and O’Malley approach and reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidance for scoping reviews. The search covered Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and Google Scholar (January 2008 to December 2025), using terms related to the setting (Saudi Arabia), population (nursing and the nursing workforce), context (Saudi Vision 2030 and workforce nationalization), and domains. After duplicate removal (n = 2,175), titles (n = 1,497) and abstracts (n = 749) were screened, 120 full texts were assessed, and 31 sources were included.
Results: Five themes were identified: (1) historical development of the profession; (2) workforce nationalization progress and barriers; (3) adoption of digital and intelligence-enabled technologies; (4) continuing professional development; and (5) leadership development. The evidence highlights workforce pipeline constraints, access to continuing professional development, varying readiness for digital and adoption, and the need to integrate leadership and systems thinking in nursing curricula.
Conclusions: To realize Saudi Vision 2030, coordinated actions are needed across education, workforce nationalization, digital transformation, and leadership capacity-building. Implementation should be responsive and evaluated for scalability, effectiveness, and cost.
Implications for nursing: Findings support prioritizing workforce retention and nationalization strategies, expanding access to structured continuing professional development, strengthening digital competencies and technology adoption, and embedding leadership and systems thinking across undergraduate and postgraduate nursing education to advance Vision 2030 goals.