# Any physician from usa moving to or living in dubai



## drskg

Hi,
I am a Internal medicine board certified physician,living in usa for last 7 years. Thinking of moving to dubai for family reasons.. Dont have any idea about the american physician salaries over there. Have many doubts regarding the living status, job opportunities, freedom of making job change,social life etc
very anxious.. Is there any other physician who had moved from usa or planning to move over there ?


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## mehranR

drskg said:


> Hi, I am a Internal medicine board certified physician,living in usa for last 7 years. Thinking of moving to dubai for family reasons.. Dont have any idea about the american physician salaries over there. Have many doubts regarding the living status, job opportunities, freedom of making job change,social life etc very anxious.. Is there any other physician who had moved from usa or planning to move over there ?


I am not a physician and I don't live in Dubai.( does that help?) rather a dentist who wants to move to Dubai.
As far as my job search, the pay scale is higher compare to other physicians from the rest of the world, but that cools mean nothing or something's work against you. Many clinics wouldn't want to pay so much to hire a doctor. I don't think you have much freedom in terms of job changes like we do here, as there should be someone who is sponsoring us, and I believe you will need to fulfil your contract term with them before switching. Social life is usually no to worry about. 
Now the question would be, if family reasons are moving you towards Dubai, will these questions be very important? Believe me I am in the same boat as you and I realized that I am not moving to Dubai to be more profitable, because that can never happen. Taking a huge salary cut ( I will be making 1/3-1/4 of what I make in US), but at the end the family situation would be resolved. All of a sudden, money is not the only factor when family comes into play. 
You could look at sites like dubizzle and get ideas as to how much the base salary and salary for a senior doctor (this will be your category) is. Keep in mind that most places will offer you accommodation and vehicle, trip to US and good benefits. On top of that being tax free (sometimes I think it's debatable).


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## Guest

Hi drskg - 

My husband is a doctor of internal medicine and general surgery with a MBBCh from Egypt and is ECFMG certified from the United States. We're going through the match process in the States right now and have a few interviews but it's still early in the season. 

We're hoping to match in Internal Medicine and then go for a Cardio fellowship, but we also applied for a few family medicine programs for insurance. At the same time we're realistic about the statistics that less than half of the IMGs that apply don't match. 

In the event we don't match we've been researching doctor positions in the Gulf Arab countries, where my husband has colleagues from medical school, and we've been able to get some information for positions with his credentials. They base it off of training and nationality. I also have a pay range for future credentials such as yours with three years training in Internal Medicine and passing the Internal Medicine Board according to the American board standards, which seems to be a minimum requirement for the Western pay range for Dubai in addition to US citizenship.

A similar thread on here came up a little while back and has some of the information you're looking for. See: Dubai Jobs for Doctor (In this thread see the last post for the pay range information you seek.)

Other than that we've just been going website to website for the hospitals looking at job posting for physicians and inquiring. Such as the vacancies for the physicians at the American Hospital in Dubai. I see they've got an opening for a Hospitalist which might work for you. Also they offer a look at their physician housing: Photos


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## Stevesolar

Hi
What passport do you have -as this has a huge bearing on salary scale for physicians in Dubai.
Two things are important - Western board certified along with your passport country (this not necessarily being your country of birth).
All things being equal regarding Western board qualifications then US passport holders are paid best, followed by EU passports, followed by Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan etc. then India, Pakistan etc.
DHA regulations stipulate what your job title will be (Specialist, Consultant etc.) and they have rules relating to how long you have been practising at your qualification level to determine your Dubai job title - the hospital then have a pay scale depending what this is.
Hope this helps
Cheers
Steve


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## drskg

mehranR said:


> I am not a physician and I don't live in Dubai.( does that help?) rather a dentist who wants to move to Dubai.
> As far as my job search, the pay scale is higher compare to other physicians from the rest of the world, but that cools mean nothing or something's work against you. Many clinics wouldn't want to pay so much to hire a doctor. I don't think you have much freedom in terms of job changes like we do here, as there should be someone who is sponsoring us, and I believe you will need to fulfil your contract term with them before switching. Social life is usually no to worry about.
> Now the question would be, if family reasons are moving you towards Dubai, will these questions be very important? Believe me I am in the same boat as you and I realized that I am not moving to Dubai to be more profitable, because that can never happen. Taking a huge salary cut ( I will be making 1/3-1/4 of what I make in US), but at the end the family situation would be resolved. All of a sudden, money is not the only factor when family comes into play.
> You could look at sites like dubizzle and get ideas as to how much the base salary and salary for a senior doctor (this will be your category) is. Keep in mind that most places will offer you accommodation and vehicle, trip to US and good benefits. On top of that being tax free (sometimes I think it's debatable).


Thx mehranR for your reply and guidance
I was busy so could not reply earlier. I agree that when it comes to family then money is not everything and that is the only reason i am even thinking of moving to Dubai. Have you already got a job offer from there? if yes then who did u contact ? i sent my cv to couple of recruiters with no reply. Who should i contact for job search over there. How do you know that you are getting a genuine and right package ?


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## drskg

Hi zaytoona,
thx for the reply... i saw on your previous post that salaries for the specialist are much higher then others. What does a specialist mean over there? does it has to do with the years of experience or your subspecialist training? I have work experience of >3 yr after my board certification. What salary should i expect over there is USD ?


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## drskg

Hi steve,
i have an indian passport? does that mean i will be paid much lesser then any other physician over at dubai? thats totally rubbish ! what they have to do with the passport country ?


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## Stevesolar

drskg said:


> Hi steve,
> i have an indian passport? does that mean i will be paid much lesser then any other physician over at dubai? thats totally rubbish ! what they have to do with the passport country ?


Sorry - but passport has a very big influence on what people are paid here.
It is a simple fact that employers gauge your worth based on your country of passport - as people from different countries can attract different salary rates, based on the salary levels in each country.
This applies across most professions including medical - for both nurses and doctors.
In Dubai the DHA assess whether you can be classed as a specialist or a consultant on how long you have been practising at your current level.
To be a consultant in Dubai - you need to have practised as a consultant elsewhere for at least 5 years. If less - then you are called a specialist (and this attracts a lower rate of pay).
If you are currently working as a consultant in USA - then packages on offer in Dubai will not look that generous, by comparison.
Cheers
Steve


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## Guest

drskg said:


> Hi zaytoona,
> thx for the reply... i saw on your previous post that salaries for the specialist are much higher then others. What does a specialist mean over there? does it has to do with the years of experience or your subspecialist training? I have work experience of >3 yr after my board certification. What salary should i expect over there is USD ?


Hi drskg,

A specialist from Egypt means someone who went on to residency and got a Masters or PhD. They usually teach at a University and have several years of practicing medicine in hospitals and private clinics. 

US training means more money than an Egyptian specialist. A US specialist with sub-specialty training is paid even more depending on specialty. They really need specialists there.

Recruiters have told us his US citizenship will be paid more than his Egyptian Citizenship even with the three years of US training. However, we have contradictory advice from his medical colleagues working there who tells us that three years of US training will get you the Western pay range regardless of your nationality. We're inclined to believe that is the case because we know Syrian doctors working in KSA that have 3 years US training and are American board certified in Internal Medicine and who have 3 years post training experience working in the States and they're all making the Western pay range in KSA as doctors now without having US citizenship. Western pay range in the Gulf Arab States is not as much as you can make in the United States but in some areas it's tax free and it's comparable. You'll certainly have a good standard of living and comfortable life.

This is how we figure the pay range goes. It's based off of two categories. The medical training and the nationality.

For medical training their order of preference is: US, European Union, Arab, Indian/elsewhere. The more training the better the pay. More experience practicing medicine after training also means better pay.

For the nationality pay range considerations the western countries get highest preference followed by the Arabs since it's an Arab country and they know the language and culture and then everywhere else comes next. 

They also are basing the pay range off of the country you're coming from meaning that if you make a certain pay range in India as a doctor they're going to pay you similar to what you'd make there and maybe a little more to make the offer attractive. 

If you make a certain pay range as a doctor in Egypt they're going to pay you similar to that plus a little more to make it attractive to come there and practice medicine. Many Arab doctors outside the Gulf Arab States move there for several years because the pay is a little better than back home.

To attract doctors from Western countries they know they can't afford to meet their pay range but they can offer close to their pay range even if it's a little less. Then they cover your living expenses and some countries have no taxes so the rest of the income is take home. For those of us that keep our citizenship to the US we have to file taxes under world wide income and still pay something back home.

From quotes in the thread I linked in my prior post it said with three years US training and an American board certification in FM or IM you'd be considered a consultant in UAE.

The pay range is between 40,000 - 60,000 AED a month which at today's exchange rates is 10,890 - 16,335 USD. That's 130,690 - 196, 020 USD a year.

The total package including living expenses, schools expenses, flights was quoted at 1,000,000 AED a year or at today's exchange rates 272,257 USD a year.

We were told between 600,000 - 700,000 AED a year total or at today's rates 163,354 - 190,580 USD. We haven't matched in the States yet so we don't have three years of US training or years of experience practicing in the United States. We also don't have kids yet. They are counting the US citizenship, Egyptian medical training, ECFMG certification and his years of experience outside Egyptian training in hospitals and private practice.


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## Stevesolar

zaytoona said:


> Hi drskg,
> 
> A specialist from Egypt means someone who went on to residency and got a Masters or PhD. They usually teach at a University and have several years of practicing medicine in hospitals and private clinics.
> 
> US training means more money than an Egyptian specialist. A US specialist with sub-specialty training is paid even more depending on specialty. They really need specialists there.
> 
> Recruiters have told us his US citizenship will be paid more than his Egyptian Citizenship even with the three years of US training. However, we have contradictory advice from his medical colleagues working there who tells us that three years of US training will get you the Western pay range regardless of your nationality. We're inclined to believe that is the case because we know Syrian doctors working in KSA that have 3 years US training and are American board certified in Internal Medicine and who have 3 years post training experience working in the States and they're all making the Western pay range in KSA as doctors now without having US citizenship. Western pay range in the Gulf Arab States is not as much as you can make in the United States but in some areas it's tax free and it's comparable. You'll certainly have a good standard of living and comfortable life.
> 
> This is how we figure the pay range goes. It's based off of two categories. The medical training and the nationality.
> 
> For medical training their order of preference is: US, European Union, Arab, Indian/elsewhere. The more training the better the pay. More experience practicing medicine after training also means better pay.
> 
> For the nationality pay range considerations the western countries get highest preference followed by the Arabs since it's an Arab country and they know the language and culture and then everywhere else comes next.
> 
> They also are basing the pay range off of the country you're coming from meaning that if you make a certain pay range in India as a doctor they're going to pay you similar to what you'd make there and maybe a little more to make the offer attractive.
> 
> If you make a certain pay range as a doctor in Egypt they're going to pay you similar to that plus a little more to make it attractive to come there and practice medicine. Many Arab doctors outside the Gulf Arab States move there for several years because the pay is a little better than back home.
> 
> To attract doctors from Western countries they know they can't afford to meet their pay range but they can offer close to their pay range even if it's a little less. Then they cover your living expenses and some countries have no taxes so the rest of the income is take home. For those of us that keep our citizenship to the US we have to file taxes under world wide income and still pay something back home.
> 
> From quotes in the thread I linked in my prior post it said with three years US training and an American board certification in FM or IM you'd be considered a consultant in UAE.
> 
> The pay range is between 40,000 - 60,000 AED a month which at today's exchange rates is 10,890 - 16,335 USD. That's 130,690 - 196, 020 USD a year.
> 
> The total package including living expenses, schools expenses, flights was quoted at 1,000,000 AED a year or at today's exchange rates 272,257 USD a year.
> 
> We were told between 600,000 - 700,000 AED a year total or at today's rates 163,354 - 190,580 USD. We haven't matched in the States yet so we don't have three years of US training or years of experience practicing in the United States. We also don't have kids yet. They are counting the US citizenship, Egyptian medical training, ECFMG certification and years of experience outside Egyptian training.


Well - good, long post with great information!
One small error - the pay range of 40,000-60,000 AED per month is for a specialist with less than 5 years.
A consultant with more than 5 years earns in the range of 55,000 to 80,000 AED per month.
Cheers
Steve


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## Guest

Stevesolar said:


> Well - good, long post with great information!
> One small error - the pay range of 40,000-60,000 AED per month is for a specialist with less than 5 years.
> 
> A consultant with more than 5 years earns in the range of 55,000 to 80,000 AED per month.
> Cheers
> Steve


Thanks Steve!

Also drskg we were told if we had the three years US training in FM or IM with board certification and experience practicing in medicine in the United States after training then we'd make 700,000+ AED or at today's rate 190,580+ USD. However, I don't know what it would pay without the US citizenship or if it would make much of a difference after that point, but I am aware that at the point we're at right now the US citizenship does make the difference.

If we went onto a three year fellowship in Cardiology after a three year residency in Internal Medicine we'd be a specialist in the US and UAE and they can really make some money there, but of course not as much as working in that specialty in the United States.


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## Stevesolar

zaytoona said:


> Thanks Steve!
> 
> Also drskg we were told if we had the three years US training in FM or IM with board certification and experience practicing in medicine in the United States after training then we'd make 700,000+ AED or at today's rate 190,580+ USD. However, I don't know what it would pay without the US citizenship or if it would make much of a difference after that point, but I am aware that at the point we're at right now the US citizenship does make the difference.
> 
> If we went onto a three year fellowship in Cardiology after a three year residency in Internal Medicine we'd be a specialist in the US and UAE and they can really make some money there, but of course not as much as working in that specialty in the United States.


Hi,
It seems that Syrian and Egyptian doctors with US qualifications get well paid here - especially as they speak Arabic.
Indian and Pakistani fare less well - as they dont normally speak Arabic, therefore for them the passport is more important.
Cheers
Steve


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## Guest

That said - if drskg is successful in acquiring a physician position and does indeed move to UAE or elsewhere in the Gulf Arab States - I do hope he shares the details of his experience including the pay range and benefits. 

I'm curious to know what in fact will be the going rate for his contract with US training and experience.

Sending best wishes for how ever it will work out in the future.


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## drskg

*@ zaytoona*



zaytoona said:


> That said - if drskg is successful in acquiring a physician position and does indeed move to UAE or elsewhere in the Gulf Arab States - I do hope he shares the details of his experience including the pay range and benefits.
> 
> I'm curious to know what in fact will be the going rate for his contract with US training and experience.
> 
> Sending best wishes for how ever it will work out in the future.


Thanks zaytoona for such an informative post. It has really helped me in understanding the job pay scale system over at dubai. As i mentioned earlier i have been working as a consultant hospitalist in USA for last 3 years( time since my board certification in IM). Currently i am making more then 300k USD. I don't have any offer or contract from any employer from UAE yet. I tried to contact some recruiters but not much of help. Can you tell me about the recruiters or hospitals you contacted ?


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## Guest

drskg said:


> Thanks zaytoona for such an informative post. It has really helped me in understanding the job pay scale system over at dubai. As i mentioned earlier i have been working as a consultant hospitalist in USA for last 3 years( time since my board certification in IM). Currently i am making more then 300k USD. I don't have any offer or contract from any employer from UAE yet. I tried to contact some recruiters but not much of help. Can you tell me about the recruiters or hospitals you contacted ?


Sure, I have to talk with my husband about it because some of the information comes directly from his medical school colleagues that work at these places. If it's alright with them then I'll send you a PM about it. 

As for recruiters I'd recommend a Google search for "Recruiters for physician positions in UAE." From there you're going to get a whole ton of links with lists of jobs for physicians at various places to look through. I think you mentioned you've already done this and contacted a few recruiters so you'd probably have the same information I have too because that's the way we did it.

I have to warn you though that once they get your information the recruiters are always spamming your email inbox with job opportunities. So check your spam filters. The subject will say "scheduling interviews" or "interview opportunity". Then the body of the email will be like this:



> "Hospitalist opportunities are available with "Name of Hospital" in Dubai. You will join an established hospitalist team with 24/7 coverage and enjoy a well-balanced lifestyle.
> - Focus on patient centered care
> - Board certified or board eligible in internal medicine
> - Visa sponsorship available
> - Incentive bonus opportunities for meeting service standards and specific performance metrics
> May we send you additional information?"


Then if you're interested in the position you reply to them. They send you more information and you begin a correspondence with them directly.


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## Stevesolar

"Hospitalist opportunities are available with "Name of Hospital" in Dubai. You will join an established hospitalist team with 24/7 coverage and enjoy a well-balanced lifestyle.
- Focus on patient centered care
- Board certified or board eligible in internal medicine
- Visa sponsorship available
- Incentive bonus opportunities for meeting service standards and specific performance metrics
May we send you additional information?" 

And about 50% of the above is nearly true!!!


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## Guest

Now I'm going to be wondering which half is true. I didn't even include the ones that are obviously and overtly marketing with their elaborate descriptions of the facilities in their idyllic locations. LOL!!!


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## Stevesolar

Hi
Well, hours are long - so balanced lifestyle is difficult.
Money is king - rather than patient care.
Staff shortages mean many advertised services are not actually covered.
Etc. Etc!!!
Cheers
Steve


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## mehranR

drskg said:


> Thx mehranR for your reply and guidance I was busy so could not reply earlier. I agree that when it comes to family then money is not everything and that is the only reason i am even thinking of moving to Dubai. Have you already got a job offer from there? if yes then who did u contact ? i sent my cv to couple of recruiters with no reply. Who should i contact for job search over there. How do you know that you are getting a genuine and right package ?


I tried a few job interviews and I didn't like what was offered, I too am taking a big pay cut to move to Dubai but I am sure I can have a happier life. I have decided to open my own practice when I come to Dubai. 
Dubai is super saturated with dentists but that doesn't bother me. I am not in business to compete with other dentists rather create something for my patients that they don't receive elsewhere. I was lucky enough to be involved with some of the best practice consultants and that has helped me and my practice in US and I will use the same approach when I get to Dubai.
I wish you good luck in your search for perfect job and hope you get one that you deserve the best. 
Mehran


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## ns2013

Hello, I am a US physician 5 years post-board certification in Internal Medicine, currently working at an academic medical center. I am thinking about moving with my family to the UAE. I appreciate all the salary information but I am curious about the work hours and patient load. Does it vary dramatically by hospital or inpatient/outpatient? What is a typical work week look like?
Thanks,
Nicole


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## Guest

ns2013 said:


> Hello, I am a US physician 5 years post-board certification in Internal Medicine, currently working at an academic medical center. I am thinking about moving with my family to the UAE. I appreciate all the salary information but I am curious about the work hours and patient load. Does it vary dramatically by hospital or inpatient/outpatient? What is a typical work week look like?
> Thanks,
> Nicole


Hi Nicole,

I know from living in Egypt, which is similar to the Gulf Arab States, that the work week for a general practice doctor in an outpatient private clinic is six days a week with Friday's off. The work week starts on Saturday and ends on Thursday's. Thursday is usually less hours than the rest of the week. Then Friday is their holy day and they all go to the Masjid for prayers. My husband usually worked 14-16 hour days and was given a 3-4 day vacation a month. He could choose to not use these days and instead accrue them to take a longer vacation when he wanted.

He's not available for me to ask him right now what the work hours and conditions are like in UAE. That might be something Steve could elaborate more for us on as he actually lives there and knows how it goes.

However, from a search on the internet I found something from a doctor working in UAE. It's a little out dated but has more information that offers an insight into working in UAE. LINK



> Gulf Diagnostic Center (GDC) is a private hospital and has different working hours than the public hospitals. You work 48 hrs a week: Saturday through Wednesday 8 am - 1 pm and 5 pm - 8:30 pm, Thursday only 8 am - 1 pm. Plus variable standby service.
> 
> In Public hospitals working hours are 8 am - 5 pm (45 hours a week), five days a week plus stand by, depending on the specialty and level of the physician.


Also I came across this salary article from 2012 for doctors in Dubai. It discusses the physician shortage, demand for certain physicians and increase in pay each year. Those prices from the article are per month not per year encase you're wondering and I'd add that it's also outdated now from the quotes we were given. LINK

In my search I also came across a word of caution about working as a doctor in UAE. It's an article from the NYTs written in April of this year. LINK The story of what happened with this doctor caused the World Medical Association to issue a warning to doctors about working in UAE.

I scanned the wiki on Healthcare in the United Arab Emirates. It doesn't really give hours but it does provide information about their system and links.


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## Sternocleidomastoideo

HI, Im a doctor in medicine, I was graduated in Cuba,I United States resident, now Im living in United States, I did not validated my degree yet, Im going to be USA citizent next year, my question is, if I can work in Dubai like a doctor in medicine. /snip/


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## BedouGirl

Sternocleidomastoideo said:


> HI, Im a doctor in medicine, I was graduated in Cuba,I United States resident, now Im living in United States, I did not validated my degree yet, Im going to be USA citizent next year, my question is, if I can work in Dubai like a doctor in medicine. /snip/


I've removed your name as this is a public forum and you should only share that kind of information on a personal level, once you get to know someone.


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## lilypetals

Hey everyone, 

I am in the same situation. Looking to move to UAE. Currently, in first year of residency in US for FM. Would move after residency. These posts are about 2 years ago, and I was wondering if anyone had any success? 

I will be Indian passport holder and American board certified... what are my chances of getting a job?


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## USDoc

lilypetals said:


> Hey everyone,
> 
> I am in the same situation. Looking to move to UAE. Currently, in first year of residency in US for FM. Would move after residency. These posts are about 2 years ago, and I was wondering if anyone had any success?
> 
> I will be Indian passport holder and American board certified... what are my chances of getting a job?


How did it go, you mid sharing your experience?


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## twowheelsgood

USDoc said:


> How did it go, you mid sharing your experience?


Not signed in since 26th April 2015 so probably, didn't happen !


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