Nursing in Dubai

[sdnursenicole]

I'm interested in Nursing in Dubai, but I have no idea where to start. I've googled Nursing in Dubai to find a couple agencies, but all I found were ones for Australian & UK citizens. The ones for American citizens seemed unreliable and I didn't want to give my money to any agency I wasn't sure about, so I decided to ask around to see if anyone had any advice on a good agency or where to start. I'm an Hematology/Oncology nurse. I've been a nurse for 5 years and I've been in Heme/Onc for the past 2 years. I've done some med/surg work, but I'd like to stay in Heme/Onc b/c that's my passion. However, when I have looked at specialties in in the hospitals in Dubai, none of them seem to have any Heme/Onc departments. Does anyone know anything about that? I also know times have been more tough over there related to the market, so I wasn't sure if the conditions for nursing over there have changed. Looking for any advice from anyone who is currently working in Dubai or has recently. Thank you to anyone who takes the time to respond. I look forward to any tips.

[teija83]

Hi there. I'm in the process of looking for work in the UAE too. I trained in Australia, and now living in Canada.

I am happy to share some stuff I've found out.

Most "agencies" have no vacancies in Dubai for RN's at the moment. The hospitals there currently are hiring from India, Lebanon and the Philippines for their Nurses. This is much cheaper for them.

Abd Dhabi (about 1.5hrs drive from Dubai) has more job opportunities for western RNs. The big hospital there is Shaik Khalifa Medical Centre - think it's about 1000 bed establishment. Hospitals in the UAE:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_hospitals_in_the_United_Arab_Emirates

I would not use the "agencies" and contact the hospitals directly (or contact the company the hospital is managed by). A lot of hospitals in the UAE are managed by western companies (US, Canada, etc). For example, the Shaikh Khalifa Medical in Abu Dhabi is managed by Cleveland Clinic (http://my.clevelandclinic.org/default.aspx).

Salaries for Staff Nurses are very low in the UAE. It is only decent for Senior Charge Nurses. You could expect something along the lines of 8000 UAE dirham a month. However, with your experience in your area you may qualify for a senior position (Charge Nurse, etc) - better $$$$

Most RN's with under 12 years experience that head to the Middle East go to Saudi where the salaries are much better. Around 12500 Saudi Riyal a month.

Also, Saudi offers a 1 year contract, UAE has minimum 2 years.

I'll keep you posted on more as I find out. My feeling is that if you want to work in Duabi you will want a more senior position than Staff Nurse, purely financial reasons. If you can't find a senior position in Duabi, I would suggest Abu Dhabi or Al Ain for work :)

[mooch]

Do you know the nursing laws in Dubai? What are their rules and regulations? How bout nursing laws and practice in Abu Dhabi? Which is better to work? in Dubai or Abu Dhabi?