Middle East Anesthesiology

[gaspasser127]

Hey all, out of curiosity - was wondering if any of you all knew someone who works as an anesthesiologist out in the Middle East. Specifically I’m wondering about Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, etc where a lot of ex-pats live and business is conducted in english.

What’s the pay like? Work flow/dynamic?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[gasblaster]

Also, had actually looked into this as I was finishing residency without plans for fellowship and looking to try something different. On a whim, applied to the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dubai. However, found out that A) you need to be fully board certified to apply (so at least a year out of residency), B) staff was mostly people that had been in practice for a number of years (average was like 15+), C) staff came from/trained at mostly non-US countries, D) pay actually isn't as much as some private practice gigs in non-big cities although they seemed to offer some other nice benefits that aren't typical here.

 

[somedumbDO]

I looked at Qatar pay sucked, make more in the states

 

[DrMEyeA]

Salary is roughly the same, but you're forgetting its tax free.

 

[Obnoxious Dad]

Salary is roughly the same, but you're forgetting its tax free.

Are you sure about that for Americans? Is there a tax treaty between the U.S. and some middle eastern countries that makes that money tax free? In general, if you stay put long enough in one of those countries, there will be foreign earned income exclusion but you will pay tax over the exclusion threshold. You better see an expert before you count on tax free money.

 

[norwood]

Are you sure about that for Americans? Is there a tax treaty between the U.S. and some middle eastern countries that makes that money tax free? In general, if you stay put long enough in one of those countries, there will be foreign earned income exclusion but you will pay tax over the exclusion threshold. You better see an expert before you count on tax free money.

Very good point, US has double taxation. "Tax free" means you ONLY pay US tax, not US tax AND ALSO foreign tax.

 

[coroner]

Some of these countries may confiscate your passport upon arrival and not permit you to leave until you have fulfilled your contractual terms in case you or your significant other gets cold feet and wants to leave before said contractual period has expired. I don't know if this would apply to U.S. citizens/physicians; but it does happen to the sweatshop workers from Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan who are building all those fancy glass high-rises and World Cup stadiums. Do your research carefully before booking your plane ticket...

 

[AdmiralChz]

I’ve known some people (mostly on medical missions) that have worked over there, in general, it can be tough for Americans to get jobs - remember, that area of the world doesn’t exactly love us. Plus, since European doctors earn on average much less than American MDs there is no shortage of them trying to get over there.

At the private ultra-fancy hospitals the work can be exceedingly lucrative, but it would be next to impossible to find an opening I would wager as once you have one of those posts you hold a death grip on it. The Italians I’ve worked with go on average one week every month or two and they claimed they earned more in a week than with 3 or 4 months in Italy or surrounding countries. I don’t remember exact figures as this was about 10 years ago.

 

[pgg]

Last week, one of the guys I work with said there's a US gov / NATO contract looking for an anesthesiologist to go to Afghanistan for a while. I haven't seen it myself but reportedly $80K/month, one year contract. I'd do it but they got me for a little less already ...

 

[dhb]

Pay is not better than in western Europe and it won't be tax free if you are a US citizen.
Plus the heat is unbearable for 6 months a year.

 

[anbuitachi]

Last week, one of the guys I work with said there's a US gov / NATO contract looking for an anesthesiologist to go to Afghanistan for a while. I haven't seen it myself but reportedly $80K/month, one year contract. I'd do it but they got me for a little less already ...

i thought they are pulling out of afghanistan. i just got a random text out of no where last week from the army asking if im interested in joining as physician