Ins and Outs Of Work In Dubai, Part 1

Forewarning: This is a bit detailed, and really, more applicable if you are a PT looking for work here. So feel free to skip this! 

Part 1
Before I get started, have to mention something important: Things in Dubai are ALWAYS changing. I did this in 2011, spring and fall. I did most of the job hunting and licensing in the spring and came back in the fall with a contract for work! Don't be surprised if it is a few years from now (or even the end of this week!) and none of this applies. So please do your own research!!!

If you are considering working as medical professional in Dubai, here are 3 important things you need just to get started:

1. Patience
2. $$$$$$
3. Documents, documents, documents (I'll be getting to that in a bit). 

Having said that, what I experienced can be made as Lessons generally for life in Dubai:

Lesson #10: Things in Dubai are always changing, logistics, procedures, so always do your research!
Lesson #11: There is no such thing as "straightforward" here, if you need to get something done, expect to do it in about 5+ extra steps than what you are used to.

I'll give a quick background to my situation and how I got to where I am now. #1 is connections. In Dubai, it really is not what you know, it's who you know.

Lesson # 12: It's not what you know, it is WHO you know.

I was visiting some family friends, and one of them is a sportsmed doc, and he had info and/or connected me to a bunch of clinics.... and also helped me sort out this maze of requirements. And pretty much all my co-workers that I've talked to are there because of someone they knew. Like wise for many jobs here in Dubai anyway.

In this Part 1, I will try to summarize and make it as simple as possible the basics on what to do BEFORE you come.. and some of what happens WHEN you are here. Again, this biased toward becoming licensed as a physical therapist but it can be generalized toward medical professionals (nursing, docs, etc).

A couple of things to note though first:

1. Know WHERE you are applying. In Dubai there are different "zones." There is what is called a DHA zone (where you need a DHA license) and a free-zone which is in HealthCare City (CPQ license). Both zones have ample hospitals and clinics. You don't have to apply to both, especially if you have an idea of a particular organization or company where you want to work. To keep my options open, I applied to both. I will write more about them later. 
2. Have at least 2 years of experience. That is the general requirement for most all jobs. Some asked for more, but generally 2 years is accepted.
3. Be prepared with your documents! Mucho importante. Here is what you need for both zones:
1. C.V.
2. Notarized and attested undergraduate and graduate degrees AND license from the State in which you received the degree. You can do this at the Secretary of State in your State (http://travel.state.gov/law/legal/treaty or www.statelocal.net). For all of these, I did not use my original. Having said that, I had a copy and then in the presence of the notary republic, on the backside of the degree/license, I had to write (okay, my dad did this), write " This is a Copy of the Original" and has his name printed and then signature. Then there is the "official seal" of the notary republic and this other stamp that says "state of" ____, "County of" ____, Signed (or subscribed or attested before me on " (date)" by "(my dad's name)". And then the signature of the notary republic. THEN, he/she should provide a separate sheet of paper that is stapled to the document, that is a "Certificate of Authority" and that the State of Illinois (in my case) was authorized to authenticate this document. It's dated and has a stamp on it. 
1. I think all of this is less than $10 per copy (I think). 
2. Of note, just in case, I had 3 of each made, 3 copies of my undergrad, 3 of my grad, and 3 of my license notarized and authenticated. Just in case one got lost (which it did), I had a back up.  
3. I was not present for any of this. My dad did this (thanks dad!). He didn't need an appointment or anything, but it did take a full morning to go there and get this done. He says it was fairly straightforward. 
3. Dates of Employment. Basically get your company to write a brief blurb with your name in full was employed full (or part) time from X date to X date as a XX (your title). Include a brief blurb of your responsibilities. I actually had them include an attached formal job description, and then they, by "they," I mean Human Resources, write in the blurb that a job description is attached.
1. Make sure it is formal looking, on the company stationary
2. Also make sure that there is a handwritten signature WITH the human resources title. I preferred to get my signed by the Director of HR. As long as it has a legit person's signature, it is fine. 
3. Can be PDF or doc. It doesn't have to be original, I had my sent to me over e-mail, and it was fine. 

Now onto the different zones, DHA and CPQ:

DHA, Dubai Health Authority:
-Their website is: www.dha.gov.ae... or www.dohms.gov.ae (which is the same thing). Here is a perfect example of how things change. Back in April/May 2011 when I was here, this website was somewhat informative. There is a "Licensing" icon and then it had different medical professions and their appropriate requirements. That is not there anymore (it's now November/December 2011).
-Paperwork: C.V., copy of passport, dates of employment (legit letterhead and signature), notarized and authenticated undergrad and any education received, notarized and authenticated license.
-FEES:

• Total for what I had to pay to get my DHA license was: 2970 Dh (dirhams) which with a fixed 3.67 USD exchange rate, comes out to $813. Ouch. 
• Break-down: 
• 200 dh (credentialing fee) ($54 USD)
• 10 dh (x3) (8 USD)
• Knowledge fee, 200 dh  $54 USD)
• Exams and Interview fee. This could take up to 6 weeks, but since I didn't have that time, I did a "urgent" exam.... which was 2000 dh ($547USD).
• And 700 dh ($190USD)... for I don't even know what... Interview fee? Bottom line, come here with cash! (all of these take cash by the way, not credit card).

-How to know what to do? This is a little fuzzy because again things are always changing and there is no clearcut way to find out what exactly to do. The DHA office is actually in HealthCare City (Building 64, block C, 1st floor, level 1, office 1017). I went there just to get info on what to do, but no surprise, it is totally chaotic. I was fortunate in that the friend that was staying with knew someone that worked there (back to, "who you know, not what"), and he kinda guided me. But I think you can go through that office to find out information, just be patient. All and all, I think they will provide you will all the information you need.

-Assessment interview. Here's the biggie... ALL DHA professionals (medical) are required to have an Assessment Interview. It USUALLY should be people in your profession, BUT I have heard all sorts of stories. I can't even begin to describe how random it is. Before I had mine, I heard all sorts of stories of random and bizarre questions that were asked.... and people, smart people failing because of stupid questions asked. How to study? I had NO idea. I am an orthopaedic therapist and feel pretty comfy with orttho stuff, but basically, they can ask anything from pediatrics to cardiovascular, etc. Needless to say, it is quite stressful preparing for it, especially considering someone like me that had less than a week to prepare. I had a panel of 3 PT's, one Indian, one Phillipinna and 1 Arab lady. I don't know if this was a good thing or bad thing, but one of the 1st things that was said to me by the Arab lady was "why do you want to work here? Everyone wants to come to America. It is a steady job, the pay is good, here it won't be much better and..... why Dubai?" Ahh... that is the question. I blabbed something about the cultural experience, trying new things, etc. But they seemed like "whatever." Basically each of them asked me a question. The 1st 1 was straightforward, about adhesive capsulitis. The 2nd one was about a hand/elbow. I have to admit, having an Occupational Therapist at our clinic, I am VERY foggy with that, but somehow managed to fumble through it.... but obviously fumbling. My confidence slowly was waning. After literally like 10 minutes of me sweating, I said, "to be honest, I would refer the patient to a specialist in that area, such as an OT." And AH HA... that is what they were looking for. Eh? THEN the local lady asked me this SUPER vague question.... it was something like a woman with pelvis/low back pain. Soo... I was thinking like "proper" PT, full examination, top/bottom evaluation, mechanical dysfunctions, blah blah. So I was just rambling and babbling, and she kept on saying, "is that it? Is that IT?" Really short and cross. So of course I got even more nervous thinking I was missing something obvious. THEN when I was all out of things to say, she says, "you missed THE most IMPORTANT thing. EVERYONE seems to miss this, but it is PATIENT EDUCATION!" I almost D-I-E-D... that is soo obvious that it almost seems too silly to mention because that is like 80% of our job. I tried to pull myself out of it, but needless to say, I was just digging myself into a whole. So I left TOTALLY feeling devastated and dejected and depressed. There was NO way I could have studied for that, and just felt stupid because I told all these clinics I was taking this exam and I thought 110% that I failed and would have to wait until when I got back in the fall because you have to wait 6 weeks, blah blah. BUT after 2 days of totally being cranky and depressed, I checked my results, and for some BIZARRE reason, I passed. Needless to say, it is a stressful and nerve racking process.

What next? I would generally say (if you do the "urgent" assessment and have everything ready,  3-4 weeks later, you paid the fees, you passed the exam, now what?
-You pretty much can't do anything until you are sponsored by a company. You have a year to do this...if not, you have to do the process all over again! They will provide you with a resident/employment visa.

HealthCare City (where I ended up taking a position):
-CPQ website: www.dhcc.cpq.ae
-This one, easier in one way, harder in others. You can set up a meeting with someone that works there, and they tell you what you need. But here goes from my experience:

• Paperwork: 
• C.V.
• Notarized and authorized education degrees and license (see above). THEN... this is different than DHA, for the Professional License (not undergrad or grad degree) you need to do this: 
• Step 1 (same as DHA): get your license and educational degrees notarized by your state
• Step 2: Send this document with an $8 fee (money order or check to Department of States) and self-addressed stamped envelope to get it Authenticated by the U.S. Department of State
• Department of State Documents and Authentication office, 518 23rd Street, N.W. SA-1, Columbia Plaza, Washington, D.C. 20520. Phone: 202-647-5002 or 1-800-688-9889. Email: aoprgsmauth@state.gov. Website: http://www.state.gov/m/a/auth. 
• If you're wondering what happens if you send it and forget to include a self-addressed stamped envelope? Well, you do get it back... but it takes 2 months and it is sent by train. If you think it is lost and re-send it in the meantime, but somehow your $8 check gets lost, you don't get your document back. BUT, if you rely on your smart parents who have it DHL'd both ways with a money order for the whopping $8, the turn-around time is literally 4-days. Ha! And yes, all those things happened to me. 3 times a charm, huh?
• Step 3: Either:
• IN Dubai, you have to go to the U.A.E. Consular district of the U.S (U.S. Consulate, which is located in the Embassy area in Bur Dubai), pay a 180 Dh fee ($49 USD) and get another sheet of paper that certifies that annexed document is legit. FYI, with a U.S. passport, walk-in hours and appt hours are 12:30pm-3pm.
• IN the U.S., submit this chain of authentications to the UAE Embassy in Washington, DC for the almost final authentication:
• The Embassy of the U.A.E., 3522 International Court, N.W., Washington D.C., 20037. Phone: 202-243-2400. Website: http://uae-embassy.org/
• Step 4: IN Dubai, go to Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Embassy area in Bur Dubai, walking distance from the U.S. Consulate), pay 164 Dh ($45 USD), then get it stamped, sealed, and signed by them. Hours are 8-12, FYI. 
• Dates of employment (follow same guide as above)
• Copy of passport
• Letters of recommendation (I had 2 already handy, 1 from my old manager and another one from a colleague).
• FEE for the CPQ  license itself: 2800 Dh ($767 USD). Flat rate.
• They actually asked for experience letters of the last 5 years of employment. I didn't have that many, but you had to have at least 2, so it was okay.
• Because I had some gaps in my employment (hehe, from my travels), I needed to provide proof that I was doing something. So fortunately, during some of my volunteer work, I had 2 letters of reference, and that seemed to be okay.
• BLS (Basic Life Support card). I didn't have one at the time, but as long as you get it eventually, you are fine. 

So what happens is mid-month every month, they all meet and go through each application and review it and then accept it or deny it. Then they notify you via email if you have been approved or not... and if there is any pending documents (i.e. BLS card) that will be needed.  

Then, same as above, then you just need to get sponsored by an employer and then they will provide you with resident and work visa.

This whole process takes, I would say, at least a month for CPQ, maybe less if you catch them right around the time of the review process. 

next up... Part 2: Once you are here and ready to work!