Welcome to Allocation Assist Middle East

Emilie Davies founded Allocation Assist in 2015, after recognising a gap in the market for assisting high calibre doctors to find rewarding and fulfilling opportunities in top-tier hospitals in the UAE and other Gulf countries. Allocation Assist is now the fastest growing medical recruitment company in the Middle East.

The seeds for Allocation Assist were planted many years earlier while Emilie was working as a nurse in the UK’s National Health Service. 

I grew up in North London and when I left school, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do with my life. I had quite a challenging upbringing and, at that time, I was not academically focused. I tried several different jobs before deciding to study nursing. I love people, so I knew that whatever career I ended up in, I wanted to work with people and make a difference for others. When I first left school, I did a travel and tourism course. I was thinking of becoming an air hostess, as I liked the idea of travelling and being in an international environment, but that turned out not to be the right path for me.

At one time, I had three different jobs so that I could earn money while considering what to do next for my career. I had a full-time telesales job, I was working in a Jewish restaurant in the evenings, and I had a weekend job at Toys R Us in Brent Cross. On the weekends, I was working alongside some university students who were about the same age as me and they inspired me to go to university. However, I wanted to study towards a worthwhile career, rather than just going to university for the sake of it. Around the same time, a friend from my telesales job, whose mum was a nurse, suggested that nursing would be a good option for me. Nursing appealed to me, as it meant that I could go to university to get a degree that would immediately give me a job in a fulfilling career working with people. So, I quit my telesales job and did an access to nursing course to get onto a nursing degree course. I was blessed to be accepted onto one of the best nursing courses in the UK, at Hertfordshire University.

I absolutely loved my nursing career and enjoyed being able to make a difference for my patients and colleagues. Hospitals can be quite stressful places so, apart from providing excellent clinical care, I saw my role as bringing a positive energy to the environment. I would always  come to work looking presentable as I loved cheering the patients up, making them feel comfortable and safe. I also found that connecting with the relatives gave them peace of mind that their loved one had a nice friendly nurse looking after them when they had to go home after visiting hours.

My nursing career grew me as a person in many ways. Despite previously having not been very focused at school, I was determined to work hard at university. I graduated with First Class Honours and one of the highest grades in my year group. This gave me the confidence that I could achieve anything I put my mind to when I have a strong motivation. If I have a purpose and goal, I will achieve it, as I don’t give up. Working in the healthcare sector has also given me a lot of contacts and insight into the structure and working of hospitals. 

While I loved nursing, I felt that I needed to keep growing and get out of my comfort zone. I believe that the two strongest human needs are connection and growth, and I wanted to keep developing and realise my full potential. While I was still in my nurse training, for a couple of years, I had a very successful, business-minded friend. He inspired me to think bigger, and it was at that time that the first seeds were planted in my mind that I could start my own business in the future. 

Following my graduation, I worked in an Acute Medical Unit and then in the Emergency Department at the Royal Free Hospital NHS Trust. I feel I made the most of my nursing career but, after a while, I realised that I wanted to start a business. Nursing is a vocation, and while I loved being a nurse, once my heart was being drawn more and more towards business, I realised that I had to make a decision. It was such a strong calling. In total, it took about three and a half years from giving up full-time nursing to starting a full-time business. During that time, I was doing locum work as an agency nurse for three or four long days each week and using my free-time to work on my business idea.

I started by reading a lot of books about business. One of the books that had the biggest impact on my life was ‘Think and Grow Rich’, by Napoleon Hill. From that book, I learnt the importance of  creating a Mastermind group, or supportive network of like-minded people. This inspired me to find a business coach and I discovered a business seminar happening in London by Wilson Luna, a business coach from Australia. After that seminar, I realised that his business coaching programme was the right fit for me. The programme gave me the training, strategies and accountability that I needed to be successful in business. I was coached by Wilson Luna on and off for eight years, and I wouldn’t be where I am without him. 

I had a friend whose mum was working as a nurse in the Middle East, and he suggested that Dubai would be a great place for me to go to work. I had not been to Dubai before but, when I first visited, I fell in love with the city and knew this was where I wanted to be. I sensed a vibrancy and positivity here unlike other places. I believe that any country or organisation is a reflection of its leadership. I have been inspired by the vision and leadership of the United Arab Emirates from Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the country’s founding father, up until today. The remarkable growth and development in the Emirate of Dubai over recent decades has been driven by the vision and foresight of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. There is a can-do attitude here, with challenges being seen as opportunities for growth, and I seek to follow this approach in my business. People from all over the world come to live and work in Dubai. It is very safe and welcoming, with great infrastructure. More and more, the UAE is also becoming a place where expats can make their long term home, and even retire here. Women are so well respected in the Middle East. I have always been taken seriously as a business woman and not faced any issues. The UAE has a very respectful and hospitable culture and living here grows you as a person. 

Once I knew that I wanted to start a business in Dubai, I thought I would initially go there to work as a nurse. However, when I started searching for a nursing job in Dubai, around 2014 or 2015, I found it very difficult to get the information I needed. This made me realise that there was a gap in the medical recruitment market. Then, some months later, a seemingly chance meeting crystallised my idea for what would become Allocation Assist. I was attending a big business conference organised by Wilson Luna at a hotel in Holborn, London. On the break from the conference, I went outside the hotel and bumped into a Saudi Arabian man who seemed familiar. After we got talking, I remembered that I had met at a recruitment fair about six months earlier as he was a recruitment manager for one of the big government hospitals in Saudi Arabia. He suggested that we have a chat over coffee. He had an idea of starting a medical recruitment company for the Middle East and was looking for someone to work with who had connections in the UK healthcare sector. I felt that this was an obvious sign from God that this was the path He wanted me to take as to the type of business I should start. We started discussing ideas and potential strategies for a few months but then decided I wanted to start a business on my own.

I carried on doing locum nursing shifts in London while flying back and forth to Dubai to get to know the healthcare sector and make connections. It took me 16 trips from the UK to Dubai over 3 and a half years, incurring 10 GBP in debt to get to understand the market and build trusting relationships with the hospitals. I persisted and didn’t give up, as I knew that once I understood the healthcare sector here and made the right connections, Allocation Assist would become established within a niche in the market. 

At Allocation Assist we are very specialised in what we do, as we only work with high calibre, western-trained doctors, mostly from the UK and Europe, connecting them with the top hospitals in the UAE, and now also in Saudi Arabia. Our business is based on long-term relationships. In this region, where others sometimes come and go, it is important to show that you are serious and committed for the long term. I started by literally knocking on doors but, since founding Allocation Assist, I have always been thinking big. I just kept showing up and remaining consistent and focused. We are constantly evolving and view obstacles as opportunities to progress and find new ways of doing things. I have invested years building connections and trust both with the hospitals and doctors. Allocation Assist provides a comprehensive and personalised service from the initial inquiry, through the licensing and application and interview process, and beyond. We have a large community of hundreds of doctors who we have helped relocate to the UAE who we keep in touch with, meet for social and networking events, and they have become like a family. Building relationships is one of my strengths and I love connecting with people. Also, my nursing career has given me valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities in the healthcare sector. 

I love making a positive impact, and business can be a very effective way to empower and inspire others. Over the years, I have built up an excellent team at Allocation Assist. We currently have 28 people, and we are continually growing. I feel that I am able to recognise potential in others and it is rewarding to see my staff grow and develop. I love to help people become the best version of themselves. Allocation Assist’s success comes from delivering for our clients and establishing a reputation for integrity and reliability. When you are authentic and genuine, people can read and sense that intuitively. It is always rewarding to get great feedback from happy clients. As with any business, we do get some complaints but our complaints rate is very low. 

In business, you sometimes need to make really difficult or uncomfortable decisions. It is not something you can avoid or run away from. You have to do what is best for the business, so it will never be possible to keep everyone happy all the time. In these situations it is essential that you really believe and trust God. Through overcoming past challenges I have been able to find peace, gratitude and a belief in Allah. Since founding the business, I have had to learn to care for my own health by prioritising a healthy diet, exercise and sleep. I never compromise on honesty and integrity and I know my purpose. Honesty and integrity are essential for connecting with others and building long-term business success.

We’ve built such a valuable network within this region. We are constantly in touch with doctors and we know their training and specialist services they provide, We also have strong relationships with the best hospitals in the region. In the future, I would like to use this network to connect patients with the right doctors. The UAE has a well established health system and is also a medical tourism hub but patients don’t always know how to find the best doctors for their needs. This is especially important in critical situations or with serious life-limiting diseases, where time is of the essence. We have the connections and I want to utilise them to help patients, both in the UAE and the wider region.