Picture this: You’ve spent nearly three years patiently navigating licensing, exams, and waiting for the right opportunity. Months go by with updates, but no concrete offers. Then one day, Allocation Assist Middle East calls. And calls again. And again.
After nearly three years of maneuvering through DHA licensing and international exams, Dr. Emilio Solano received simultaneous offers from three hospitals across Abu Dhabi and Dubai. He ultimately chose Mediclinic Parkview Hospital for its long-term career trajectory and the UAE’s recognition of allergy and immunology as a standalone specialty. His journey from Spain involved deliberate family planning, professional patience, and a strategic mindset that turned a lengthy wait into a pivotal career move worth understanding from start to finish.
Three hospitals. Same day. All want you.
This is exactly what happened to Dr. Emilio Solano, a Consultant Allergist who spent 14 years building his career in Spain before making the move to Dubai. His story is refreshingly honest, full of those “wait, that’s exactly how I feel” moments, and exactly the kind of perspective Doctors considering international moves need to hear.
When Dr. Solano completed his PhD in Allergy and Immunology in 2024, he had already spent eight years directing the drug allergy program at Ramón y Cajal University Hospital in Madrid. By most measures, he’d reached the pinnacle of his specialty in Spain. He had the credentials, the experience, and the leadership role. But something was missing.
Originally from Guatemala with dual Guatemalan and Spanish nationality, Dr. Solano had been residing in Spain for the past 14 years, where he completed his four-year fellowship in 2016. Six months ago, he made a decision that would change everything: relocating his family to Dubai to join Mediclinic Parkview Hospital as a consultant allergist.
When Three Hospitals Call at Once (After Three Years of Silence)
Dr. Solano’s path to Dubai began in 2023, when he started exploring new opportunities.
“My specialty is very niche,” he explains with a smile.
“It’s not that common to have allergy positions available, so job offers can be difficult to find.”
A colleague from pulmonology who had worked with Allocation Assist recommended he reach out for support. Through the team, he navigated DHA (Dubai Health Authority) licensing upgrades to consultant status and evaluation exams while continuing his work in Spain.
Here’s where it gets interesting. Because allergy and immunology is such specialized fields, finding the right hospital match took time. Nearly three years, to be exact. But Dr. Solano wasn’t sitting by the phone anxiously waiting (okay, maybe sometimes he was). He was living his life, preparing his family, and finishing important work in Spain.
And then, in what can only be described as the universe’s sense of comic timing, everything happened at once.
“For three years, I didn’t receive anything,” Dr. Solano recalls with a laugh.
“When I received the call, I received calls from three hospitals at the same time. It was interesting to see how that worked out in the long term.”
Three top-tier hospitals across the UAE reached out simultaneously (two in Abu Dhabi and one in Dubai). After years of patient waiting, suddenly he had options. Good options. The kind that makes you think “Where were you three years ago?”
Having multiple offers allowed him to carefully evaluate which hospital would be the best fit for his expertise and vision for allergy services. After thorough consideration, he chose Mediclinic Parkview Hospital in Dubai, one of the region’s leading private healthcare facilities.
The “I Love My Job But…” Moment
Let’s rewind a bit. Why would a successful doctor with a PhD, leading a program at a prestigious Madrid hospital, decide to uproot his entire family and move halfway around the world?
For Dr. Solano, the decision came from one of those conversations we’ve all had with ourselves. About five years ago, he and his wife (a nutritionist doctor, power couple alert) began noticing it was time for a change.
“We started seeing that the situation, both politically, economically, and job-wise, was being a little bit on the downside,” he explains.
“After COVID came and all the political changes, things started getting a little bit worse.”
While they both had secure employment (something they were grateful for), the work-life balance was becoming challenging. Dr. Solano was working 12-hour shifts, five days a week, juggling his public hospital practice with a private practice.
“I was working from 8 in the morning to 8 at night. Seeing my daughters, seeing everything was a little bit more difficult in that scenario.”
If you’ve ever felt like you’re spending more time at work than with the people who matter most, you’ll recognize this moment.
But beyond the time pressures, he’d hit a professional ceiling. Despite holding a PhD, a master’s degree in drug immunology, and eight years of leadership experience, there was nowhere left to climb.
“I had already topped my part. I didn’t see anything further from there,” he reflects. The conversation with his wife summed it up perfectly: “She told me, ‘With all your practice, your experience, your PhD, your master’s, you still cannot break it. I don’t know what else you can do.'”
That realization hits hard. When you’ve accomplished everything you set out to do, and there’s still no next step.
When they began researching international opportunities, they discovered something important. In some countries, allergy and immunology isn’t even recognized as its own specialty (it gets lumped under dermatology or pulmonology). The Gulf region, however, recognized it as its own specialty.
“UAE came as one of the possibilities because of the high demand and because the specialty was recognized here directly. Not something that other specialties do, but as a specialty on its own.”
The Key to Not Giving Up
Here’s what kept Dr. Solano patient during the nearly three-year process: he came to Dubai early on for his consultant evaluation exam and met the Allocation Assist team in person. This turned out to be the confidence boost he needed.
“One of the exams I did online. The second one, they asked me to come here,” he explains.
“I met the team. And the day that I came here, I did the exam. The next day, there was a gathering from doctors and Allocation Assist, and they invited me to that.”
Meeting other Western-trained doctors who had successfully made the leap was huge. “I saw very happy faces. I met the team. That was the confidence that I had in them. I was never desperate during the three years.”
Well, maybe not never desperate. But seeing real people who’d done it? That made all the difference.
His circumstances also helped him stay relatively zen about the timeline.
“I was still good with my job in Spain. I was seeking new challenges, new things, because I had already topped my part. But instead of seeing it like, ‘Oh, it will not come,’ I saw it more as, ‘Okay, be patient. You still have things to do here.’ Finish those things.”
This is perhaps the most valuable insight for any doctor considering an international move: if you’re running away from something bad, you’ll make desperate decisions. But if you’re running toward something better while your current situation is manageable? That’s when you make smart choices.
The Bold Family Move
The Solano family didn’t just sit around waiting. With two daughters who would be 11 and 6 by the time they moved, they got strategic and committed.
Their boldest move? Transferring the kids to a British English-only school in Spain, two and a half years before they even had confirmed jobs in Dubai.
“We did a change from their past school. We wanted them to start the English part,” Dr. Solano says.
“We were preparing a lot of things. We were confident this was going to happen sooner rather than later.”
Let’s pause and appreciate this. They invested two and a half years preparing their daughters for a successful transition, giving them time to build confidence in English and adjust gradually rather than throwing them into a completely new educational system overnight. That takes conviction and careful planning. And probably some deep breaths.
But the timing? Absolutely perfect. Just as his hospital in Spain was planning organizational changes that would potentially shift doctors to different locations, further from home, the UAE calls came through.
“In Spain, they were going to do a lot of changes in the situation of the doctors working there. We would be shifted to another place, further apart from home,” he explains.
“When that started getting in motion, I received a call.”
And not just one call. Three hospitals, simultaneously. Sometimes the universe really does have a sense of humor.
Building Something New: From 40 to 10 (and Loving It)
Six months into his role at Mediclinic Parkview, Dr. Solano is genuinely excited about what he’s building. And when you understand the contrast with Spain, you’ll see why.
In Madrid, he was part of a well-oiled machine. “We were 12 in my hospital only,” he notes (twelve allergists in a single hospital). “We had specific departments that did drug allergy testing specifically for that. We did like 40 drug challenges a day.”
Forty. A. Day. That’s basically an assembly line of allergy testing.
In Dubai? “Here, I may have done 10 challenges in six months. It’s not actually common to see it yet, but that’s changing as we build the department.”
For some doctors, this would be disappointing. For Dr. Solano, it’s exhilarating. “With me coming here, we have three or four allergy specialists now. So it’s very little here.”
He’s not just joining a department (he’s building one from scratch). And here’s the beautiful part: the hospital management at Mediclinic is giving him the freedom to do it.
“They gave me a lot of choice with that,” he says. “I’m presenting protocols and ideas. We’re not expecting to start with 50 challenges immediately. That’s not feasible. But there are small things we can start implementing, and with the hospital’s expansion plans, we’re looking at dedicated space for the allergy department.”
It’s the difference between being a cog in a well-functioning machine and being the architect of something new. Both are valuable, but if you’ve been the cog for long enough, being the architect feels pretty amazing.
When Your Colleagues’ Warnings Turn Out to Be… Wrong
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room: the warnings. You know, the ones from well-meaning colleagues who’ve never actually been to Dubai but have LOTS of opinions.
Dr. Solano arrived carrying the collective anxieties of Spanish colleagues who told him all about the cultural restrictions he’d face. The reality? Let’s just say his colleagues might want to actually visit before giving advice.
“People get a little bit confused about where they’re going to, because this is a very open society, a very open culture,” he observes.
“A lot of people coming here get a little bit scared of what they will expect. My colleagues, when I came here, they said, ‘Oh, you’re going there, but they want to restrict you this, restrict you that.’ I was like, no, it’s not the case.”
He’d seen hints of this during his first visit two or three years earlier, but living it daily? “It’s been a very pleasant surprise. I didn’t expect it would be that way.”
There’s something satisfying about proving the naysayers wrong, isn’t there?
What really impressed him was the multicultural vibe.
“With respect from us to the culture and everything, I think it’s a very beautiful thing to see how a lot of different cultures and different points of view get along in a country. When you see other countries, you see everything and everyone fighting. It’s very nice to see.”
Professionally, he found exactly what he was looking for: room to breathe and grow. “
You will find here a little bit more freedom and a little bit more road to ride on, and to give a plus to your practice. You have a lot of uphill here that you can go through.”
And Mediclinic itself? “It’s an awesome place to work. I think it’s one of the busiest hospitals right now. It’s one of the top-tier hospitals here in the whole region, not just in Dubai. I’m very happy with the hospital, with my colleagues all around. It’s been a nice change of pace. I feel like I’m at home.”
Six months in, and he already feels at home. When you’ve moved your entire family halfway around the world, that’s the feeling you’re hoping for.
The Real Test: Happy Kids = Success
Here’s the thing about relocating with a family: you can love your job, love the city, love the opportunity, but if your kids are miserable and your spouse is counting down the days until you can leave, none of it matters.
Dr. Solano gets this.
“From my experience, my wife is happy and my daughters are happy,” he says.
“That’s another thing. Family-wise, for me, it has been very good.”
The 2.5 years of English-language school preparation in Spain? Worth every transition hiccup. His daughters arrived ready to integrate into Dubai’s international school system, and the adjustment has been smooth. There are no “I hate it here, can we go home?” moments. (Every parent who’s moved internationally just breathed a sigh of relief reading that.)
“I’ve seen my kids and my wife, they’re very happy here. I think we made the right choice.”
The ultimate endorsement? His in-laws are visiting for New Year celebrations. When your in-laws want to come visit, you know things are going well.
Real Talk: What He’d Tell His Past Self
When asked what advice he’d give to Doctors contemplating similar moves, Dr. Solano gets wonderfully practical:
Visit Before You Commit:
“If someone can come here and see before coming, that’s valuable. For me, it worked a lot. Being here, seeing how everything was going, it was like a stepping stone trying to find out if it would be worth it to come here.”
Seeing is believing. And it quiets those 2 am “What are we doing?” thoughts.
Your Family’s Happiness = Your Happiness:
“When you come with a family, that’s an important part. Career-wise, you come here alone, maybe you don’t have a lot of problems with that part. But when you come with a family, that’s an important part.”
Patience Is Actually a Superpower:
“My specialty is very niche. The whole process started in 2023, and it took almost three years. I was patient through it all. I had my goal and faith. But I was good with my job in Spain. I wasn’t desperate. That helped me wait for the right opportunity rather than jumping at the first option.”
Professional Freedom Is Real Here:
“You have room to grow a lot more. If you’re someone that wants to plan, that wants to do different things, that wants the support of a very good system and you have room to grow, then I think it’s a good thing to do. Here, I feel that freedom.”
Don’t Let Secondhand Fear Hold You Back:
“You will get a lot of people coming here scared of what they will expect. My colleagues told me they would restrict me this way and that way. It wasn’t expected for me that it would be this open. Don’t let unfounded concerns hold you back.”
Six Months In: No Regrets
As Dr. Solano prepares to celebrate his first New Year in Dubai with his family and visiting in-laws, there’s a lightness in how he talks about the decision. Not the forced positivity of someone trying to convince themselves they made the right choice, but the genuine relief of someone who took a risk and it paid off.
Dubai is actively developing as a healthcare hub for the Middle East, attracting Western-trained specialists who can contribute to building comprehensive medical services. For Dr. Solano, this growth trajectory aligns perfectly with his goals.
In Spain, he was one of twelve allergists in a single hospital, doing 40 drug challenges a day in a mature, well-established department. Here, he’s one of three or four in the entire hospital, building something from scratch.
“A lot of people want stability, and that’s their goal in life, and for me, that’s perfect,” he reflects. “For me, I needed something more. Being here, I feel that freedom. Now we start a new way.”
The nearly three-year journey, the bold family decisions, the leap of faith (all of it led to this): building something new, with the freedom to shape its direction. And happy kids. And visiting in-laws. And that feeling of “yeah, we did the right thing.”
“It came to success. And now, we’re enjoying practice, enjoying the country. I think we made the right choice.”
If there’s one thing that comes through clearly in talking with Dr. Solano, it’s this: he’s not just satisfied with his decision (he’s genuinely excited about what comes next). And in a world where so many doctors feel burned out, stuck, or resigned to the status quo, that kind of enthusiasm? It’s contagious.
About Dr. Emilio Solano
Dr. Emilio Solano holds a medical degree and completed a four-year fellowship in allergy and immunology at Ramón y Cajal University Hospital in Madrid, finishing in 2016. He earned a PhD in allergy in 2024 and holds a master’s degree in immunology and drug immunology. He spent eight years as the director of the drug allergy program at Ramón y Cajal University Hospital, where he worked alongside renowned specialists in the field.
Originally from Guatemala with dual Guatemalan and Spanish nationality, Dr. Solano has been residing in Spain for 14 years before making the move to Dubai. He is currently a consultant allergist at Mediclinic Parkview Hospital in Dubai.
Considering opportunities in Dubai or the wider Gulf region?
We’ve spent over a decade placing Western-trained doctors across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, and we understand what it takes to find positions that align with both your clinical expertise and your personal circumstances. If you’d like to explore what might be possible, reach out.
Frequently Asked Questions About Moving to Dubai as a Doctor:
Is allergy and immunology recognized as a specialty in Dubai?
Yes! And this is crucial. Allergy and immunology is recognized as a distinct medical specialty in the UAE, unlike some countries where it falls under dermatology or pulmonology. This means allergists can practice their full scope and develop comprehensive allergy services as an independent specialty. For specialists like Dr. Solano, this recognition makes all the difference.
What is the DHA licensing process for consultant allergists?
The DHA (Dubai Health Authority) licensing process includes credential verification (DataFlow) and evaluation exams (when needed). Some exams can be completed online (convenient!) or in-person. The process includes determining the title of a specialist or consultant status based on qualifications and experience, and Allocation Assist provides guidance throughout.
How long does it take to secure a consultant position in Dubai for niche specialties?
The timeline varies by specialty. For highly sought-after specialties, the average process takes 6-8 months. For niche specialties like allergy and immunology, which is seeing growing demand in the UAE, it typically takes around one year.
Dr. Solano’s process took nearly three years, but demand for allergists has increased significantly since then, meaning shorter timelines for candidates today. This time can be used strategically to prepare your family and ensure the right hospital match.
What are the benefits of working as a Doctor in Dubai?
Beyond the obvious (sunshine, tax-free environment), benefits include recognition of specialized credentials, professional autonomy to develop departments and implement new programs, opportunities to build services from the ground up, a truly multicultural work environment, and genuine room for career growth. Doctors often find more professional freedom to innovate and shape their department’s direction than they had in more established systems.
Is Mediclinic Parkview Hospital a good place to work for specialists?
According to Dr. Solano, it’s “an awesome place to work” and “one of the top-tier hospitals here in the whole region, not just in Dubai.” The hospital offers specialists significant autonomy, supportive management, and opportunities to develop specialized departments. The work environment is collaborative with colleagues from diverse backgrounds. Dr. Solano’s verdict after six months? “I feel like I’m at home.”
What should doctors know about family relocation to Dubai?
Family preparation is crucial. Dr. Solano’s family went all-in, enrolling their daughters in an English-language school 2.5 years before the move. Dubai offers excellent international schools with various curricula, and the multicultural society has proven genuinely welcoming for expatriate medical families. The bottom line from Dr. Solano: family happiness isn’t just important (it’s everything).
What is the cultural environment like for Western doctors in Dubai?
This is where Dr. Solano’s experience gets interesting. He arrived with preconceptions shaped by colleagues’ warnings, only to discover: “This is a very open society, a very open culture.” The multicultural environment allows different cultures and perspectives to coexist harmoniously. Dr. Solano’s advice? “Don’t let unfounded concerns hold you back.”
How can allergists contribute to Dubai’s healthcare development?
Dubai is actively developing as a healthcare hub for the Middle East, and allergists have rare opportunities to build comprehensive departments from scratch. This includes establishing drug allergy testing protocols, implementing new techniques, creating dedicated allergy facilities, and shaping how the specialty develops in the region. For builders and innovators, it’s an exciting time.
How does Allocation Assist help doctors relocate to the UAE?
Allocation Assist is a medical recruitment consultancy that has been placing Western-trained doctors in Gulf region hospitals for over 11 years. They maintain relationships with 95+ hospitals across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, and help doctors navigate DHA licensing, consultant evaluation exams, hospital matching, and relocation logistics. The real value? You can actually meet the team and other successfully relocated physicians during the evaluation process (which Dr. Solano credits as a major confidence builder).
