Dr Rachel Kaminski is a Consultant Pulmonologist with over two decades of experience, including 19 years in the UK’s National Health Service (NHS), having trained at Imperial College Medical School. Now practising at Saudi German Hospital in Dubai, she has built a reputation not only for her clinical excellence in respiratory medicine but also for her academic contributions, research output, and commitment to advancing pulmonology care across the UAE. Her journey from a childhood experience that changed the course of her life to becoming one of Dubai’s leading lung specialists is as inspiring as it is instructive for any doctor considering a similar move.
Key Takeaways
- Dr Kaminski trained at Imperial College Medical School in the UK and spent 19 years in the NHS before relocating to Dubai, where she has now been practising as a Consultant Pulmonologist at Saudi German Hospital for two years.
- Her decision to specialise in pulmonology was shaped by a deeply personal experience at the age of 10, when her father suffered a massive heart attack and she was struck by his struggle to breathe, an experience that directed her towards lung medicine.
- She relocated to Dubai driven by the increasing pressure on the NHS and Dubai’s emergence as a global hub for healthcare innovation, offering access to cutting-edge treatments and the opportunity to intervene earlier in patient care.
- Since relocating, she has published four to five research papers and is actively involved in the Emirates Thoracic Society as part of the airways team, with a focus on upskilling primary care providers.
- She is working to establish Saudi German Hospital as an official centre of excellence for asthma and COPD, and Dubai has been among the first countries in the world to introduce certain respiratory treatments.
- Her children attend King’s School in Dubai and are thriving, and she describes being able to provide a significantly better quality of life for her family than was possible in the UK.
- She received a two-year sabbatical from her NHS trust to come to Dubai and advises other doctors that relocating is almost risk-free given the current demand for UK-trained consultants in the UAE.
A Childhood Moment That Shaped a Career in Pulmonology
Dr Rachel Kaminski did not always plan to be a doctor. As a child, she dreamed of becoming an actress. That changed one evening when, at the age of 10, she attended a concert where her brother was performing. While sitting in the audience, her father suffered a massive heart attack and had to be airlifted to hospital. She was left at the school while those around her tried to explain what was happening to a frightened child. The only way she found she could cope was by understanding exactly what was occurring and how doctors were working to help him.
The very next morning she went to the hospital, driven by a hunger to understand the medicine behind her father’s care. From that moment, she developed a profound admiration for the medical profession and a fascination with the human body. It might have seemed natural for her to become a cardiologist, but what stayed with her most was not the heart attack itself, but the memory of her father struggling to breathe. That image, and the realisation of the difference a doctor could make in such moments, directed her towards pulmonology. She loves the breadth of the specialty, the ability to care for both acute and chronic conditions, treating patients young and old, and the people within it.
Nineteen Years in the NHS: Established, Respected, and Yet Ready for Change
After graduating from Imperial College Medical School, Dr Kaminski spent 19 years building her career in the NHS. By the time she began considering a change, she was a well-established consultant with an excellent team and a practice she was proud of. The experience of navigating the COVID-19 pandemic together with her colleagues had deepened those bonds further.
Yet something continued to nag at her. Each winter, the immense pressure on the NHS made it harder and harder to deliver the quality of care she believed her patients deserved. Patients were left waiting in ambulances, unable even to reach the inside of the hospital. She would return home each day feeling that no matter how hard she worked, it was never enough. It was this tension, between her commitment to her patients and the structural limitations of the system, that prompted her to start exploring alternatives.
Why Dubai Was the Right Move
As she began to research possibilities, Dubai emerged as a compelling destination. The city had been rapidly establishing itself as a global epicentre for healthcare, attracting specialists from around the world, building significant medical infrastructure, and deploying technologies that were still aspirational in many Western systems. When she considered her own specialty, she recognised clear and meaningful gaps in respiratory care across the Middle East, in areas such as asthma management, patient understanding of chronic disease, long-term medication adherence, and access to the newest generation of specialist treatments.
A fellow doctor suggested she speak with Allocation Assist, and even before her journey to Dubai had begun, she found the conversation with Emilie Davies open, honest, and pressure-free. She was able to ask candid questions about the realities of life and practice in Dubai, the challenges as well as the opportunities, and came away with a clear and realistic picture. That clarity gave her the confidence to fully commit to the move, and she asked for help in finding the right position and relocating her family.
How Practice in Dubai Differs from the NHS
Dr Kaminski’s clinical approach remains rooted in the training she received in the UK, evidence-based, protocol-driven, and guided by current best practice. She does not automatically prescribe nebulisers or antibiotics, and takes care to justify every clinical decision. That discipline has not changed. What has changed dramatically is the context in which she practises.
In Dubai, patients are able to access care before their conditions have deteriorated significantly. This means she can intervene far earlier in the course of disease, genuinely changing trajectories and outcomes. She rarely encounters the severe, complicated presentations of pneumonia that were common in her NHS practice, simply because patients here receive appropriate treatment promptly. In the UK, many of her patients with severe asthma had been on long-term steroids for years, frequently experiencing side effects such as depression, anxiety, and weight gain. In Dubai, not a single patient is on long-term steroids, a direct result of earlier access to the right care and the availability of advanced treatment options.
The multidisciplinary environment at Saudi German Hospital also enhances her practice. An excellent cardiologist works just two doors away, a rheumatologist a few corridors down, meaning that when something falls outside her specialty, she can reach out immediately and have the patient seen without delay. This is a far cry from the lengthy referral processes she experienced in the NHS.
Dubai at the Forefront of New Treatments
One aspect of practising in Dubai that has particularly impressed Dr Kaminski is the speed at which new treatments are adopted. In her field of airways medicine, Dubai has been among the second or third countries in the world to introduce certain new medications, sometimes ahead of both the USA and the UK. She attributes this to the strength of Dubai’s healthcare governance, the willingness of hospitals to act as early adopters, and an alignment between all stakeholders, from regulatory bodies to insurers to clinicians, towards achieving the best outcomes for patients.
Research, Academia and the Emirates Thoracic Society
Despite the demands of a busy clinical practice and family life, Dr Kaminski has maintained a highly active academic profile since relocating. She has published four to five research papers in the two years since arriving in Dubai, and is deeply engaged in setting up research trials, collaborating on data analysis, and contributing to publications across a growing network of UAE pulmonologists.
She is now heavily involved in the Emirates Thoracic Society as part of the airways team, with a particular focus on supporting and upskilling primary care providers across the UAE. She is also working towards establishing Saudi German Hospital as an official centre of excellence for asthma and COPD, an ambition that reflects both her clinical commitment and the broader momentum she sees in Dubai’s respiratory medicine community.
She attributes her ability to sustain this level of output alongside her clinical role to the support of her husband, who manages much of the family’s day-to-day life, the encouragement of colleagues, and the collaborative ethos she has found among the network of professionals in Dubai, many of whom share her ambition and drive.
Family Life in Dubai: More Time, More Quality
For Dr Kaminski, one of the most significant transformations since relocating has been the quality of her family life. Her children attend King’s School in Dubai and are flourishing. She particularly values the school’s approach of identifying and nurturing each child’s individual strengths, her daughter, aged 11, excels in sport and was named under-11 rugby player of the school, while also being a keen runner; her son has shown a natural talent for mathematics. The breadth of activities available, coding, AI, badminton, jiu-jitsu, and daily swimming, reflects the richness of the educational environment.
In the UK, both she and her husband worked long hours and, at the end of each day, could manage little more than paying the mortgage and bills, one family holiday a year, and no prospect of private schooling for their children. In Dubai, the combination of a tax-free salary, a lower cost of quality living, and the ability to outsource domestic tasks means she is home by 6.30pm and can be fully present as a mother for two hours every evening. Her children, she says, get more of her in Dubai than they ever did in the UK.
Advice for Doctors Considering Relocating to the UAE
Dr Kaminski’s message to doctors contemplating a similar move is warm and direct. She considers it brave to consider disrupting the status quo and believes that the very fact a doctor is thinking about it says a great deal. Her advice is to speak to people, ask as many questions as needed, and gather information without pressure until the picture becomes clear.
Practically, she highlights that many NHS trusts are now willing to offer sabbaticals to doctors wishing to work abroad, given the difficulties in retaining staff. This makes the initial move almost risk-free, it is possible to try life in Dubai, and if it suits, to commit more permanently. She also notes that remaining on the GMC register while temporarily giving up one’s licence to practise is straightforward, and that reinstatement, should it be needed, is equally easy. For Dr Kaminski, the decision was made the moment she experienced Dubai for herself. She informed her trust she would not be returning, and has not looked back since.
How Allocation Assist Supports Doctors Relocating to the UAE
Relocating internationally as a medical professional involves navigating multiple stages, from licensing and job placement to integrating into a new healthcare system and settling your family. Allocation Assist streamlines this process by providing structured support at each phase.
Key Areas of Assistance
- Licensing and regulatory navigation, guiding physicians through credentialing requirements specific to the UAE.
- Role identification and placement, matching specialists with positions aligned to their clinical expertise and career objectives.
- Relocation and family logistics, coordinating practical elements to ensure a seamless move for the entire family.
- Ongoing support, keeping in touch with relocated doctors, following their experiences and achievements in their new roles.
For internationally trained specialists like Dr Kaminski, this structured support ensures a smoother transition into the UAE healthcare system, allowing them to focus on delivering high-quality patient care.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Dr Rachel Kaminski’s background and qualifications?
Dr Kaminski trained at Imperial College Medical School in the UK and spent 19 years in the NHS before relocating to Dubai. She is a Consultant Pulmonologist with over two decades of experience in both acute and chronic respiratory conditions, including asthma and COPD.
Where does Dr Kaminski work in Dubai?
She works at Saudi German Hospital in Dubai, where she has been practising as a Consultant Pulmonologist for two years. She is also working to establish Saudi German as an official centre of excellence for asthma and COPD.
Why did Dr Kaminski choose to specialise in pulmonology?
Her motivation stemmed from a personal experience at the age of 10, when her father suffered a massive heart attack. What stayed with her most was the memory of him struggling to breathe. This inspired her to become a lung specialist, drawn by the ability to care for both acute and chronic conditions across all age groups.
Why did Dr Kaminski decide to relocate to Dubai?
Despite being happy and well-established in the NHS, she found that increasing pressure on the service during winter months was affecting the quality of care she could provide. Dubai’s emergence as a global healthcare hub, the gaps in respiratory care in the Middle East, and the opportunity to make a more meaningful difference motivated her move.
How has Dr Kaminski’s practice changed since relocating to Dubai?
She is able to intervene much earlier in disease progression, meaning she rarely sees the severe, complicated cases common in the NHS. None of her asthma patients require long-term steroids, thanks to earlier access to care and the right treatment options. She also benefits from easy access to colleagues in other specialties within the same hospital.
What research and academic work is Dr Kaminski involved in?
She has published four to five papers since arriving in Dubai and is actively involved in research trials, publications, and data collaboration across a network of UAE pulmonologists. She is a member of the airways team at the Emirates Thoracic Society and is focused on upskilling primary care providers and introducing new treatments.
What advice does Dr Kaminski give to doctors considering relocating to the UAE?
She encourages doctors to speak openly, ask questions, and gather information. She advises starting with a temporary arrangement, such as a sabbatical or short-term lease, to try out life in Dubai before fully committing. She describes the move as almost risk-free given the current demand for UK-trained doctors in the UAE.
