A doctor can plan every part of a move except how their children will take it. Dr. Pooja Khanna got her answer on a flight to the UK for a family holiday, when her child turned to her and asked whether they were still coming back to Dubai afterwards. She had worried about what the move would do to them. She needn’t have. Her move to Dubai is a useful reminder that the part of relocating doctors worry about most is often the part that settles first.
The Question on the Plane
The family had gone back to the UK on holiday, and somewhere over that trip the children made their feelings plain. In Dr. Khanna’s own account of the flight:
“For my children, it’s been the smoothest journey ever possible. We went back to UK on holiday, and on the way on the plane there, my kids said to me, Mommy, we are just going for a holiday, right? We don’t want to live there. We want to come back to Dubai. And I was really quite taken aback by this, just how well they’d embraced life here in Dubai. Dubai for children offers childhood second to none. It’s safe. It gives them independence. Here, I’m very happy for my kids to get on their bikes and go cycling.”
It is the kind of reassurance no contract can promise in advance. A doctor can research schools, housing, and licensing, but whether the children will feel at home is the one variable that only reveals itself after the move. For this family, the answer came unprompted, from the children themselves.
A Career Measured in Decades
What makes the moment striking is who is describing it. Dr. Khanna has twenty-five years in medicine and more than ten thousand endoscopic procedures behind her. For twelve years she was a Consultant in Hepatology and Gastroenterology at Luton and Dunstable, and for the last three of them she served as Clinical Lead of its gastroenterology, hepatology, and endoscopy department. She is now Consultant Hepatologist and Gastroenterologist at King’s College Hospital London, Dubai.
| At a glance | Detail |
|---|---|
| Specialty | Consultant Hepatologist and Gastroenterologist |
| New hospital | King’s College Hospital London, Dubai |
| Experience | 25 years in medicine; 10,000+ endoscopic procedures |
| Previous post | Consultant at Luton and Dunstable for 12 years |
| Leadership | Clinical Lead of gastroenterology, hepatology and endoscopy for 3 years |
What a Doctor Talks About First
A career built over decades, and what she talks about first are her children. That order is the point of her story. The clinical credentials are substantial, but the thing that made the move feel right was watching her children choose Dubai on their own. As she put it, Dubai for children offers a childhood second to none: safe and generous with the kind of independence that lets a parent be happy to see their kids get on their bikes and cycle off.
How Allocation Assist Supports Doctors Relocating to the Gulf
As a medical recruitment and healthcare jobs consultancy in Dubai, our team has been placing Western-trained doctors in top-tier hospitals across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar for over 11 years. We work exclusively with consultant-level physicians and maintain relationships with 95+ leading institutions.
Key Areas of Support
- Hospital matching, finding the right environment for your specialty, seniority, and personality.
- Licensing and regulatory navigation, including DHA, DOH, MOHAP, and SCFHS credentialing.
- Interview and salary negotiation support, so you walk into the conversation prepared.
- Relocation and family logistics, coordinating the practical side of the move for the whole family.
- Ongoing support after you arrive, including networking events and a peer community of doctors who have made the same move.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Dr. Pooja Khanna?
She is a Consultant Hepatologist and Gastroenterologist at King’s College Hospital London, Dubai, with twenty five years in medicine and more than ten thousand endoscopic procedures behind her.
Where did she work before Dubai?
She was a Consultant in Hepatology and Gastroenterology at Luton and Dunstable for twelve years, and for the last three she was Clinical Lead of its gastroenterology, hepatology, and endoscopy department.
How did her children take the move to Dubai?
Very well. On a holiday flight back to the UK, her children asked whether they were only going for a holiday and would still return to Dubai afterwards, telling her they did not want to live in the UK. She described it as the smoothest transition possible for them.
Why did she feel Dubai suited her children?
In her words, Dubai offers children a childhood second to none: it is safe and gives them independence, to the point that she is happy to let them get on their bikes and cycle around.
What does she specialise in?
Hepatology and gastroenterology, with extensive endoscopy experience across a career spanning twenty-five years.
What does her story say about relocating with children?
It is the part of a move doctors worry about most and can plan for least. Her experience shows children can settle faster than expected, to the point of preferring their new home, which for many families is the deciding factor in whether a move works.
