Thank you for sending your CV. Your profile will be read personally and in confidence. As promised, here is our guide for Western-Trained clinicians considering a private household appointment.
Join our professional community. You would be very welcome in our groups for Western-Trained clinicians, where members discuss private practice and new appointments are shared. Physiotherapists & Osteopaths: LinkedIn · Facebook. Private & Maternity Nurses: LinkedIn · Facebook. Private & Concierge Doctors: LinkedIn · Facebook.
1. What a private household appointment is, and who it suits
Medical Staff Talent exclusively sources Western-Trained Private & Concierge Physicians, Physiotherapists & Osteopaths, and Private & Maternity Nurses for private families across the GCC: Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar. When a family travels, the appointment may travel with them, including on Mediterranean yachts.
A private household appointment is not a hospital post. There is no ward, no rota set by a trust and no departmental hierarchy. You care for one family, often for a small number of named individuals, with a degree of clinical autonomy and continuity of care that institutional medicine rarely allows.
The appointments we introduce fall into three service lines:
- Private & Concierge Physicians: family medicine, longevity, the travelling physician and discreet accompaniment of the principal.
- Physiotherapists & Osteopaths: motor recovery, chronic pain, biomechanics and longevity, delivered in residences, palaces and on travel.
- Private & Maternity Nurses: newborn and maternity care, and critical care nursing in pairs (residence care, ICU/PICU-level care, geriatric care, jet and yacht travel).
Who it suits. The clinicians who do well in this setting tend to share four traits:
- Able to start within six weeks.
- Fully flexible on hours, location and the rhythm of the household.
- Willing to relocate alone and to travel worldwide with the family.
- Comfortable working with discretion as a constant, not an occasional courtesy.
If you value a predictable timetable, regular evenings off-site or a family of your own alongside you during the appointment, this is unlikely to be the right setting, and it is better to know that before any introduction is made.
2. The appointment model
Every appointment we introduce follows one model: Permanent · Live-In · Travelling with the Family. This is a permanent, live-in appointment with the family, with annual leave. Once in post, you travel continuously with the family across several countries; flights and travel are always paid for by the family.
| Model | What it means in practice | Typical fit |
|---|---|---|
| Permanent | A permanent appointment with the family, with annual leave. | Every physician, nurse, physiotherapist and osteopath we introduce |
| Live-In | You reside with the family on a continuing basis, within the household or an adjoining residence. | Family physician, maternity nurse, resident physiotherapist |
| Travelling with the Family | Once in post, you travel continuously with the family across several countries, between residences, by jet or yacht. | Travelling physician, nurse pairs, accompanying physiotherapist |
| Nurses in pairs | Two permanent nurses alternate daily shifts of 8 or 12 hours within the same post. | Critical care and ICU/PICU-level nursing, maternity and newborn care |
What nursing in pairs involves. Nurses are always placed in pairs — two permanent nurses alternating daily shifts of 8 or 12 hours — to protect continuity of care. Handover between the two nurses is direct and documented each day, so continuity of care does not depend on any one person being present. The exact shift pattern is the family’s decision and is set out in the terms you agree with them directly.
We do not introduce live-out, sessional or retainer arrangements.
3. Live-in and single-status: what that means
Every role we introduce is live-in and single-status. You relocate alone.
Live-in means your accommodation is provided by the family, within the residence or close to it, so that you are available when clinical need arises. It also means the household is both your workplace and your home for the duration of your appointment.
Single-status means the appointment does not include a partner, children or dependants travelling with you or living with you. This is not a judgement about anyone’s circumstances; it reflects how private households in the region are structured, how accommodation is allocated and how discretion is maintained.
Permanent, with annual leave. Appointments are permanent, with annual leave. Accommodation is provided free of charge. Families expect their clinician to be available 24/7 while in residence, and a six-day working week is standard in the Gulf. In return, private families pay considerably more than Gulf hospitals and clinics, because they expect the clinician to adapt fully to the family’s schedule and needs. In practice, these relationships tend to last: many clinicians in this setting have stayed with the same family for four years or more.
Before you put yourself forward, it is worth thinking honestly about:
- Extended time away from family and friends, particularly on longer blocks.
- A six-day working week and availability 24/7 while in residence.
- Your personal schedule gives way to the family’s. You will have free time, days off and annual leave, but when they fall depends on the needs of each family, and you are expected to adapt to them.
- Limited personal space and a working day shaped by the household’s rhythm, not a fixed shift pattern.
- Short-notice travel when the family moves between residences or countries.
- The need to keep your personal life, including social media, entirely separate from the appointment.
Many clinicians find the trade worthwhile: a single, well-defined clinical relationship, time to practise medicine properly and a compensation package that reflects the commitment. But it is a commitment, and it should be made with clear eyes.
4. Nurses: always in pairs
We introduce Private & Maternity Nurses in pairs: two nurses alternating shifts. We do not introduce a single nurse to provide continuous care.
The reasoning is clinical before it is practical:
- Safety. Round-the-clock care delivered by one person leads to fatigue, and fatigue leads to error. Two nurses alternating shifts keep the care safe.
- Continuity of care. A structured handover at every change of shift means nothing depends on one person’s memory. The family receives the same standard at 3 a.m. as at 3 p.m.
- Cover. If one nurse is unwell or needs to travel ahead with part of the family, the other is already familiar with the patient and the household.
- Sustainability. Pairs allow each nurse proper rest, which is what makes longer appointments workable.
Shift patterns. Nurses usually work 8- or 12-hour shifts, depending on the family’s needs and how many nurses the family has in post at the time. Round-the-clock cover is shared between the nurses, not carried by one person.
In practice, you may be introduced alongside a colleague you have not worked with before. Both nurses are verified to the same standard, and the shift pattern, handover format and division of responsibilities are agreed with the family before the appointment begins.
This applies across newborn and maternity care, critical care and ICU/PICU-level nursing, geriatric care, palace rotas and travel by jet or yacht. Every nurse appointment is subject to a strict NDA.
5. Discretion and NDAs
Discretion is the foundation of every private household appointment. Families who engage a clinician are trusting that person with their health, their homes and their privacy, often all at once.
Before an introduction. We share only what you need to decide whether to proceed: the service line, the travel the role involves, the country and the broad clinical picture. The family’s identity is not disclosed at this stage.
At engagement. You should expect to sign a non-disclosure agreement before you are told who the family is. For nurses, a strict NDA is standard on every appointment.
During and after the appointment, in practice this usually means:
- No photographs of the residence, the family, staff, aircraft or vessels.
- No mention of the family, the location or the appointment on social media, CVs or professional profiles without the family’s written consent.
- Clinical records kept to the standard of your home regulator, and shared only with those the family authorises.
- Conversations about the household, including with former colleagues or friends, kept to a minimum and free of identifying detail.
None of this is unusual for clinicians who have worked in private practice or with high-profile patients. What is different is that it never switches off: the obligation continues after the appointment ends.
6. How we verify, and what to prepare
Families rely on us to introduce clinicians whose credentials have been checked properly. We verify at source, not from copies alone.
What we verify
- Current registration with your home regulator (for example the GMC, NMC, HCPC, GOsC, NMBI or the equivalent European body), checked directly on the regulator’s register.
- Primary qualifications and any specialist or postgraduate qualifications.
- Employment history, with gaps explained.
- Professional references, taken directly from referees, ideally including a recent clinical supervisor.
- Identity and right-to-travel documents.
What to have ready
- An up-to-date CV in reverse chronological order, with months as well as years.
- Your registration number and the name of your regulator.
- Copies of your degree and specialist certificates.
- Contact details for at least two professional referees.
- A valid passport with sufficient remaining validity for international travel.
- A short note on your availability (your earliest start date) and the countries and travel you would consider.
Having these ready does not commit you to anything. It simply means that, if a suitable appointment arises, your introduction can be made without delay.
7. Packages, scope of our role and next steps
Indicative packages. Each family sets its own terms. The ranges below are indicative bands, not offers, and the final package depends on the appointment, the travel it involves and your experience.
| Service line | Indicative band |
|---|---|
| Private & Concierge Physicians | £218,000 a year, gross, with free accommodation, flights and travel paid, and medical insurance covered (professional indemnity insurance is not included) |
| Physiotherapists & Osteopaths | From £60,000 a year, gross, depending on experience |
| Private & Maternity Nurses | From €5,000 a month |
Accommodation is provided free of charge on every appointment, since every role is live-in. Salaries are always negotiable directly between the clinician and the family, and any other benefits are agreed directly with the family. Flights and travel are always paid for by the family. Medical insurance is covered by the family for every profession; professional indemnity insurance is not included in any package, so arrange your own cover and check its territory, limits and run-off provision before signing.
Agreed directly. The salary is a gross figure, agreed directly between the family and the clinician and paid into the bank account of the clinician’s choice. Each clinician is responsible for taking advice from their own tax adviser on whether that income is taxable in their circumstances.
The scope of our role. Medical Staff Talent introduces and verifies clinicians. The engagement is contracted directly between the family and the clinician, and all local arrangements (visa, licensed entity, coordination with local clinics) remain with the family’s own office and advisers.
In practice, this means we are not your employer, and we do not sponsor visas or process professional registrations in the region. Our part is to understand you, verify you properly and introduce you only where the fit is right.
Next steps
- We review your CV in confidence and, if there is a likely fit, arrange a private conversation.
- We verify your credentials at source.
- When a suitable appointment arises, we share an anonymised outline first. The family’s identity is disclosed only after an NDA.
- If both sides wish to proceed, terms are agreed directly between you and the family.
There is no obligation at any stage. If the timing is not right, your details remain on file in confidence until you tell us otherwise.
Medical Staff Talent: exclusively sourcing Western-Trained Private & Concierge Physicians, Physiotherapists & Osteopaths, and Private & Maternity Nurses for Private Families across the GCC.