Brielle Moreno’s career journey at Cleveland Clinic has taken her from the shores of Lake Erie all the way across the globe to her current location, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the Middle East. 

Brielle is a nurse in the Neurological Intensive Care Unit at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi in the UAE. She is the first western trained new graduate hired at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. 

The Long and Winding Road 

Brielle started at Cleveland Clinic as a volunteer when she was just 16 years old. Then, while attending nursing school at Cleveland State University, she worked as a Patient Care Nursing Assistant on a Medical/Surgical floor and as a Clinical Technician in the Medical ICU. In her junior year in nursing school, she reached out to a recruiter to ask about working at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. 

“The recruiter told me that they were interested in piloting a new graduate nurse program in Abu Dhabi,” Brielle says. “So, after I graduated, I moved to the United Arab Emirates in December 2023.” 

Nursing runs in the family. In pursuing this career, Brielle is following in her mother’s footsteps. “I love how tangible nursing is,” Brielle says. “You’re really helping people. You’re not just saying ‘I really care about you,’ you’re spending 12 hours helping sick people and really caring for them.”  

A Multinational Experience 

Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi is a 364-bed hospital, with more than 5,800 caregivers representing 90+ nationalities, who speak more than 35 languages. Brielle’s desire to move to the UAE and work at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi stemmed in part from her interest in being a part of this multinational environment.  

“I wanted to work in a cross-cultural workplace,” she says. “I really enjoy working with people from other cultures, especially because so many of them have such a communal feeling. And Abu Dhabi is becoming one of the most international cities, with so many expats coming to live and work here.” 

And because Abu Dhabi is an international hub, Brielle says, “you’re getting really great medicine from other countries.” As an example, a patient she recently admitted had been told by two hospitals that the tumor in her brain was inoperable. “And our surgeon, who’s from Germany and the head of Neurology, said it could be treated. The patient’s husband was so thankful, he was kissing the surgeon’s hand.” 

The benefits of living in the UAE also include exciting travel possibilities, according to Brielle. While Abu Dhabi is a modern city, she notes that “it only takes about 30 minutes to get to the desert.” 

The schedule (220 hours every six weeks, or 36 hours/week) allows for a week off every six weeks, which facilitates travel plans. With other countries in the region easily accessible, “you can be going to a different country every six weeks,” Brielle says. “There are so many airlines here that are always flying to major cities throughout the world and Europe, Asia and Africa.”  

International Opportunities  

Brielle has adapted well to her life in Abu Dhabi. “I love living here,” she says.  

She is especially appreciative of the opportunity that Cleveland Clinic gave her to move to an international location, even though this was her first full-time nursing job. She believes that this situation is unique to Cleveland Clinic, which has locations in Canada, London as well as Abu Dhabi and other sites in the Middle East. 

“No other hospital in the United States is able to offer nurses such international opportunities,” she says. “That’s why I pursued this position with Cleveland Clinic. I would not have been able to move here right after I graduated, had I not set myself up for success in this way.”