Free DHA Rheumatology mock test
12 original exam-style questions from our Rheumatology bank, timed at the exam’s own pace, scored against the 65% DHA pass mark. They span 5 of the 8 blueprint domains, so you will see exactly where you are weakest - free, no sign-up.
Sit 12 original exam-style questions at real exam pace
These are 12 original questions taken from our Rheumatology bank, spread across 5 of the 8 domains of the published blueprint. You get 72 seconds per question, which is exactly the pace of the real RHU5501 exam (14 minutes for 12). At the end you will see which domains you are weakest in, and the full worked reasoning for every question.
- 12
- questions
- 14:24
- time limit
- 65%
- DHA pass mark
A short diagnostic cannot predict whether you will pass - only the real exam does that. It will show you, honestly, where you currently stand.
What the real Rheumatology licensing exam looks like
Candidates for a Rheumatology licence in the UAE sit a computer-based multiple-choice examination - DHA exam code RHU5501, delivered through Prometric for DHA, MOHAP and SHA, and through Pearson VUE for DOH Abu Dhabi. The DHA pass mark is 65% (DHA CBT Guideline, Sep 2026); other authorities set their own, so confirm yours before booking. The result is reported to you as pass or fail only - your score is never released.
Pass marks at a glance: DHA exam codes and pass marks for all written exams in one sourced table.
The paper is built to a published blueprint, which is why a domain-by-domain diagnostic is more useful than a raw percentage. Your questions above were drawn from across Connective Tissue Diseases, Osteoarthritis, Bone and Soft Tissue, Pediatric Rheumatology and Joint Infection, Rheumatoid and Psoriatic Arthritis and 1 more - the same areas the real paper weights.
Before you can book the exam at all you need Dataflow primary source verification of your degree, licence and experience, which typically runs several weeks. Candidates routinely underestimate this and end up sitting the exam sooner after study than they planned. Check where you stand with our free eligibility checker or confirm whether your title even requires an exam using the Prometric exam checker.
You get three attempts in total across all UAE authorities - not three each - under the Unified Professional Qualification Requirements. At roughly AED 1,030 per attempt, plus the licensing delay each failure adds to your visa and start date, the cost of going in underprepared is not really the exam fee.
What is on the Rheumatology exam: the full blueprint
The published blueprint splits into 8 domains and 50 testable sub-topics. The diagnostic above samples across them, which is why its breakdown maps onto the structure the real paper is built from.
- Rheumatoid and Psoriatic Arthritis~18%7 topics
- Spondyloarthritis~10%5 topics
- Crystal Arthropathies~10%6 topics
- Connective Tissue Diseases~18%8 topics
- Vasculitis~14%6 topics
- Osteoarthritis, Bone and Soft Tissue~10%6 topics
- Pediatric Rheumatology and Joint Infection~8%5 topics
- Drug Safety, Monitoring and Professional Practice~12%7 topics
- Questions
- 150 multiple-choice (DHA RHU5501)
- Duration
- 3 hours, including registration
- DHA pass mark
- 65% - reported as pass or fail only
Figures for the DHA exam, from the DHA CBT Guideline, Sep 2026. DOH, MOHAP, SCFHS, QCHP, NHRA and OMSB set their own length, timing and pass mark. See the DHA exam guide and pass marks for every DHA exam.
A worked Rheumatology exam question
Every question in the diagnostic and in the paid bank is written to this standard: a clinical stem, four plausible options and the reasoning for the answer, with its source.
Connective Tissue Diseases
Which autoantibody is most specific for systemic lupus erythematosus?
- AAntinuclear antibody
- BAnti-histone
- CAnti-SmithCorrect
- DRheumatoid factor
Why: Anti-Sm is highly specific for SLE though present in only a minority of patients. ANA is very sensitive but non-specific, and anti-histone is linked to drug-induced lupus.
Source: 2019 EULAR/ACR Classification Criteria for SLE
Rheumatology sample questions with answers
4 more original exam-style Rheumatology questions, worked in full. They are not real or recalled exam questions, and none of them is in the diagnostic above, so sit that first if you have not.
Question 1 · Connective Tissue Diseases
A 35-year-old with unprovoked DVT has persistently positive lupus anticoagulant, anticardiolipin and anti-beta-2 glycoprotein I antibodies at 12 weeks. What is the preferred long-term anticoagulant?
- ARivaroxaban 20 mg once daily with food
- BWarfarin with target INR 2.0-3.0
- CAspirin 75 mg daily alone
- DApixaban 5 mg twice daily
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. Warfarin with target INR 2.0-3.0
In triple-positive antiphospholipid syndrome, vitamin K antagonists are preferred because DOACs were associated with more arterial events. Aspirin alone is inadequate after venous thrombosis.
Reference: EULAR Recommendations for Antiphospholipid Syndrome in Adults 2019
Question 2 · Connective Tissue Diseases
A patient with palmar papules, skin ulceration and minimal muscle weakness develops progressive dyspnea over weeks. Which antibody is most associated with this picture?
- AAnti-Mi-2
- BAnti-MDA5
- CAnti-TIF1-gamma
- DAnti-SRP
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. Anti-MDA5
Anti-MDA5 dermatomyositis is often clinically amyopathic with skin ulceration and rapidly progressive ILD. Anti-TIF1-gamma is linked to cancer-associated myositis and anti-SRP to necrotising myopathy.
Reference: Kelley and Firestein's Textbook of Rheumatology, 11th ed.
Question 3 · Crystal Arthropathies
Before starting allopurinol, for which patient does the ACR recommend HLA-B*58:01 testing?
- AA patient of Han Chinese ancestry
- BA patient with normal renal function and no tophi
- CA patient taking a thiazide diuretic
- DA patient over 75 years old
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. A patient of Han Chinese ancestry
HLA-B*58:01 strongly predicts allopurinol hypersensitivity syndrome and is common in Southeast Asian (Han Chinese, Korean, Thai) and African American populations. Age and diuretic use are not indications for genotyping.
Reference: ACR Guideline for the Management of Gout 2020
Question 4 · Drug Safety, Monitoring and Professional Practice
To minimise retinopathy risk, what maximum daily dose of hydroxychloroquine is recommended?
- A6.5 mg/kg ideal body weight
- B10 mg/kg actual body weight
- C400 mg regardless of weight
- D5 mg/kg actual body weight
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. 5 mg/kg actual body weight
A dose of 5 mg/kg real body weight per day or less markedly reduces retinal toxicity; baseline and annual screening after 5 years are advised. The older 6.5 mg/kg ideal weight rule is no longer recommended.
Reference: AAO Recommendations on Screening for Hydroxychloroquine Retinopathy 2016
How to use this diagnostic properly
- 1Sit it cold, once. Do not look anything up. A diagnostic you help yourself through tells you nothing. The number you get is only useful if it is honest.
- 2Read every rationale - especially the ones you got right. Getting a question right by elimination is not the same as knowing it. The worked reasoning is free above, whether or not you buy anything.
- 3Work weakest domain first. The breakdown orders your domains worst-first for exactly this reason. Studying what you are already good at feels productive and moves nothing.
- 4Re-sit under full exam conditions later. The real paper is far longer than this and stamina matters. Full-length timed papers are what the paid bank is for.