General Practitioner Prometric Exam Preparation in the GCC: DHA, SMLE, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait

The GP exam is a 150-question paper at DHA, in Qatar, in Oman and in Kuwait, and the pass mark is 60% in all four. Saudi Arabia uses the SMLE, a 200-question paper with a pass score of 560 on a 200-800 scale. Abu Dhabi, the Northern Emirates and Sharjah publish no GP pass mark, and Bahrain publishes none for the BLE in the documents we checked. A GP is usually the widest paper in a doctor's career, because it covers all of medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, and paediatrics.

Start with the free General Practitioner mock test. It scores you against the 60% mark and shows your result by domain. Then work through the General Practitioner question bank, which has 702 original questions in 5 papers. Each regulator has its own page with fees, attempts and sources: DHA, DOH, MOHAP, SCFHS and QCHP. For the pass mark of every DHA title, see DHA pass marks.

The DHA General Practice exam (GEN5331) has 150 questions in 3 hours and costs USD 280, plus a AED 200 credentialing fee in Sheryan. The 3 hours include registration, so testing time is shorter. DHA posts Pass or Fail to Sheryan and does not share your score.

Be careful with the title. A GP is not a family medicine specialist, and the exams differ:

Your title comes from your qualifications and experience in the Unified PQR, not from your job. Use the professional title classifier and read our UAE medical licence guide . For every DHA pass mark, see the full pass mark table .

You have 3 attempts in total across DHA, DOH, MOHAP and SHA (PQR clause 1.5.4). After three failures, clause 1.5.5 can give one final attempt with a different authority. Declare earlier attempts (clause 1.5.6).

The table at the top gives the headline numbers. This section adds the rules that matter once you start booking: who reports what, how long you wait after a fail, and what is not published. Where a regulator has not published a fact, we say so. Confirm it with the regulator before you pay.

Dubai (DHA). The exam is booked through Prometric after DataFlow and your Eligibility ID. Arrive 30 minutes early with the passport you registered. DHA posts Pass or Fail to Sheryan and says CBT results are uploaded within 2 working days. You also receive a Prometric Learning Outcome letter, which describes general strengths and weaknesses but does not say whether you passed. There is no minimum wait between attempts, subject to appointment availability. Fees are non-refundable, and a no-show is not counted as a failed attempt but you lose the fee. See the DHA exam page and the DHA fees page.

Abu Dhabi (DOH). You book through TAMM and sit with Pearson VUE. DOH reports Pass or Fail only, and you see it in TAMM under Additional Details in your licence application. DOH does not publish a pass mark, a question count or a time for the GP paper. Its Standard for Licensing Examinations allows a re-sit 3 months after a fail, and requires 12 months after a third fail. Read the DOH exam page and our DOH licence guide.

Northern Emirates (MOHAP). MOHAP charges AED 500 for the evaluation of a physician, and the Eligibility ID expires after 15 days, so book your Prometric slot as soon as it is issued. MOHAP caps you at three test attempts per category. It does not publish a minimum wait, a pass mark or how fast results arrive. See the MOHAP exam page and the MOHAP licence guide.

Sharjah (SHA). You accept a disclaimer and state how many attempts you have already made at other UAE authorities. The fee shown is AED 500 for the assessment. SHA publishes no waiting period, so do not assume DOH's 3 months applies. See the SHA exam page and the Sharjah exam guide.

Saudi Arabia (SCFHS). The SMLE is the only GP-level exam in this list that gives you a scaled score, with a feedback report that compares you with other test takers. You may sit up to four times a year, counted from your first attempt, and never twice in the same window. Arriving more than 30 minutes late counts as an attempt unless SCFHS accepts a documented reason. After you pass, you get two further attempts to improve your score for residency selection. See the SCFHS exam page.

Qatar (QCHP). Up to five attempts, and a pass is valid for 3 years. A minimum wait between attempts and the fee are not published in the documents we checked. See the QCHP exam page and the Qatar licence guide.

Bahrain (NHRA). The BLE is required for physicians, with four consecutive attempts within three years and a result valid for five years. Question count, time, fee and pass mark are not published. See the NHRA exam page and the Bahrain licence guide.

Oman (OMSB). The OEGP score report is emailed within 24 hours. Oman states no set maximum number of attempts in the data we hold. See the Oman exam page and the Oman licence guide.

Kuwait (MOH). Three attempts, at least six weeks apart. Kuwait warns that the blueprint, the share of questions and the attempt limit can change after departmental review, so read the current specification before you book. See the Kuwait exam page and the Kuwait licence guide.

Yes, if you hold one of the named exam records. An exemption covers the exam only. DataFlow verification, experience and good standing still apply, and the title on your certificate must match the title you request.

A gap in practice changes this. In the UAE, a gap of more than three years requires CME/CPD credits and supervised training, and the PQR then requires the exam even if you hold equivalency proof. For physicians the table sets 80 credits and 6 months for three to under four years, and 120 credits and 8 months for four to under five years. DOH also says exam exemptions do not apply after a gap of more than two years (clause 21.4). Read the gap in practice guide and exemptions guide .

Saudi Arabia (SMLE). 200 MCQs, with up to 10% unscored pilot items. Pass score 560 on a 200-800 scale. You receive a scaled score and a feedback report 2 to 6 weeks after the test window closes. Eligibility is a recognised primary degree such as MBBS, or being in your internship year, or being one year from graduation. You can sit up to four times a year, once per testing window. Read the SCFHS licence guide .

Qatar. 150 questions in 3 hours, 60%. You have up to five attempts, a pass is valid for 3 years, and the policy allows rounding up if you have used all five attempts and your best score is no more than 3 marks short.

Before you pay an exam fee, find out where you stand. Take the free General Practitioner mock under timed conditions. If you score below 60%, use the General Practitioner question bank to fix the weak domains. If you are unsure which title or regulator suits you, request a free eligibility assessment, or try the licence eligibility checker.

Our bank maps the GP syllabus into 13 domains and 234 subtopics. Regulators publish topic lists but not fixed percentages, except SCFHS, so the weights below are estimates anchored on the published SCFHS blueprint. Check them against your own regulator's bulletin. The last column is the trap we see most often, based on how the blueprint topics are usually tested.

How to use the table. Primary care, internal medicine, paediatrics, obstetrics and emergency medicine together are about 60% of the bank. Put most of your hours there, but do not skip the small domains. Dermatology, ophthalmology, ENT and radiology are each only about 5%, yet they are quick to learn and often the easiest marks on the paper.

Guidelines change. Questions follow current international practice. For hypertension, diabetes, asthma, anticoagulation and cardiovascular risk, read the latest summary of one major guideline and use it consistently. A GP who studies from three different guideline versions will meet answer options that conflict with each other.

Kuwait's blueprint and the SMLE blueprint have almost the same shape. About half of each paper is obstetrics and gynaecology plus paediatrics, so a medicine-only plan will fail.

Kuwait's Medicine section includes cardiology, pulmonary, gastroenterology and hepatology, nephrology, infectious diseases, endocrine, hematology, rheumatology, neurology, oncology, critical care, geriatrics, psychiatry, patient safety, ethics and preventive medicine. Every discipline also includes patient safety, ethics and preventive questions.

Our General Practitioner bank is the widest bank we publish: 702 questions in 5 papers across 13 GP domains. See sample GP questions before you start.

Spend about 72 seconds a question: the 3 hours at DHA include registration and the process introduction. If you are stuck, flag the item, move on and return in the final 30 minutes.

This is the DHA process, because it is the best documented. Other regulators publish less, so ask them for their own steps.

1. Before the day. Complete DataFlow, receive your Eligibility ID, then book on Prometric. DHA says a new DataFlow report takes 15 working days from payment as a best case. Your name on the passport must match your Sheryan account. If it does not, contact DHA at least 5 days before the exam.
2. Rescheduling. You can reschedule or cancel on Prometric up to 5 calendar days before the exam, and the centre charges its own fee. DHA fees are non-refundable. Collect the papers early with our document checklist. Our booking guide and the test centre guide explain locations and steps.
3. Arrival. Be there 30 minutes early with your valid passport.
4. The paper. 150 single-best-answer questions in 3 hours, and the time includes registration and the introduction. Plan for 60 to 72 seconds a question.
5. Result. DHA posts Pass or Fail to Sheryan, usually within 2 working days. You get no score.

Aim for 60 seconds a question on the first pass. That uses 150 minutes and leaves time to revisit flagged items, even after registration. Read the last line of the stem first. It tells you whether the question is about diagnosis, the next step or the best treatment. Answer every question before time runs out.

These are Neelim practice examples, written by us to show the style of a GP vignette. They are not real exam questions. Try each one before you read the explanation.

Question 1 (Obstetrics). A woman at 34 weeks has a blood pressure of 170/112 mmHg, a severe headache and 3+ protein on urine dipstick. Which treatment should be started first, together with urgent blood pressure control?
A. Oral nifedipine only
B. Intravenous magnesium sulfate
C. Intravenous diazepam
D. Bed rest and review in 48 hours

Answer: B. This is severe pre-eclampsia with a warning symptom. Magnesium sulfate prevents eclampsia, and antihypertensive treatment is given at the same time. Diazepam is not the first-line seizure prophylaxis, and waiting is unsafe. The trap is to treat the blood pressure number alone.

Question 2 (Paediatrics). A 20-month-old child has a barking cough, a hoarse voice and stridor when calm. There is no drooling and the child is alert. What is the most appropriate treatment?
A. Oral antibiotics
B. A single dose of oral or intramuscular dexamethasone
C. Salbutamol nebuliser only
D. Codeine cough syrup

Answer: B. This is croup, which is viral. A single dose of corticosteroid reduces airway swelling and is given even to mild cases in many protocols. Antibiotics do not help, and salbutamol targets bronchospasm, not laryngeal oedema. Stridor at rest is an indication for adrenaline nebuliser in addition, with observation.

Question 3 (Internal medicine). A 62-year-old man with type 2 diabetes takes metformin 1 g twice daily. His eGFR falls to 26 mL/min/1.73 m2 on two tests. What is the best action?
A. Continue the same dose
B. Double the dose to keep control
C. Stop metformin and review other treatment
D. Add a sulfonylurea and keep metformin

Answer: C. Metformin is contraindicated when eGFR is below 30 because of the risk of lactic acidosis. Dose reduction applies at higher eGFR bands, but not here. The right answer is to stop it and choose an alternative that suits renal function. Always check the number given for kidney function before you answer a diabetes question.

Question 4 (Emergency, obstetrics). A 26-year-old woman has 7 weeks of amenorrhoea, a positive pregnancy test, severe lower abdominal pain and shoulder-tip pain. Her pulse is 124 and her blood pressure is 82/50. What is the next step?
A. Outpatient transvaginal ultrasound tomorrow
B. Methotrexate injection in clinic
C. Resuscitate with IV access and fluids and arrange urgent surgery
D. Oral analgesia and review in a week

Answer: C. This is a ruptured ectopic pregnancy with shock. Methotrexate is only for a stable patient with defined criteria. Imaging should not delay resuscitation and theatre when the patient is haemodynamically unstable.

Question 5 (Cardiology). A 71-year-old woman has newly found non-valvular atrial fibrillation, hypertension and diabetes, with a CHA2DS2-VASc score of 5. She has no bleeding risk factors. Which is the most appropriate long-term strategy?
A. Aspirin alone
B. No treatment because she is asymptomatic
C. A direct oral anticoagulant
D. Clopidogrel alone

Answer: C. A score of 3 or more in women means anticoagulation is recommended, and a DOAC is generally preferred to warfarin in non-valvular AF. Antiplatelet drugs are not an adequate alternative for stroke prevention.

Want more? Try the free GP practice questions, which come with full rationales.

Failure rarely means you are a weak doctor. The usual causes are:

• Narrow revision. Strong in medicine, weak in paediatrics and obstetrics.
• No timed practice. Candidates who never sit a 150-question paper run out of time or lose focus after question 100.
• Old habits. Practice from a local protocol that differs from the guideline behind the question.
• Unseen small domains. Ophthalmology, ENT, dermatology and radiology add up to about 20% of our bank.
• Using a UAE attempt as a trial. You have only three in total.

After three UAE failures, DHA blocks a new DHA application for two years. The PQR (clause 1.5.5) can give one final attempt with a different authority, or a fourth DHA attempt on a declaration that you have not failed elsewhere, but not for Tier 3 applicants upgrading to Consultant. Clause 1.5.8 gives three new attempts after a new recognised qualification or two years of licensed clinical experience.

A practical retake plan. DHA gives Pass or Fail only, so rebuild your picture by domain. Sit a timed mock, list your weakest three domains and rework them from rationales. Use a different question set from the one you used before, so you are not just recognising answers. Read our failed-exam retake guide and the comeback guide.

At DHA, a pass lets DHA issue your registration once your primary source verification is positive. The registration is valid for one year and is not a permit to practise. A licensed health facility must activate it into a licence through its own Sheryan account, and you must have medical malpractice insurance. If nobody activates it within the year, you must renew it, and you can apply within 90 days before expiry.

In Saudi Arabia, a pass is followed by classification and registration through Mumaris Plus. In Qatar, a pass is valid for 3 years, so submit your evaluation within that window. In Bahrain, a licensure exam result is valid for five years under NHRA's physician requirements. Read our guide to what to do after passing the DHA exam for the job search and activation steps.

A short checklist after you pass.

1. Check that your DataFlow verification is complete and positive. If not, see the negative report guide.
2. Get a facility to activate your registration. In Dubai, activation turns registration into a licence. Start the job search before you sit, not after.
3. Arrange medical malpractice insurance, which DHA requires.
4. Keep your pass record. In Qatar it is valid for 3 years, and in Bahrain a result is valid for five years.
5. If you are moving between emirates later, read the DHA to DOH transfer guide.

We help GPs choose the right title, build a realistic plan and practise under exam conditions. We do not sell recalled questions, and we cannot promise a pass.

• Take the free GP mock to see your level by domain.
• Work through the General Practitioner bank: 702 questions, 5 papers, 13 domains.
• Check your route with the eligibility checker, or ask for a free assessment.
• Plan the paperwork with the licensing timeline calculator.