When is a Bowie-Dick test run on a pre-vacuum steam steriliser?

Daily, first cycle, empty chamber

Only after the steriliser is repaired

Weekly, in a fully loaded chamber

With every load containing implants

A surgeon asks for an orthopaedic plate that was dropped to be processed by immediate-use steam sterilisation. What is the correct practice?

Avoid IUSS for implants except a true emergency

Wipe the plate with alcohol and use it

Use IUSS routinely for all implants

Use it if a chemical indicator changes

Free DHA Operation Theatre Technologist mock test

12 original exam-style questions from our Operation Theatre Technologist bank, timed at the exam’s own pace, scored against the 55% DHA pass mark. They span 7 of the 8 blueprint domains, so you will see exactly where you are weakest - free, no sign-up.

Free diagnosticNo sign-up · no email · results instantly

Sit 12 original exam-style questions at real exam pace

These are 12 original questions taken from our Operation Theatre Technologist bank, spread across 7 of the 8 domains of the published blueprint. You get 72 seconds per question, which is exactly the pace of the real OPE6113 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
55%: 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 Operation Theatre Technologist licensing exam looks like

Candidates for a Operation Theatre Technologist licence in the UAE sit a computer-based multiple-choice examination - DHA exam code OPE6113, delivered through Prometric for DHA, MOHAP and SHA, and through Pearson VUE for DOH Abu Dhabi. The DHA pass mark is 55% (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 Anaesthesia Assistance and Airway Management, Patient Positioning and Safety, Professional Practice and Occupational Safety, Surgical Instruments, Equipment and Electrosurgery and 3 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 660 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 Operation Theatre Technologist exam: the full blueprint

The published blueprint splits into 8 domains and 53 testable sub-topics. The diagnostic above samples across them, which is why its breakdown maps onto the structure the real paper is built from.

Theatre Environment and Design~8%5 topics
Asepsis, Sterilisation and Infection Control~18%8 topics
Surgical Instruments, Equipment and Electrosurgery~15%7 topics
Patient Positioning and Safety~15%7 topics
Anaesthesia Assistance and Airway Management~15%8 topics
Surgical Procedures, Wound Closure and Specimens~12%6 topics
Theatre Emergencies and Resuscitation~10%6 topics
Professional Practice and Occupational Safety~7%6 topics

Questions: 100 multiple-choice (DHA OPE6113)
Duration: 2 hours, including registration
DHA pass mark: 55% - 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 Operation Theatre Technologist 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.

Anaesthesia Assistance and Airway Management

After tracheal intubation, which finding best confirms the tube is in the trachea?

AChest rising on one side
BMisting inside the tube
CSustained capnography waveformCorrect
DImproved skin colour

Why: A sustained exhaled CO2 waveform over several breaths is the gold standard for confirming tracheal placement. Tube misting and chest movement can occur with oesophageal intubation.

Source: Difficult Airway Society Guidelines for Unanticipated Difficult Intubation in Adults 2015

Operation Theatre Technologist sample questions with answers

4 more original exam-style Operation Theatre Technologist 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 · Anaesthesia Assistance and Airway Management
Soon after induction with sevoflurane and succinylcholine, a patient develops an unexplained rise in end-tidal CO2, tachycardia and masseter rigidity. Which drug should the team prepare immediately?
1. ANaloxone
2. BNeostigmine
3. CDantrolene
4. DFlumazenil
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. Dantrolene
These signs suggest malignant hyperthermia, triggered by volatile agents and succinylcholine, and dantrolene is the specific treatment along with stopping triggers. The other drugs reverse neuromuscular blockade, opioids or benzodiazepines.
Reference: AAGBI Safety Guideline: Malignant Hyperthermia Crisis 2011
Question 2 · Asepsis, Sterilisation and Infection Control
When is a Bowie-Dick test run on a pre-vacuum steam steriliser?
1. AOnly after the steriliser is repaired
2. BWeekly, in a fully loaded chamber
3. CDaily, first cycle, empty chamber
4. DWith every load containing implants
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. Daily, first cycle, empty chamber
The Bowie-Dick test checks air removal and steam penetration and is run each day the steriliser is used, before the first load, in an empty chamber. Implant loads instead require a biological indicator.
Reference: AAMI ST79: Comprehensive Guide to Steam Sterilization in Health Care Facilities
Question 3 · Asepsis, Sterilisation and Infection Control
A surgeon asks for an orthopaedic plate that was dropped to be processed by immediate-use steam sterilisation. What is the correct practice?
1. AWipe the plate with alcohol and use it
2. BUse IUSS routinely for all implants
3. CAvoid IUSS for implants except a true emergency
4. DUse it if a chemical indicator changes
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. Avoid IUSS for implants except a true emergency
Implants should not undergo immediate-use sterilisation except in a documented emergency, and then with a biological indicator and full traceability. A chemical indicator alone does not prove sterility.
Reference: AAMI ST79: Comprehensive Guide to Steam Sterilization in Health Care Facilities
Question 4 · Asepsis, Sterilisation and Infection Control
An elective cholecystectomy is performed with controlled entry into the biliary tract and no spillage. How is the wound classified?
1. AClean
2. BClean-contaminated
3. CContaminated
4. DDirty
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. Clean-contaminated
Controlled entry into the respiratory, alimentary, genital or biliary tract without unusual contamination is a clean-contaminated (class II) wound. Gross spillage would make it contaminated.
Reference: CDC Guideline for the Prevention of Surgical Site Infection 1999 and 2017

Last reviewed September 2026. About these questions: every item is original, written to the published blueprint, with a rationale and a reference, and no recalled or leaked exam content is used. How we write our questions.

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.

Frequently asked questions

Is this Operation Theatre Technologist mock exam really free?

Yes. All 12 questions, your score, the domain breakdown and the full worked answers are free, with no sign-up and no email required. The paid bank is a separate, much larger set of 450 questions.

Are these real Operation Theatre Technologist exam questions?

No. They are original questions written to the official Operation Theatre Technologist blueprint and drawn from our full bank - not leaked or recalled items, which would breach exam security and are frequently out of date. They follow the exam's format and domain weighting.

What is the pass mark for the Operation Theatre Technologist exam?

55% for the DHA Operation Theatre Technologist exam (OPE6113), as published in the DHA CBT Guideline, Sep 2026. Other authorities set their own pass marks, so confirm yours before booking. DHA reports only pass or fail - your actual score is never released to you, which is why a diagnostic like this is useful for seeing where you stand.

Does passing this mock mean I will pass the real exam?

No, and we will not claim otherwise. 12 questions cannot predict a full-length paper. What it does reliably show is which blueprint domains you are currently weakest in.

How many attempts do I get at the real exam?

Three in total across all UAE authorities under the Unified Professional Qualification Requirements - not three per authority. Each attempt costs roughly AED 660.

What topics does the Operation Theatre Technologist exam cover?

The published blueprint splits into 8 domains covering 53 testable sub-topics: Theatre Environment and Design, Asepsis, Sterilisation and Infection Control, Surgical Instruments, Equipment and Electrosurgery, Patient Positioning and Safety, Anaesthesia Assistance and Airway Management, Surgical Procedures, Wound Closure and Specimens, Theatre Emergencies and Resuscitation, Professional Practice and Occupational Safety. The full weighting table is on this page.

How long is the Operation Theatre Technologist exam and how many questions?

The DHA Operation Theatre Technologist exam (OPE6113) is 100 multiple-choice questions in 2 hours, including registration and the introduction, as published in the DHA CBT Guideline, Sep 2026. Other authorities set their own length and timing, so confirm theirs in the current candidate bulletin.

Do I need to create an account to take this mock exam?

No. There is no sign-up, no email capture and no payment. The questions, your score, the domain breakdown and the full worked answers are all free, and nothing is held back behind a form.