Short answer: Sources report that the DHA physician exam covers internal medicine, paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology, psychiatry, surgery basics, emergency care, ethics and patient rights, and epidemiology. DHA publishes content areas but we found no percentage weights, so the tiers below are a Meddex estimate for planning, not a blueprint.
What is reported and what is estimated
The subject list below is reported by secondary candidate guides for the general practitioner exam. Specialist and consultant titles can add content for the specialty, so check the DHA guideline for your exact title. As far as we could verify, DHA lists content areas without percentage weights. The tiers and the time split are Meddex estimates and not a DHA blueprint.
Other pages may give a percentage for each subject. Treat those with caution, because we found no published weights to support them.
The subject map
Use this as a checklist. Tick each area once you have done a timed set on it.
- Internal medicine: cardiovascular, respiratory, endocrine, gastrointestinal, renal, neurology, haematology and infection.
- Emergency care: recognition and first actions for shock, sepsis, poisoning, chest pain, breathlessness and collapse.
- Paediatrics: common acute illness, growth, development and immunisation.
- Obstetrics and gynaecology: antenatal care, labour, emergencies and common gynaecological presentations.
- Surgery basics: acute abdomen, trauma and post-operative problems.
- Psychiatry: mood, psychosis, substance use and capacity.
- Ethics and patient rights: consent, confidentiality and professional duties.
- Epidemiology and community medicine: study design, screening and prevention.
A tiered plan (Meddex estimate)
Tiers show where most time usually pays off for a broad exam. They are not weights.
- Tier 1, most time: internal medicine and emergency care. They are broad and appear inside other subjects.
- Tier 2, steady time: paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology, and surgery basics.
- Tier 3, short and focused: psychiatry, ethics, epidemiology. Learnable question styles reward a few focused sessions.
Do not over-invest in your own field
Doctors tend to revise what they already know. Take a mixed baseline of 40 to 60 questions across the map, rank the subjects by score, and give your lowest two a fixed slot every week. A gap outside your specialty can cost as many marks as a gap inside it.
What the questions ask
Candidate sources describe clinical vignettes with a next-best-step or most-likely-diagnosis lead-in. Read the last line first, find the deciding detail such as pregnancy, renal function or instability, and choose the safest next step. The guide to the DHA exam for doctors goes into technique, and the syllabus guide lists subject areas for all professions.
Turn the map into a plan
Put the eight areas on one page, add your baseline score for each and your exam date, and note any areas where your own work gives you little exposure, then choose a plan length from the 4, 8 and 12 week plans. Practise with timed sets in the question bank and check your pacing.
A sample first month using the map
This is a Meddex planning example, not a prescription. It assumes about 8 to 10 hours a week.
- Week 1: baseline across all eight areas, rank them, set the exam date.
- Week 2: emergency care and the first internal medicine systems you scored lowest in.
- Week 3: the next two internal medicine systems, plus one set each of paediatrics and obstetrics.
- Week 4: surgery basics, then one short session each on psychiatry, ethics and epidemiology, then a timed mixed set of 50.
How to know the map is working
After each week, re-test the two lowest areas with 15 to 20 fresh questions. If accuracy rises, keep the plan. If it does not, change how you study, for example by writing a one-line rule for each miss, not by adding hours. The mock analysis guide shows how to turn a mock into a ranked list of gaps.
Typical gaps after a baseline
Gaps can follow your background, though we have no data on how often. A doctor from a hospital specialty may find primary care and public health questions harder. A doctor from primary care may find acute surgical or paediatric emergencies harder. A recent graduate may find ethics and law questions, which depend on experience and local rules, harder than pharmacology. Use these as prompts, not conclusions: your own baseline is the evidence. Then check the DHA licensing checklist for documents, so that study and paperwork move in parallel. Document checks and verification can take time, and the timelines are set by the authority and the verification provider, so start them early and keep a dated copy of what you submit.
Frequently asked questions
This article is general educational guidance, not official advice. Exam rules, fees and timelines are set by the Dubai Health Authority and the test provider and can change, so always confirm the latest details on their official channels.
Last updated .