EMREE discipline weights: what the blueprint says and how to plan around it

The weights

The Emirates Medical Residency Entrance Examination (EMREE) is conducted by NIHS through UAE University. Its blueprint (November 2025) gives each discipline a share of the paper. We read the table directly in the PDF on 15 October 2026, and two preparation providers show the same split. The blueprint says each category may differ by up to 5 percent, so confirm the figures on the organiser’s exam structure page before you plan around them.

• Internal medicine: 20 percent.
• Obstetrics and gynaecology: 15 percent.
• Paediatrics: 15 percent.
• Surgery: 15 percent.
• Family medicine: 15 percent.
• Psychiatry: 10 percent.
• Public health and preventive medicine: 10 percent.

What is known and what is not

Known from the organiser, as we read it: the seven disciplines and their weights, a difficulty mix of 40 percent easy, 40 percent moderately difficult and 20 percent difficult, and a format of usually 120 multiple-choice questions in 3 hours.

Not known: the weights of topics inside each discipline, how many questions in each discipline are scored, and whether a single sitting follows the table exactly. Older guides, and some of our own earlier pages, describe the weighting as unconfirmed. This page replaces that wording with the blueprint figure, with the caveat above. Other splits you may see online, such as internal medicine and emergency medicine together at 40 percent, do not match the blueprint.

What the weights mean in questions

If a paper of 120 questions followed the table exactly, you would see about 24 internal medicine questions, 18 each in the four 15 percent disciplines and 12 each in psychiatry and public health. This is arithmetic, not a published count.

Notice what the table says. Family medicine, surgery, paediatrics and obstetrics together carry 60 percent. Psychiatry and public health together carry 20 percent, which is the same as internal medicine alone.

Turn weights into a weekly split

A simple method uses the weights as a starting point and your baseline as the adjustment.

1. Take a mixed baseline of 60 to 100 questions and record your accuracy per discipline.
2. Start with the weight as the share of study time. If you have 10 hours a week, internal medicine starts at 2 hours.
3. Move one hour to any discipline where your accuracy is more than 15 points below your average. Take it from your strongest.
4. Keep every discipline above zero each week so none goes cold.
5. Re-test after two weeks and repeat.

Why the smaller disciplines still matter

Ten percent is about 12 questions, and psychiatry and public health have learnable styles: drug adverse effects, capacity, study design and bias. A few focused sessions there often move your score more than the same time on a strong subject. The biostatistics guide is a good first step.

Where to go next

Read the EMREE exam guide for the format, then choose the 8-week or 12-week plan. For how to divide time by specialty interest, see EMREE strategy by specialty interest.

A worked example with 10 hours a week

Invented for illustration. Start from the weights, then adjust by baseline.

• Starting split: internal medicine 2.0 hours, four disciplines at 1.5 hours each, psychiatry and public health 1.0 hour each. That adds up to 10 hours.
• Baseline shows public health at 40 percent accuracy and surgery at 80 percent, with an average of 60.
• Adjustment: move one hour from surgery to public health. Surgery drops to 0.5 hours and public health rises to 2.0.
• Re-test after two weeks. If public health reaches your average, move the hour back.

Limits of a weight-based plan

The weights describe the paper, not your difficulty with each part. A discipline with a small weight can still hold easy marks, and a large one can hide a narrow weak spot. Use weights for the first split and your results for every later change. Also note that the organiser can update the blueprint, so check the date on the version you use. This site does not quote fees or registration dates, and the organiser’s pages are the place to confirm them.

Check the blueprint date

Exam bodies update blueprints. The figures here come from the November 2025 version, which we read directly, so before you build a plan on them, open the organiser’s exam structure page and check the date and the table. If the version has changed, use the new figures and ignore ours. If you find a difference, please tell us through the contact page and we will check the source and correct this guide. We list the date of our last review at the foot of the page.

Frequently asked questions