Last updated on 26-Oct-2026, by Dr. Muhammad

DHA Exam Syllabus 2026 for Different Healthcare Categories

Dubai Health Authority (DHA) runs these exams to check that a healthcare professional can practise safely in their field without supervision. The syllabus is not the same for everyone. It follows the title you apply for, and the first thing to settle is that title, using the Sheryan self-assessment tool. This page gives you the syllabus outline for each category side by side and sends you to the detailed page for yours. If you are a doctor looking for fees and specialty sample MCQs, see our DHA exam syllabus, fees and specialty MCQs page.

How does the DHA exam syllabus differ by category?

Every written DHA exam is a Prometric CBT with multiple choice questions. What changes between categories is the content, and whether you get a written paper at all. The figures below are from DHA's CBT guideline; check the guideline for your title in Sheryan before you start, because DHA can change a format.

One practical point. A GP paper tests breadth, so a GP who has drifted into one area for years needs to rebuild general medicine. A specialist paper tests depth, so a specialist does not have to go back over the whole MBBS curriculum.

What is Physicians (General Practitioner (GP) & Specialist) Syllabus?

The GP exam is the widest paper DHA sets. DHA's CBT guideline lists these content domains for General Practice:

DHA does not publish a percentage for each domain. In practice internal medicine carries the most questions, so give it the most time. Specialists are tested on their own field. More detail on the main specialty papers:

• DHA GP exam syllabus
• Internal medicine specialty syllabus
• Obs & Gyn syllabus
• Pediatric syllabus
• General Surgery syllabus
• Dermatology syllabus

Many smaller specialties have no written paper and are assessed by an oral interview. Our page on DHA written or oral assessment explains how DHA decides.

What is Syllabus for Dentists (General Dentist & Specialist)?

The general dentist paper covers anaesthesia and pain management, oral medicine and oral surgery, periodontics, endodontics, restorative and cosmetic dentistry, orthodontics and paediatric dentistry, TMJ, implant surgery, deformities and orthognathic surgery, patient education and ethics. Specialist dentists are tested in their specialty. Syllabus pages for dentistry:

• General Dentist
• Endodontic
• Orthodontic

What is DHA Pharmacist Exam Syllabus?

The DHA Pharmacist exam tests candidates on topics such as:

• Pharmaceutics
• Drug calculations
• Pharmacotherapy
• OTC (over the counter) medicines
• Pharmacy law
• Ethics
• Medication safety
• Toxicology

Calculations catch out more pharmacists than any clinical topic, so practise them daily. You can find Eligibility Requirements, Attempts allowed, and Format related details, and the full route on our DHA pharmacist exam page.

What is DHA Nursing Exam Syllabus?

DHA's CBT guideline groups the Registered Nurse and Assistant Nurse papers into four domains: nursing fundamentals, adult nursing, maternal and child nursing, and unit management and leadership. Within those, expect questions on:

• Nursing clinical skills and procedures
• Professional ethics and patient safety
• Adult patient care
• Paediatric nursing
• Maternity and maternal-neonatal nursing
• Mental health and psychiatric nursing
• Community health nursing
• Pharmacology and medication administration

Midwives sit a separate paper on antenatal, intrapartum, postpartum and newborn care. You may find Nursing Exam Requirements and Registration process related details also.

What is the syllabus for allied health professionals?

Radiographers, physiotherapists, laboratory staff, anaesthesia technicians, optometrists and other allied titles each have their own assessment. Some titles get a CBT on the practice of their discipline, others an oral interview. Your self-assessment result shows which applies, and for CBT titles the reference books are listed in the CBT guideline in Sheryan. Our DHA technician and technologist exam page covers the allied route.

Where do you find the official DHA syllabus?

Log in to Sheryan and open the CBT guideline for your title. It lists the content areas and the study references DHA recommends. DHA does not publish past papers and does not sell question papers, so anything sold as an "official paper" is not official. For oral assessments DHA gives no reading list at all.

Most candidates combine the CBT references with a question bank built on the current pattern. Our DHA preparation sources and model papers page explains what to use, and the DHA Prometric sample questions page lets you try the question style first.

Which DHA QBank matches your syllabus?

Pick the QBank for the title on your Sheryan application. GPs can start with the DHA GP QBank, and the QBank for every physician and dental specialty is listed under See DHA QBanks above. We do not have a DHA QBank for nurses, pharmacists and allied staff yet. Use the CBT guideline references and the QBank finder for related exams.

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