QCHP General Surgery Exam 2026: Eligibility, Format & Fee
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QCHP General Surgery Exam Quick Summary
The QCHP General Surgery exam is Qatar's specialty qualifying test, set by the Department of Healthcare Professions (DHP) and delivered by Prometric: 150 MCQs with a 65% cut score and a fee of USD 244 in 2026. Only specialists whose postgraduate degree falls in DHP's Category 3 must sit it; Category 1 and 2 holders are exempt. Every applicant needs primary source verification by DataFlow or QuadraBay.
Surgeons who want to work in Qatar are licensed by the Department of Healthcare Professions (DHP), still widely called QCHP. Depending on your postgraduate degree you may need to pass DHP's General Surgery qualifying exam, which also serves cardiac, thoracic, trauma and oral and maxillofacial surgeons. This guide covers who sits it, who is exempt, what it covers and how to prepare.
On this page
Who sits the QCHP General Surgery exam
DHP licenses specialists according to their postgraduate qualification, using its approved qualifications list for physicians. The General Surgery exam covers these scopes of practice: General Surgery, Cardiac Surgery, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Thoracic Surgery and Trauma Surgery.
| DHP category | What it means for the exam |
|---|---|
| Category 1 and Category 2 | Qualifications DHP accepts without its exam. You still need the post-qualification experience your category requires, plus verification. |
| Category 3 | You need three years of postgraduate training and three years of experience after the degree, and you must pass the specialty exam. The experience must come from government or semi-government hospitals, or hospitals that run postgraduate training programmes. |
If your degree is not on DHP's list, or you do not yet have the experience your category needs, DHP may evaluate you for a lower title such as Assistant Specialty or General Practitioner. Search for your exact degree title and awarding body in DHP's approved qualifications list before you apply.
You also need a valid licence for the years you worked and a certificate of good standing, both checked at the source by your verification provider, and no long break from practice.
Who is exempt from the QCHP General Surgery exam
- Holders of Category 1 and Category 2 qualifications on DHP's approved list.
- Qatari nationals, children of Qatari mothers, and graduates of public or private universities and higher education institutions in Qatar (Circular DHP/2025/24, 30 December 2025).
Exemption covers only the exam: you still need verification, the required experience and a DHP evaluation. Our guide to DHP Qatar exam exemption criteria covers the other professions.
How to apply, step by step
Read DHP's Guidelines for Physicians and confirm your qualification and experience meet the rules for the General Surgery specialist title.
Applications go through DHP's Registration and Licensing System at dhpportal.moph.gov.qa, usually together with a Qatar employer or prospective employer.
DataFlow or QuadraBay, the two providers DHP approves, verify your degree, experience, licence and good standing directly with the issuing bodies.
Once DHP approves you to sit the exam, book it on Prometric's Qatar DHP page under exam code SCHQ2, at an international Prometric centre or the Doha centre on C Ring Road.
When you pass and your evaluation is approved, your employing facility completes the licensing step with DHP.
Documents to prepare
Your verification provider and DHP's evaluation team work from the same set of papers. Have clear scans of these ready:
- Primary medical degree, internship certificate and transcripts
- Postgraduate degree or board certificate, with training certificates
- Experience certificates for the required years, with dates and job titles
- Licences covering those years
- Certificate of good standing from your licensing authority
- Passport, a recent photograph and a CV on DHP's template
Most delays come from experience letters without exact dates, or licences that do not cover the whole period, so check these first.
What the QCHP General Surgery exam covers
DHP publishes a blueprint and reference list for each specialty exam on its qualifying exam page. Questions are single best answer clinical scenarios at specialist level, so expect management decisions, interpretation of investigations and complications rather than simple recall. The main areas to cover are:
The weights above are our guide to how much time each area deserves, based on how specialty boards usually build these papers. Check DHP's own blueprint before you plan. Pass marks and timing for every profession are in our article on the DHP Qatar exam passing score and duration.
A 10-week study plan for the QCHP General Surgery exam
Most candidates preparing alongside a full-time job need about ten weeks at two to three hours a day:
| Weeks | Focus | Daily target |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 2 | Basic sciences, anatomy and perioperative care | 40 MCQs, then review every explanation |
| 3 to 4 | Trauma, emergency surgery and the acute abdomen | 40 to 50 MCQs |
| 5 to 6 | Upper GI, hepatobiliary, colorectal | 40 MCQs and one topic summary |
| 7 to 8 | Breast, endocrine, vascular, hernia | 40 MCQs |
| 9 | Two full 150-question timed mocks | Review each mock the next day |
| 10 | Weak areas, then a final mock | Book once you score comfortably above 65% |
Recommended books for the QCHP General Surgery exam
These are the standard texts most candidates use. Read one core book well and use the others for reference, alongside a question bank.
| Book | Why it helps |
|---|---|
| Bailey and Love's Short Practice of Surgery | Core text for most surgical exams |
| Sabiston Textbook of Surgery | Depth for difficult topics and management |
| Schwartz's Principles of Surgery | Strong on physiology and perioperative care |
| ATLS Student Course Manual | The basis of trauma questions |
Sample QCHP General Surgery exam MCQs
These five questions come from the free trial of our QCHP General Surgery QBank, across different areas of general surgery. Tap a question to see the answer and explanation.
A 62-year-old woman with an obstructing antral carcinoma has vomited repeatedly for 10 days. She is hypotensive and oliguric. Serum: sodium 133 mmol/L, potassium 2.4 mmol/L, chloride 78 mmol/L, bicarbonate 41 mmol/L. Arterial pH is 7.58. Her urine pH is 5.0. Which mechanism best explains her acidic urine?A. Distal renal tubular acidosis caused by hypokalaemic tubular injuryB. Aldosterone-driven distal sodium reabsorption in exchange for hydrogen and potassium ionsC. Respiratory compensation with a raised PaCO2 increasing renal acid excretionD. Increased gastrin release stimulating renal proton pumps
Answer: B. Aldosterone-driven distal sodium reabsorption in exchange for hydrogen and potassium ions
Explanation: Early on, the kidney excretes the excess bicarbonate and the urine is alkaline. As vomiting continues, hypovolaemia becomes the priority: the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system drives maximal sodium reabsorption. Because chloride is depleted, sodium cannot be reabsorbed with chloride, so in the distal tubule and collecting duct it is reabsorbed in exchange for K+ and H+.
A 61-year-old woman has a 1.8 cm hard, irregular lump in the right breast. Mammography reports a spiculated mass, BI-RADS 5. An ultrasound-guided 14G core biopsy (3 cores) shows fibrocystic change with stromal fibrosis; there is no atypia or malignancy. Axillary ultrasound is normal. What is the most appropriate next step?A. Return to routine screeningB. Ultrasound review in 6 monthsC. Breast MRI to decide on follow-upD. Repeat image-guided biopsy or excision
Answer: D. Repeat image-guided biopsy or excision
Explanation: Every core result must be checked for radiological-pathological concordance. A BI-RADS 5 spiculated mass carries a ≥95% risk of malignancy, so a non-specific benign result (fibrocystic change) does not explain the imaging and is discordant. The most likely explanation is a sampling error.
A 24-year-old man arrives 20 minutes after a stab wound to the left upper abdomen. Pulse 128/min, blood pressure 86/54 mmHg, GCS 15. The FAST scan shows free fluid in the splenorenal recess. He has had 500 mL of crystalloid pre-hospital. Using the Assessment of Blood Consumption (ABC) score, what is the most appropriate action now?A. Activate the massive transfusion protocolB. Give a further 2 L of crystalloid and reassessC. Request a CT scan of the abdomen with contrastD. Transfuse 2 units of red cells only and recheck haemoglobin
Answer: A. Activate the massive transfusion protocol
Explanation: The ABC score gives 1 point each for penetrating mechanism, ED systolic BP ≤90 mmHg, ED heart rate ≥120/min and positive FAST. A score of ≥2 predicts the need for massive transfusion (sensitivity about 75 to 90%) and should trigger the massive transfusion protocol. He scores 4.
A 52-year-old man with long-standing heartburn and LA grade C oesophagitis on endoscopy is listed for laparoscopic fundoplication. He also reports occasional difficulty swallowing both solids and liquids. A barium swallow shows a small sliding hiatus hernia. What is the main reason to perform high-resolution oesophageal manometry before his operation?A. To measure the length of the hiatus herniaB. To confirm the diagnosis of GERDC. To predict how much weight he will loseD. To exclude achalasia or absent contractility
Answer: D. To exclude achalasia or absent contractility
Explanation: Manometry does not diagnose GERD; its main role before anti-reflux surgery is to exclude achalasia (which can mimic reflux, with regurgitation and heartburn from food fermentation) and absent contractility (e.g. scleroderma). A fundoplication in achalasia causes severe dysphagia, and a 360° wrap over an aperistaltic oesophagus may obstruct. His dysphagia to both solids and liquids raises the concern of a motility disorder.
A 35-year-old man weighing 70 kg is nil by mouth before an elective hernia repair. He has normal renal and cardiac function and normal plasma volume. He is given 1 L of 5% glucose intravenously over 1 hour. After the glucose has been metabolised and the water has distributed fully, approximately how much of this litre remains in the intravascular space?A. About 70 mLB. About 250 mLC. About 500 mLD. About 1000 mL
Answer: A. About 70 mL
Explanation: Total body water (TBW) is about 60% of body weight in an adult man: 42 L at 70 kg. Two-thirds is intracellular (about 28 L) and one-third extracellular (about 14 L), which divides into interstitial fluid (about 11 L) and plasma (about 3 L). Once the glucose in 5% glucose is metabolised, what is left is free water, which crosses cell membranes and distributes in proportion to TBW.
Want to try more QCHP General Surgery questions?
Start with 30 free questions from the same QBank, each with a full explanation, then unlock the full bank when you are ready.
Exam fee and rescheduling
Under Circular DHP/2024/10, the Prometric fee for every Qatar qualifying exam is USD 244 per attempt from 1 January 2026 (it was USD 238 in 2024 and 2025). Verification and DHP evaluation fees are paid separately. Changing or cancelling a booking costs:
| When you change or cancel | Charge |
|---|---|
| 30 days or more before the exam | USD 25 |
| 5 to 29 days before the exam | USD 40 |
| Less than 5 days before, not attending, or arriving over 30 minutes late | Full exam fee |
On exam day
- Bring the identity document you used to book; the name must match your Prometric appointment.
- Phones, watches and notes go in a locker. Prometric gives you everything you need at the desk.
- DHP and Prometric list 3 hours for the 150 questions, while DHP's blueprint document says 3.5 hours, so check the time on your booking confirmation and plan on about 70 seconds per question.
- Flag hard questions and come back to them; every question counts towards the 98 correct answers you need.
Results and attempts
Prometric gives you your result at the centre when you finish. DHP applies the 65% cut score exactly as published, without rounding.
DHP's qualifying exam page currently states that applicants may attempt the exam an unlimited number of times. Older DHP guidelines allowed specialists three attempts, so check the page on the day you book in case the rule changes again.
Getting your licence
Passing the exam makes you eligible, but you can practise only after DHP approves your evaluation and a licensed healthcare facility in Qatar employs you and completes your licence. Keep your verification report and good standing certificate current while you look for a job.
Qatar and other Gulf General Surgery exams
| Authority | Where you can work | Exam |
|---|---|---|
| DHP (QCHP) | Qatar | 150 MCQs, 65% cut score, Prometric code SCHQ2 |
| DHA | Dubai | Own General Surgery exam |
| SCFHS | Saudi Arabia | Own General Surgery exam |
Each authority licenses separately, and a pass in one does not replace Qatar's exam. The clinical content overlaps, so your preparation carries over. See our guides to the DHA General Surgery exam and the SLE General Surgery exam.
Frequently asked questions
What is the pass mark for the QCHP General Surgery exam?
65%, which is 98 of 150 questions. DHP does not round scores, so 97 correct answers is a fail.
Do all General Surgery specialists need to sit the QCHP exam?
No. Holders of Category 1 and 2 qualifications on DHP's approved list are exempt. Category 3 holders must pass it.
Does the exam cover subspecialties?
The exam serves general, cardiac, thoracic, trauma and oral and maxillofacial surgery scopes, but the content is general surgical. Expect core general surgery, trauma and perioperative care rather than detailed subspecialty operations.
Is the QCHP General Surgery exam the same as the GP exam?
No. It is a separate specialty exam of 150 MCQs with a 65% cut score, while the GP exam has a 60% cut score and covers general practice.
How much does the QCHP General Surgery exam cost?
USD 244 per attempt from 1 January 2026, paid to Prometric. Verification and DHP evaluation fees are extra.
How many attempts are allowed?
DHP's qualifying exam page currently says the exam can be attempted an unlimited number of times. Older guidelines allowed specialists three attempts, so check before you book.
Further reading
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