QCHP Obs and Gynae Exam 2026: Eligibility, Format & Fee

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Obstetricians and gynaecologists 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 Obstetrics and Gynecology qualifying exam. This guide covers who sits it, who is exempt, what it covers and how to prepare.

Who sits the QCHP Obs and Gynae exam

DHP licenses specialists according to their postgraduate qualification, using its approved qualifications list for physicians. The Obs and Gynae exam covers these scopes of practice: Obstetrics and Gynecology.

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 Obs and Gynae 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

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 Obs and Gynae 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 Obs and Gynae exam

Most candidates preparing alongside a full-time job need about ten weeks at two to three hours a day:

Recommended books for the QCHP Obs and Gynae exam

These are the standard texts most candidates use. Read one core book well and use the others for reference, alongside a question bank.

Sample QCHP Obs and Gynae exam MCQs

These five questions come from the free trial of our QCHP Obs and Gynae QBank, across obstetrics and gynaecology. Tap a question to see the answer and explanation.

A teratology information service wants to find out whether first-trimester exposure to a newly licensed antiemetic is linked to a congenital heart defect that affects about 1 in 10,000 births. Funding is limited and a quick answer is needed. Which study design is most appropriate?A. Randomised controlled trialB. Prospective cohort studyC. Case-control studyD. Cross-sectional survey

Answer: C. Case-control study
Explanation: A case-control study starts with people who have the outcome (babies with the heart defect) and controls without it, and compares their past exposure to the drug. It is the most efficient design for a rare outcome, because a cohort would need hundreds of thousands of exposed pregnancies to find enough cases. It is quick and cheap but prone to recall bias and selection bias, and gives an odds ratio.

A 30-year-old woman with regular 28-day cycles is being monitored for timed intercourse. On day 12 the dominant follicle measures 19 mm, the endometrium is 9 mm and trilaminar, and serum oestradiol has been above about 750 pmol/L for 2 days. A urinary LH kit becomes positive the next morning. Which mechanism triggers this LH surge?A. A fall in inhibin B releasing FSH and LH from inhibitionB. A drop in progesterone removing negative feedbackC. Sustained high oestradiol switching to positive feedback on the hypothalamus and pituitaryD. A rise in prolactin increasing GnRH pulse amplitude

Answer: C. Sustained high oestradiol switching to positive feedback on the hypothalamus and pituitary
Explanation: For most of the cycle oestradiol exerts negative feedback. When the dominant follicle raises oestradiol above a threshold (about 700 to 750 pmol/L, i.e. ~200 pg/mL) for about 48 to 50 hours, feedback switches to positive: GnRH pulse amplitude rises (kisspeptin neurons) and pituitary sensitivity to GnRH increases, producing the LH surge. A small pre-ovulatory rise in progesterone from luteinising granulosa cells amplifies the surge and causes the mid-cycle FSH peak.

A 26-year-old woman with type 1 diabetes at 29 weeks presents with 24 hours of vomiting. Capillary glucose is 12.6 mmol/L, blood ketones 4.8 mmol/L, venous pH 7.17 and bicarbonate 10 mmol/L. Pulse is 118/min. The CTG shows a baseline of 165/min, reduced variability and shallow late decelerations. What is the most appropriate immediate management?A. Category 1 caesarean section for fetal compromiseB. IV 0.9% saline and a fixed-rate IV insulin infusion, with 10% glucose alongside as glucose is below 14 mmol/LC. Subcutaneous rapid-acting insulin and oral fluidsD. IV sodium bicarbonate to correct the acidosis before any insulin

Answer: B. IV 0.9% saline and a fixed-rate IV insulin infusion, with 10% glucose alongside as glucose is below 14 mmol/L
Explanation: Pregnancy is a state of insulin resistance, accelerated lipolysis and compensated respiratory alkalosis (low bicarbonate), so DKA occurs faster and at lower glucose, even below 11 mmol/L (euglycaemic DKA). Treat with IV fluids and a fixed-rate IV insulin infusion of 0.1 units/kg/hour (JBDS), continue basal insulin, run 10% glucose alongside whenever glucose is below 14 mmol/L (as here, from the start), replace potassium and find the trigger. The abnormal CTG is caused by maternal acidosis and dehydration; it usually recovers as the mother is corrected.

A 31-year-old woman, G2P1, at 11 weeks accepts all booking blood tests except HIV screening. She says she is in a long-term relationship and feels she is not at risk. The midwife explains the benefits, but she still declines. Her other results are normal. According to the UK infectious diseases in pregnancy screening standards, what should happen next?A. Record the decision and make no further offer in this pregnancyB. Re-offer HIV screening, with specialist discussion, by about 20 weeksC. Test the stored booking sample for HIV without telling herD. Offer HIV screening only when she presents in labour

Answer: B. Re-offer HIV screening, with specialist discussion, by about 20 weeks
Explanation: Antenatal HIV screening is an opt-out test offered to every woman, because diagnosis allows antiretroviral therapy, planned mode of birth and avoidance of breastfeeding, reducing mother-to-child transmission from about 25% to below 0.5%. Self-assessed low risk is unreliable. The UK NSC IDPS programme requires that a woman who declines any of the infection screens (HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B) is referred to the screening team to explore her reasons and is formally re-offered screening by about 20 weeks.

A 25-year-old woman, G1P0, at 11+4 weeks has self-funded cell-free DNA screening. The report says the test has 99% sensitivity and 99.9% specificity for trisomy 21. Her result is high chance for trisomy 21. Her age-related prior chance of trisomy 21 is about 1 in 1,000. She asks how likely it is that her baby truly has trisomy 21. What is the best estimate?A. 99%B. 99.9%C. About 50%D. About 10%

Answer: C. About 50%
Explanation: The patient is asking for the positive predictive value, not the sensitivity. Take 100,000 women with prevalence 1 in 1,000: 100 affected, of whom 99 test positive (sensitivity 99%). Of the 99,900 unaffected, 0.1% (1 − specificity) = about 100 false positives.

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:

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 Obs and Gynae exams

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 Obs and Gynae exam and the SLE Obs and Gynae exam.

Frequently asked questions