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

DHA Exam for GPs: Required Clinical Experience (2026)

Most GP applications that stall in Sheryan do so because of experience, not the exam. The rule itself is short: two years after the internship. The detail is in how DHA counts those two years. Which months count, which jobs count, what happens if you took a break, and how you prove it to DataFlow. This page answers those questions. For the full list of GP, specialist and consultant requirements (degree, licence, tiers, Good Standing), see our DHA GP requirements page.

How much clinical experience is required for the DHA GP exam?

Under the Unified Healthcare Professional Qualification Requirements (PQR), which DHA, DOH and MOHAP all follow, a non-UAE graduate applying as a General Practitioner needs:

The experience can come from a government hospital, a private hospital or a private clinic. DHA does not require public sector experience. What it requires is that the facility and your post can be verified by DataFlow.

Which specialties count towards DHA GP experience?

You do not need to have worked in a "general practice" clinic. The PQR accepts experience in these specialties for the GP title:

• Internal medicine
• Family medicine
• Emergency medicine
• General surgery
• Paediatrics
• Obstetrics and gynaecology
• Cardiology
• Critical care

There is no fixed split between them. Two years in emergency medicine counts, and so does one year in medicine plus one year in surgery. Experience in other fields (for example dermatology, psychiatry or radiology) is not on this list, so DHA reviews it case by case. If most of your post-internship work is in such a field, run your exact history through the Sheryan self-assessment tool before you pay for DataFlow.

How does DHA count your 2 years of experience?

DHA's licensing manual defines experience as hands-on clinical experience gained by a licensed professional during salaried employment or a contract. In practice, these are the points that decide whether a month counts:

A quick example. If your internship ended on 31 March 2024 and you started a licensed medical officer job on 1 May 2024, you reach 2 years on 30 April 2026. You can apply from then, not from the date your internship ended.

Does internship count toward DHA GP experience?

No. DHA evaluates the internship separately. The 2 years of GP experience means clinical work done after the internship was completed. This is the most common mistake we see: a doctor with one year of internship and one year of work counts it as "2 years" and gets an ineligible result.

Are graduates of UAE medical schools exempt?

Yes. Non-UAE nationals who graduated from a UAE university do not need the 2 years of experience if they obtain the GP title within 2 years of finishing their internship. UAE nationals and children of Emirati women have the same exemption. A graduate of a non-UAE university, of any nationality, must meet the full experience requirement.

What if you have a gap in clinical practice?

The PQR treats a break of more than 2 years from clinical practice as a "gap of practice". You can still apply, but you have to close the gap first with CME credits and supervised training, and then pass the licensing exam. For physicians the PQR table is:

Source: Unified PQR (3rd version, 2022), section 1.7. A candidate with a gap must pass the licensing exam after completing the CME, even if they hold an exam exemption.

Short breaks between jobs (a few months while you change hospitals) are not a gap of practice. They simply do not add to your total. Keep a clear CV with month and year for every post, so the reviewer does not have to guess.

Can I use experience certificate from my own clinic?

Possibly, but expect closer checking. DHA's definition of experience talks about salaried employment or a contract, and DataFlow has to verify every post with the issuing facility. If you ran your own clinic, it should be registered with your local health authority, and you should be able to show your licence for the whole period, the clinic's registration, and a certificate signed by someone other than you where possible. Unregistered or informal practice will not be accepted. If this is your only experience, check it in Sheryan before you start.

What if my country has no formal internship system?

The PQR asks for a 12-month internship after graduation. Some countries build supervised clinical training into the degree instead. In that case DHA reviews the file individually, looking at the structure of your degree, the supervised clinical training you completed, and how your home country licenses doctors. You may be asked for extra documents or extra post-graduate experience. The self-assessment tool lets you choose the closest option, and DHA's credentialing team then decides.

What documents prove DHA GP clinical experience?

Every experience period you claim goes through primary source verification by DataFlow. The usual documents are:

• Experience certificate for each post (the key document)
• Medical licence or registration covering the whole period
• Appointment letter or employment contract
• Salary records, only if requested
• Proof that the facility is registered, if requested

The full DataFlow checklist is on our Dataflow verification process page. You also need a Good Standing Certificate from the regulator of your last employment, no older than 6 months.

How to prepare an experience certificate that passes DataFlow

If DataFlow comes back with a discrepancy (a name spelled differently, dates that do not match your licence), our page on DataFlow missing information explains how to fix it.

Does experience at a government or teaching hospital help?

It does not change the rule. Two years in a private clinic counts the same as two years in a tertiary hospital. Where larger hospitals do help is verification: recognised hospitals, teaching hospitals and accredited institutions usually have an HR office that answers DataFlow quickly, so your report comes back sooner. Hospital experience in medicine, surgery, paediatrics or emergency medicine is also the best preparation for the GP exam itself, which leans heavily on these subjects.

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