Checked 25 September 2026. Exam areas and references from DHA's September 2026 guideline. DHA publishes no weights; the hours use Kuwait's published split for the same four domains as a labelled proxy.
DHA tells you four things about the Registered Nurse and Assistant Nurse exams: the four areas, the twelve references, 150 questions and a 50% pass mark. It does not tell you how the questions divide between the areas. This plan fills that gap honestly — with one published split for the same four domains, Kuwait's — and spends the last three weeks on timed practice, because 150 questions in a sitting that includes registration leaves little more than a minute each.
Where other pages get this wrong
DHA publishes no topic weights for its nursing exams.
Commonly published instead: Pages presenting a "DHA nursing blueprint" with percentages per topic.
DHA's September 2026 guideline lists four exam areas — Unit Management and Leadership, Fundamentals, Maternal–Child Nursing and Adult Nursing — and twelve references, with no percentages or item counts. Any percentage split presented as DHA's is a guess or a borrowing; this plan uses Kuwait's published split and says so.
DHA guideline; the per-question figure and 75 are our arithmetic.
Hours by domain
| Domain | Share used for planning | Hours of 120 |
|---|---|---|
| Nursing fundamentals | 20% | 24 |
| Adult nursing | 40% | 48 |
| Maternal–child nursing | 30% | 36 |
| Management and leadership | 10% | 12 |
Shares are Kuwait's published item counts for the same four domains (60, 45, 30 and 15 of 150), used as a proxy because DHA publishes none. Adult nursing is the largest in any reading of the reference list — medical-surgical, critical care, mental health and community nursing all sit under it.
DHA nursing exam hours planner
Choose your likely exam day and how many hours a week you can study. The planner counts the weeks left from today and splits your total hours across the paper.
The exam is booked on demand through Prometric, so the dates are month-ends to aim for, not DHA dates. The planner splits all your hours across the four domains; in the 10-week plan below, the last three weeks go to full timed sessions and the error log, so treat roughly a third of the total as practice time.
The 10 weeks
| Week | Domain | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fundamentals | Nursing process, vital signs, clinical skills (Taylor checklists), infection control |
| 2 | Fundamentals | Pharmacology and dosage calculations; nutrition; ethics (ANA code) |
| 3 | Adult nursing | Cardiovascular, respiratory and renal nursing |
| 4 | Adult nursing | Endocrine, GI, neuro and perioperative care |
| 5 | Adult nursing | Critical care and emergencies; mental health; community nursing |
| 6 | Maternal–child | Antenatal, intrapartum, postpartum and newborn care |
| 7 | Maternal–child | Paediatrics: growth, common illnesses, paediatric emergencies |
| 8 | Management and leadership | Delegation, prioritisation, patient safety, quality; first full timed mock |
| 9 | All | Weakest two domains from the mock; second full timed mock |
| 10 | All | Error log only; final mock early in the week; exam logistics |
Reading list, mapped to the weeks
| Weeks | DHA reference |
|---|---|
| 1–2 | Kozier and Erb's Fundamentals; Taylor's skill checklists; Jarvis (health assessment); Mosby's Pharmacology in Nursing; Dudek (nutrition); ANA Code of Ethics |
| 3–5 | Brunner and Suddarth's Medical-Surgical Nursing; Sole (critical care); Townsend (mental health); Allender & Rector (community health) |
| 6–7 | Murray & McKinney (maternal-newborn); Wong's Nursing Care of Infants and Children |
| 8 | Management and leadership: no dedicated title in DHA's list; use the leadership chapters of the fundamentals text |
The mapping is ours; the titles are DHA's. The list also includes an unattributed "Nursing Technician Blueprint", which DHA does not identify further.
Domain by domain
Adult nursing
The largest domain on any reading. Expect the core body systems — cardiovascular, respiratory, renal, endocrine, gastrointestinal, neurological — with perioperative care, critical care and emergencies, plus mental health and community nursing, which DHA's reference list places here. Questions in this area tend to ask what to assess, what to do first and what to report.
Maternal–child nursing
Pregnancy through the postnatal period, newborn care, and paediatrics from growth and development to common illnesses and emergencies. Danger signs — in labour, in the newborn, in the sick child — are worth learning as lists you can recall fast.
Fundamentals
The nursing process, clinical skills, health assessment, pharmacology including dosage calculation, nutrition and ethics. Calculations are the one place where speed can be trained directly: practise until a dose or drip-rate question takes under a minute.
Management and leadership
Delegation, prioritisation, team working and patient safety. These questions often look like clinical questions ("which patient do you see first?") but test judgement about order and responsibility; DHA's reference list has no leadership text of its own.
Only six weeks?
| Week | Focus |
|---|---|
| 1 | Fundamentals, with calculations daily |
| 2 | Adult nursing: body systems |
| 3 | Adult nursing: critical care, mental health, community |
| 4 | Maternal–child; management and leadership |
| 5 | Two full timed mocks; error log |
| 6 | Error log only; one final mock |
Using twelve references without reading twelve books
| Use | References |
|---|---|
| Read through | Kozier and Erb's Fundamentals; Brunner and Suddarth (focus chapters); Wong's (paediatric chapters); Murray & McKinney |
| Revise specific chapters | Mosby's Pharmacology in Nursing; Jarvis (assessment); Sole (critical care); Townsend (mental health) |
| Consult for gaps from your error log | Dudek (nutrition); Allender & Rector (community); Taylor's skill checklists; ANA Code of Ethics |
This split is our suggestion, based on how broad each domain is; DHA says only that the references are the latest editions of each title.
Exam week
- Book early enough to get your preferred Prometric centre and time; reschedule at least five calendar days ahead if you must.
- Bring a valid passport whose name matches your Sheryan record exactly.
- Arrive 30 minutes early; check-in includes a metal detector and image capture.
- Revise from your error log, not new chapters.
Logistics from DHA's assessment manual (May 2025).
Timed practice
How to practise for a 150-question sitting
- Budget about a minute a question. DHA's three hours include registration and the introduction, so real answering time is less than 72 seconds a question.
- Answer every question. DHA's guideline and manuals state no negative-marking rule — the assessment manual says results are based on correct answers and domain weighting — so a blank can only cost you.
- Keep an error log by domain and let it, not the textbook order, decide weeks 9 and 10.
- Practise prioritisation questions ("which patient first", "which task to delegate") — they sit under management and leadership and appear across domains.
Timing from DHA's guideline; the rest is our advice.
DHA nursing exam checklist
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Practise it, don't just read it
Topic quizzes with explanations are the fastest way to fill the error log in weeks 1–8.
The ProSyllabus DHA nursing library has topic quizzes for Fundamentals of Nursing, Medical-Surgical Nursing, Pharmacology for Nurses, Maternal and Newborn Nursing, Pediatric Nursing, Infection Prevention and Control, Mental Health Nursing and Professional Practice and UAE Health Regulations. Each question comes with an explanation.
How do I prepare for the DHA nursing exam?
Cover DHA's four areas — fundamentals, adult nursing, maternal–child nursing, and management and leadership — using its twelve references, then spend the last two or three weeks on full timed sessions of 150 questions at about a minute each.
What are the important topics for the DHA nursing exam?
DHA publishes no weights. Kuwait's blueprint for the same four domains puts adult nursing at 40%, maternal–child at 30%, fundamentals at 20% and management at 10%, which is a reasonable planning proxy.
How long should I prepare for the DHA nursing exam?
About 10 weeks at 10–12 hours a week is a workable plan for a practising nurse; less if you have recently studied for another licensing exam.
Is the DHA nursing exam difficult?
The pass mark is 50% — about 75 correct answers out of 150 on simple arithmetic, though DHA says results also reflect domain weighting. The difficulty lies in breadth — twelve reference texts across four domains — and in the timing.
What are the DHA nursing exam reference books?
Twelve titles, including Kozier and Erb's Fundamentals, Brunner and Suddarth, Wong's Nursing Care of Infants and Children, Murray & McKinney, Mosby's Pharmacology in Nursing, Jarvis, Dudek, Townsend, Sole and Allender & Rector.
How many mock tests should I take before the DHA exam?
At least two full 150-question sessions in the last three weeks, timed as on the day, with the error log deciding what you revise between them.
Should I study for the DHA exam from NCLEX books?
NCLEX-style review books can help with question practice, but DHA's own reference list is the scope to follow; its midwifery list does include two NCLEX titles.
What should I do in the last week before the DHA exam?
Revise from your error log only, take one final timed session early in the week, and check your passport name, Prometric centre and reporting time — 30 minutes before the appointment.
Which domain should I start with for the DHA exam?
Fundamentals, because pharmacology, calculations and assessment run through every other domain; then adult nursing, the largest.
Is the Assistant Nurse exam easier than the Registered Nurse exam?
DHA lists the same four areas, the same references and the same 50% pass mark for both; it does not describe any difference in depth.
How many hours a day should I study for the DHA nursing exam?
Two hours on weekdays and more at weekends — about 10 to 12 hours a week — is enough for the 10-week plan; working nurses on shifts can plan by week rather than by day.
Are there practice questions for the DHA nursing exam?
DHA's guideline and manuals contain none. Practice questions from third parties vary in quality; use them for timing and coverage, not as a guide to weights.
More in this series
- The DHA nursing exam: codes, format, pass mark, references
- Eligibility: GNM, B.Sc, Post-Basic, M.Sc — which DHA title
- From Sheryan to licence: the DHA process and every fee
- Attempts, gaps in practice and exemptions
- DHA vs Kuwait vs Abu Dhabi and the Northern Emirates
- DHA nursing notice board — official updates
- Gulf nursing licences compared
Sources
- official — DHA computer-based test guideline (updated Sep 2026)
- official — Prometric — Kuwait MOH licensing exam references (PDF)
- official — DHA Manual for Professional Assessment v1.1 (May 2025)
official = a document published by the conducting body. reported = a news or coaching site we could not check against an original. Where sources disagree this page says so rather than picking one.
