DOH Nursing Exam Preparation: Study Material, Plan and What to Revise

Preparing for the DOH exam is harder to plan than for Dubai or Kuwait for one simple reason: DOH does not publish what it tests. There is no blueprint, no topic weighting and no public reading list — only a question count, a time limit and an e-mail address for study material. This guide sets out what DOH does give you, the nearest official reading list published by another UAE regulator, and a plan built from DOH's own scope of practice. The split of hours is ours and says so.

DOH Circular 151/2024 and FAQ.

DOH's scope of practice separates the two main titles clearly, and that separation is the most useful thing a candidate can read. Assistant Nurses provide care "as delegated and supervised by the registered nurse": help with ambulation, transfers, hygiene and range of motion, non-drug comfort measures, observing and reporting changes, intake and output, height and weight, transporting patients and specimens, and health education. They "are not expected to have a role in preparation, administration or documentation of medications". Registered Nurses work through the whole nursing process — systematic assessment, nursing diagnosis, outcomes, planning, implementation and evaluation — including inserting, managing and removing IV and urinary catheters, recognising and acting on abnormal vital signs, and basic life support.

Dubai Health Authority, which shares the PQR with DOH, does publish a reference list for its Registered Nurse exam. It is not DOH's list, and DOH has never said its questions come from these books — but as the only official nursing-exam reading list in the UAE it is a sensible spine for revision:

For weighting, the nearest Gulf nursing blueprint published item by item is Kuwait's (not a UAE exam): 150 questions split fundamentals 30 (including physical assessment 9, pharmacology 6 and nutrition 3), adult nursing 60 (including critical care 11, community 12 and mental health 7), maternal–child 45 and management and leadership 15. Again, that is Kuwait's exam and not DOH's; it is useful only as evidence that Gulf RN exams of this length lean heavily on adult medical-surgical nursing.

The planner splits your hours using our own weighting — adult medical-surgical nursing largest, as in Kuwait's published blueprint, then maternal–child health and fundamentals, with separate time for pharmacology, critical care and mental health. It is a starting point, not DOH's blueprint; move hours towards whatever your mock results show is weakest. The exam dates in the list are planning targets only: you cannot book until DOH has approved your credentials and you have paid the exam fee in TAMM, so pick the date closest to when you expect that to happen.

The qualification rules are the same everywhere, and attempts count across all of them, so the choice between emirates is really about where you want to work. Once licensed, moving is usually a recognition rather than a new exam: DOH's FAQ exempts holders of a valid (or recently cancelled) DHA or MOHAP licence for the same title who are in good standing, and DHA's manual exempts those applying within five years of a DOH licence cancellation for the same position with no gap. Credentialing, verification and the attempt limits still apply.