Kuwait medical licensing exam for GPs

Facts last verified 5 October 2026.

Kuwait’s Ministry of Health (MOH) GP paper has 150 multiple-choice questions. You get 170 minutes with a 10-minute break. You need 60% to pass (MOH blueprint). The blueprint does not say whether the break falls inside those 170 minutes.

Is this the right paper for you?

Expatriate GPs sit the Kuwait MOH GP paper. The Kuwait Medical Licensing Examination (KMLE) is a separate route. Use the January 2024 blueprint unless MOH tells you otherwise.

  • From 1 January 2027, Kuwaiti medical students need KMLE for resident and assistant-registrar posts.
  • Some doctors from abroad need a test for private-sector work. Check your MOH title and any exemption in the licence guide.

Pass 60%

Format at a glance

150 questions. Time: 170 minutes with a 10-minute break; the blueprint does not say whether the break is inside the 170 minutes. Pass mark: 60%.

Delivered by Prometric.

What the paper covers

ProMCQ sets these topic targets for its mock papers, using the published Prometric Kuwait MOH blueprint as a guide. They can differ from the official weights, so check the blueprint for those. Each mock includes national-topic content, so its final question shares can differ slightly from these targets.

  • Medicine (30%): Medicine gets 30% of each ProMCQ mock. Practise cases on chest pain, diabetes, infections and acute illness.
  • Obstetrics and Gynaecology (25.3%): Obstetrics and gynaecology get 25.3% of each mock. Revise care in pregnancy, bleeding, labour, contraception and common complaints.
  • Paediatrics (24.7%): Paediatrics gets 24.7% of each mock. Revise fever, growth, newborn problems, vaccines and childhood emergencies.
  • Surgery (20%): Surgery gets 20% of each mock. Revise acute abdomen, trauma, care around surgery and when to refer.

Sample questions

Eight original practice questions from the Kuwait MOH doctors bank. They are written to the paper's style, not taken from the live exam. Pick an answer to see the key and explanation.

  1. A 16-year-old boy attends with his father because of recurrent headaches. The doctor plans a HEADSS psychosocial assessment, including dedicated time alone with the boy. When should confidentiality and its limits be explained?

    1. Early in the consultation
    2. Only if risk is disclosed
    3. At the end of the consultation
    4. After the father leaves
    Answer

    A. HEADSS is best completed with the adolescent alone, within a consultation that includes joint time and private time. Confidentiality and its limits should be explained early, before sensitive topics are raised.

  2. A 14-year-old girl with short stature, a webbed neck, a shield chest, and primary amenorrhoea has a 45,X karyotype. Which targeted screening is most appropriate for this patient?

    1. Echocardiography for an atrioventricular septal defect plus imaging for duodenal atresia
    2. Endocrine assessment for pubertal hypogonadism plus fertility counselling
    3. Thyroid function tests plus hearing and vision testing at annual review
    4. Echocardiography for coarctation or bicuspid aortic valve plus renal imaging for horseshoe kidney
    Answer

    D. The phenotype and 45,X karyotype confirm Turner syndrome. Cardiac screening for coarctation of the aorta and bicuspid aortic valve, and renal screening for a horseshoe kidney, are specifically mandated.

  3. A 63-year-old man has postprandial pain, food fear and weight loss from chronic mesenteric ischaemia. Endovascular treatment failed to restore flow, and no infarction is present. Which revascularization approach is now appropriate?

    1. Repeat elective duplex surveillance
    2. Emergency resection
    3. Open mesenteric bypass
    4. Long-term heparin alone
    Answer

    C. Endovascular therapy is first-line, with open bypass reserved for selected anatomy or failed endovascular treatment.

  4. A 61-year-old man has no urinary symptoms and is at average risk of prostate cancer. He is considering PSA screening and asks what the main downside of screening would be before he decides. Which harm should be emphasised most in the discussion?

    1. Increased cancer mortality
    2. Overdiagnosis and overtreatment
    3. Progressive urinary obstruction
    4. Radiation-induced malignancy
    Answer

    B. Shared decision-making for PSA screening at 55–69 weighs a small mortality benefit against harms: false positives, biopsy complications and, most importantly, overdiagnosis leading to overtreatment with urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction.

  5. A patient with atrial fibrillation has a pulse, hypotension, and acute heart failure. Which electrical treatment is most appropriate?

    1. Cardioversion synchronised to the R wave
    2. Defibrillation delivered without R-wave synchronisation
    3. Overdrive pacing to increase the ventricular rate
    4. Defibrillation accompanied by immediate CPR
    Answer

    A. Atrial fibrillation is an organised tachyarrhythmia, and hypotension with acute heart failure indicates instability. With a pulse present, cardioversion should be synchronised to the R wave.

  6. A patient with inflammatory bowel disease in luminal remission develops a painful red eye with photophobia and visual change. Which interpretation and response are most appropriate?

    1. Uveitis requiring urgent ophthalmology assessment
    2. Episcleritis that should settle once bowel activity is controlled
    3. Uveitis that should settle once bowel activity is controlled
    4. Episcleritis requiring urgent ophthalmology assessment
    Answer

    A. Painful red eye with photophobia or visual change suggests uveitis. Because uveitis may occur independently of intestinal activity and is potentially sight-threatening, urgent ophthalmology assessment is required.

  7. A patient with sinusitis develops periorbital oedema, proptosis, and restricted eye movements. What is the most appropriate response?

    1. Oral amoxicillin-clavulanate with next-day review, without imaging
    2. Urgent CT and/or MRI with oral antibiotics and next-day ENT review
    3. Urgent CT and/or MRI, IV antibiotics, and emergent ENT involvement
    4. IV antibiotics and emergent ophthalmology review, with imaging deferred
    Answer

    C. Proptosis and ophthalmoplegia in sinusitis suggest orbital cellulitis or abscess. This is an emergency requiring urgent imaging, IV antibiotics, and emergent ENT involvement, with ophthalmology added as indicated.

  8. A patient with lung cancer develops facial, neck and bilateral arm swelling, distended chest-wall veins and dyspnoea that worsens when lying flat. There is no stridor, confusion or haemodynamic compromise. The head of the bed has been raised and high-dose dexamethasone given. Which investigation should be arranged next?

    1. Duplex ultrasound of the upper-limb veins
    2. Urgent contrast-enhanced CT of the chest
    3. Portable chest radiograph at the bedside
    4. Percutaneous biopsy of the mediastinal mass
    Answer

    B. The upper-body venous congestion that worsens supine is characteristic of superior vena cava obstruction. Once the immediate supportive measures have been given, urgent contrast CT of the chest is the decisive investigation because it defines the level and cause of the obstruction and guides biopsy and subsequent stenting or tumour-directed treatment.

Full papers in the real format

10 timed mock papers of 150 questions each, built to the weights above. No question repeats across papers.

How to prepare

  • Find what each case asks: the diagnosis, a test or the next step.
  • Use the blueprint’s suggested books: Harrison, Davidson, Bailey and Love, and Nelson. Revise patient safety and ethics too.
  • The GP blueprint lists 45 medicine, 38 obstetrics and gynaecology, 37 paediatrics and 30 surgery questions out of 150. ProMCQ’s displayed percentages are rounded from these counts. The blueprint says the distribution may change after review. Women’s and children’s health form half of each mock. Give them enough study time.
  • ProMCQ’s Kuwait notes cover law, the health system and national screening. Ask Prometric for the exact sitting time.

Licensing steps

  1. Apply: Check your documents and employer steps.
  2. Book: Confirm your booking route and fee.
  3. Your result: Check your next step after the exam.

Frequently asked questions

Is the KMLE the same as the Kuwait MOH GP exam?

No. KMLE is for Kuwaiti medical students seeking resident and assistant-registrar posts from 1 January 2027 (notice). It has 100 questions; the pass is 60 out of 100. Surgery and medicine each get 40%. Paediatrics and obstetrics and gynaecology each get 10%. Ethics sits within each specialty. A pass also exempts you from the internship exam when moving from resident doctor to assistant registrar.

Do doctors need EPIC for Kuwait?

EPIC applies if you are not Kuwaiti and your basic medical degree is from outside Kuwait. Locum and temporary doctors are exempt. So are doctors already checked by Kuwait’s higher-education ministry (ECFMG rules).

How many attempts do GPs get in Kuwait?

3 attempts, at least 6 weeks apart. Check the Kuwait retake guide before rebooking.

What should a GP revise for the Kuwait exam?

Use the books to check what to study. Practise each mock section, then check weak topics.

Sources

Facts last verified 2026-10-05.

  1. Kuwait MOH examination blueprints and suggested references, January 2024, Prometric for Kuwait Ministry of Health
  2. Ministry of Health Kuwait Medical Licensing Department programme, Prometric
  3. EPIC: Special Instructions and FAQs for Applicants to Kuwait MOH, ECFMG, a division of Intealth
  4. New Kuwait Professional Licensing Examination Requirements, Kuwait Cultural Office, London (Ministry of Higher Education)