Qatar exam for doctors: the GP paper

Facts last verified 5 October 2026.

Children’s and women’s health have 73 of Qatar’s 150 GP questions. Medicine has 47, and surgery has 30 (GP blueprint).

Is this the right paper for you?

This is Qatar’s General Practitioner (GP) paper. For a specialist title, check the specialist licence rules. The Department of Healthcare Professions (DHP) may accept your qualification or require an assessment.

  • For overseas GPs, the physician guideline asks for a 6-year medical degree and 5 years of GP work. Check how internship counts. Nationality and family groups have separate rules.
  • GPs under supervision send a valid pass for evaluation. They do not send it again when moving to full GP scope.
  • Listed exams can replace this paper. From 1 January 2026, send verified result proof. Other licence rules still apply.

Pass 60%

Format at a glance

150 questions. Time: 3 hours on the DHP overview page; 3½ hours in the profession blueprint. Pass mark: 60%.

Delivered by Prometric.

DHP's overview page and Prometric give 3 hours; the profession blueprint gives 3½ hours. Ask Prometric to confirm the testing time for your booked exam.

What the paper covers

ProMCQ sets these topic targets for its mock papers, using the published Qatar DHP 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 (31.3%): Medicine: 47 questions. Study heart, lung, gut and hormone disorders, plus infection. Practise the diagnosis and next step.
  • Obstetrics and Gynaecology (24%): Obstetrics and gynaecology: 36 questions. Study care in pregnancy, birth, emergencies, contraception and gynaecology.
  • Paediatrics (24.7%): Paediatrics: 37 questions. Study growth, vaccines, newborn care, infection and the sick child.
  • Surgery (20%): Surgery: 30 questions. Study acute abdomen, trauma, care before and after surgery, and when to refer.

Sample questions

Eight original practice questions from the QCHP 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 6-year-old boy is well and has sickle cell trait confirmed on haemoglobin electrophoresis. His mother notes that her nephew with HbSS has annual transcranial Doppler scans and asks whether her son needs the same. What is the most appropriate advice?

    1. Annual transcranial Doppler until 16
    2. No stroke screening needed
    3. Single baseline transcranial Doppler
    4. Brain MRI screening
    Answer

    B. Annual TCD screening applies to children with HbSS or HbSβ0-thalassaemia aged 2–16 years. Sickle cell trait is not sickle cell disease and needs no SCD surveillance, so TCD is not indicated.

  2. Which test has largely replaced amniotic-fluid bilirubin in alloimmunization surveillance?

    1. Chorionic villus sampling
    2. Middle cerebral artery Doppler
    3. Nuchal translucency scan
    4. Repeat amniocentesis
    Answer

    B. Amniotic-fluid bilirubin was used historically for alloimmunization. MCA Doppler has largely replaced it.

  3. A 19-year-old man was punched in the nose 2 days ago. His nose is swollen and deviated, and he cannot breathe through either nostril. Anterior rhinoscopy shows a tense, boggy swelling on both sides of the nasal septum. What is the most appropriate management?

    1. Closed reduction within 2 weeks
    2. Urgent ENT referral
    3. Review once swelling settles
    4. Anterior nasal packing
    Answer

    B. Displaced nasal fractures are managed by closed reduction within 2 weeks of injury, once swelling has settled. A septal haematoma after trauma is an exception that needs urgent ENT incision and drainage to prevent septal cartilage necrosis, abscess and saddle-nose deformity.

  4. A 55-year-old man in the emergency department needs urgent intravenous treatment for a hypertensive emergency. The registrar gives a verbal order, and the receiving doctor writes it down, reads it back and receives confirmation. The order is then carried out. What is the correct requirement for authenticating this verbal order afterwards?

    1. Within exactly 48 hours
    2. Promptly, by an authorised practitioner
    3. Within exactly 24 hours
    4. Not needed after read-back
    Answer

    B. Verbal orders must be dated, timed and authenticated promptly by the ordering or another legally authorised responsible practitioner. There is no universal 24–48-hour rule, and read-back does not replace authentication.

  5. A patient has a stable, regular, narrow-complex supraventricular tachycardia. What is the preferred initial treatment?

    1. A modified Valsalva manoeuvre
    2. Immediate synchronised cardioversion
    3. IV verapamil administration
    4. IV amiodarone administration
    Answer

    A. Stable regular narrow-complex SVT is treated first with a vagal manoeuvre, with the modified Valsalva manoeuvre preferred.

  6. A 32-year-old man has a high-voltage injury with a small, non-circumferential palm burn and no rigid eschar. Eight hours later his forearm is tense and swollen, with paraesthesia and evolving distal ischaemia. Which procedure addresses this limb complication?

    1. Escharotomy
    2. Fasciotomy
    3. Debridement and grafting
    4. Limb elevation alone
    Answer

    B. Escharotomy incises the eschar, whereas fasciotomy divides deep fascia for true muscle compartment syndrome. Deep muscle injury after high-voltage contact, with no eschar, is the setting to consider fasciotomy.

  7. A 42-year-old patient with dyspepsia has no alarm features and is not undergoing endoscopy. Which tests are preferred for non-invasive diagnosis of active Helicobacter pylori infection?

    1. Urea breath testing or faecal antigen testing
    2. Urea breath testing or gastric histology
    3. Faecal antigen testing or serum IgG serology
    4. Rapid urease testing or gastric culture
    Answer

    A. Urea breath testing and faecal antigen testing both detect active H. pylori non-invasively and each has about 95% sensitivity and specificity.

  8. A patient with psoriasis develops widespread sterile pustules on erythematous skin, fever, and systemic toxicity. What is the most appropriate management?

    1. Topical corticosteroid plus calcipotriol as a fixed combination
    2. Hospital admission with urgent dermatology involvement
    3. NB-UVB phototherapy arranged as an outpatient
    4. Oral methotrexate started in the outpatient clinic
    Answer

    B. Widespread sterile pustules on erythematous skin with fever and systemic toxicity identify generalised pustular psoriasis. It requires hospital admission with supportive care, systemic therapy, and urgent dermatology involvement, because skin-barrier failure can cause sepsis, fluid and electrolyte loss, and thermoregulatory failure.

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

  • If you mostly treat adults, consider giving children’s and women’s health extra study time.
  • Practise diagnosis and the first action. Choose a test and decide when to refer.
  • Use Toronto Notes, Davidson and Harrison from DHP’s book list. Study patient safety, preventive medicine and ethics too.
  • Use your mock score to find gaps in what you know.

Licensing steps

  1. Licence steps: Check your licence route. Read the guide
  2. Fees and booking: Plan costs and book. Read the guide
  3. Results and retakes: Check your next step. Read the guide

Frequently asked questions

What is the pass mark for the Qatar GP exam?

60% for GPs. There are 150 multiple-choice questions (DHP exam page).

How long is the Qatar GP exam?

DHP’s exam page and Prometric give 3 hours. Blueprints and Circular 18/2020 give 3½ hours. Ask Prometric for your testing and total appointment times.

Does PLAB or USMLE replace the Qatar GP exam?

Yes, PLAB Part 1 and USMLE Step 2 are listed. Check the full list and proof rules in Qatar licence steps.

How many attempts does a GP get in Qatar?

DHP allows 5 consecutive attempts in your scope, with any gap. Read Qatar results and retakes before asking for more than 5.

Sources

Facts last verified 2026-10-05.

  1. Qualifying Examination, DHP, Ministry of Public Health Qatar
  2. Circular DHP/2025/19: Equivalent examinations, DHP, Ministry of Public Health Qatar
  3. General Practitioner Qualifying Examination Blueprint and References, DHP, Ministry of Public Health Qatar
  4. Guidelines for Physicians, DHP, Ministry of Public Health Qatar
  5. Circular DHP/2023/08: Examination evidence for supervised categories, DHP, Ministry of Public Health Qatar
  6. Qualifying Examination Policy, DHP, Ministry of Public Health Qatar
  7. Circular 18/2020: Qualifying examination updates, DHP, Ministry of Public Health Qatar
  8. SCHQ2 scheduling notice, Prometric