Qatar pharmacy exam: the national paper

Facts last verified 5 October 2026.

Study from the National Pharmacist Qualifying Examination blueprint, used from 1 May 2025 (DHP/2025/3). Clinical sciences grew from 52 to 67 questions. The old PDF is still online.

Is this the right paper for you?

This is the Pharmacist paper from Qatar’s Department of Healthcare Professions (DHP). There are 150 multiple-choice questions. You need 60% to pass (national blueprint).

  • You need a pharmacy bachelor’s and 2 years of work after graduation. You must be registered in the country where you worked (pharmacist guideline).
  • NAPLEX, PEBC, OSPAP, OPRA and CAOP can replace this exam. From 1 January 2026, send verified proof of your result.
  • Ask DHP before you rely on the master’s route. Its rules conflict. See Qatar licence steps.

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.

  • Basic Biomedical Sciences (4.7%): 7 questions, down from 15. Study how signs of disease link to changes in the body.
  • Pharmaceutical Sciences (25.3%): 38 questions. Study dosage forms, compounding, pharmacokinetics, clearance, dose changes and nutrition sums.
  • Social/Behavioral/Administrative Sciences (25.3%): 38 questions. Study law, ethics, management, economics and Qatar health policy.
  • Clinical Sciences (44.7%): 67 questions. Study drug choice, side effects, interactions and how to check treatment. Practise what to tell the patient.

Sample questions

Eight original practice questions from the QCHP pharmacists 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 55-year-old man develops severe, prolonged hypocalcaemia in the days after parathyroidectomy. The abrupt fall in parathyroid hormone has allowed rapid bone remineralisation, with calcium, phosphate, and magnesium moving from his blood into the skeleton. This redistribution also lowers circulating phosphate and magnesium while the skeleton rapidly rebuilds mineral content. What is the primary cause of this hungry bone syndrome?

    1. Persistent PTH-driven calcium release
    2. Rapid skeletal calcium uptake
    3. Intestinal phosphate-complex formation
    4. Vascular calcium deposition
    Answer

    B. After parathyroidectomy, the abrupt decrease in PTH allows rapid bone remineralisation, pulling calcium, phosphate, and magnesium from blood and causing prolonged hypocalcaemia.

  2. A 52-year-old woman with type 1 diabetes on basal-bolus insulin has had a myocardial infarction and is discharged on metoprolol 50 mg twice daily. She usually recognises low glucose by shaking and a pounding heartbeat. The pharmacist counsels her that beta blockade may hide some warning symptoms of hypoglycemia. Which autonomic warning symptom should she still expect to notice?

    1. Tremor
    2. Palpitations
    3. Tachycardia
    4. Sweating
    Answer

    D. Beta-blockers can attenuate palpitations and tachycardia during hypoglycemia; suppression of beta2-mediated tremor is more prominent with nonselective agents. Sweating is cholinergically mediated and is not suppressed by beta blockade, although symptoms alone cannot reliably detect every hypoglycemic episode. She should also check a fingerstick glucose with any change in mental status.

  3. A Saudi pharmacy reports profit of 120,000, operating expenses of 5,000, and Zakah of 8,000 for the period. What is its free cash flow?

    1. 115,000
    2. 112,000
    3. 107,000
    4. 133,000
    Answer

    C. Using free cash flow = profit − operating expenses − Zakah, the result is 120,000 − 5,000 − 8,000 = 107,000.

  4. A patient has a 24-hour UUN of 12 g, and the nutrition goal is zero nitrogen balance. What daily protein intake would meet this goal?

    1. 16 g/day
    2. 100 g/day
    3. 75 g/day
    4. 2.56 g/day
    Answer

    B. At zero balance, nitrogen intake must equal nitrogen output. Output is 12 g UUN + 4 g/day other nitrogen losses (2 g non-urea urinary plus 2 g non-urinary) = 16 g nitrogen. Converting back to protein gives 16 × 6.25 = 100 g/day.

  5. A 67-year-old man with angina attends a comprehensive medication review of his eight chronic medicines. He mentions that over the past two days his chest pain has begun coming on at rest and is worsening quickly despite his usual treatment. He is pain-free while at the pharmacy. What is the most appropriate immediate action?

    1. Add a review item to the action plan
    2. Recommend optimising his angina regimen
    3. Arrange emergency hospital referral
    4. Book a follow-up visit in two weeks
    Answer

    C. During MTM the pharmacist must refer rather than manage red flags. Chest pain is never dismissed. Angina at rest or worsening rapidly despite treatment suggests unstable angina, and any suspicion of acute coronary syndrome or another serious cause of chest pain needs emergency hospital referral, even if he is pain-free now.

  6. A 41-year-old woman undergoes evaluation of catecholamine synthesis in adrenal-medulla chromaffin cells. The pathway proceeds from tyrosine through L-DOPA and dopamine before a catecholamine is converted by phenylethanolamine N-methyltransferase into the final epinephrine product. Which compound is the immediate precursor of epinephrine?

    1. L-DOPA
    2. Tyrosine
    3. Norepinephrine
    4. Dopamine
    Answer

    C. The catecholamine pathway proceeds from tyrosine to L-DOPA to dopamine to norepinephrine and then epinephrine, making norepinephrine the immediate precursor.

  7. A 57-year-old woman sustained serious harm from a medication error. The resulting investigation led to revised medication procedures. Initial implementation is complete, and staff are using the revised procedures. The safety committee is now establishing a long-term monitoring plan for these corrective actions. What should this plan primarily evaluate?

    1. Completeness of incident reporting
    2. Severity distribution of reported incidents
    3. Workload associated with incident reporting
    4. Sustained effectiveness of practice changes
    Answer

    D. After initial implementation, long-term monitoring should evaluate whether the revised practices remain effective. Reporting completeness, workload and severity provide context for safety data but do not replace evaluation of the corrective actions.

  8. A 62-year-old woman asks the pharmacist how much a newly prescribed medicine will help her. Trial data show a 5-year stroke risk of 2% without treatment and 1% with treatment. The pharmacist wants to explain the treatment benefit clearly. Which statement of benefit should the pharmacist use?

    1. Treatment reduces the 5-year stroke risk by 2 percentage points
    2. Treatment cuts stroke risk by 50%
    3. Over 5 years, about 20 in 1000 people have a stroke without treatment versus 10 in 1000 with treatment
    4. Treatment prevents 1 stroke per 1000 people over 5 years
    Answer

    C. Over 5 years, the risks correspond to about 20 strokes per 1000 people without treatment and 10 per 1000 with treatment: about 10 fewer strokes per 1000 treated. This comparison communicates the baseline risk, absolute benefit and time horizon using natural frequencies. Adapt numerical and visual explanations to the patient's preferences and discuss likely benefits and harms.

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

  • Try a study plan that gives most time to drug treatment and includes calculation practice.
  • Work dilution, percentage-strength, parenteral-nutrition and renal-dose sums by hand.
  • Learn management and economics formulas. Social and pharmaceutical sciences have equal counts.
  • Use DHP’s book lists: Qatar Dietary Guidelines, health strategy, health services and Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) departments.
  • Check your mock score in each section to find study gaps.

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

How long is the Qatar pharmacy 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.

Can NAPLEX or PEBC replace the Qatar pharmacy exam?

Yes, both are listed. You still need document checks, evaluation and a licence. See Qatar licence steps.

Can you book before completing the required experience?

We did not find an official rule on booking before you have enough experience. Passing does not meet the work requirement.

How do you book a pharmacy retake?

Book with SCHQ2 and pay for a new sitting. Check your attempts first in Qatar results and retakes.

Sources

Facts last verified 2026-10-05.

  1. Circular DHP/2025/19: Equivalent examinations, DHP, Ministry of Public Health Qatar
  2. National Pharmacist Qualifying Examination Blueprint, DHP, Ministry of Public Health Qatar
  3. Circular DHP/2025/3: Implementation of the NPQE, DHP, Ministry of Public Health Qatar
  4. Guidelines for Pharmacists, DHP, Ministry of Public Health Qatar
  5. Circular DHP/2025/24: Registration and licensing policy update, DHP, Ministry of Public Health Qatar
  6. Circular 18/2020: Qualifying examination updates, DHP, Ministry of Public Health Qatar
  7. Pharmacist Blueprint and References (superseded), DHP, Ministry of Public Health Qatar