DHANURSING

DHA Exam

DHA nursing exam preparation, built around what the paper actually tests

The DHA nursing assessment is a computer-based Prometric exam sat in Dubai or at an approved international centre. It tests safe, current bedside judgement far more than memorised definitions, so preparation has to be scenario-first.

Exam at a glance

Delivery
Computer-based (Prometric)
Questions
150 single-best-answer MCQs
Duration
3 hours, no scheduled break
Result
Pass / fail on the day
Portal
Sheryan (DHA licensing platform)
Validity
Eligibility letter valid for the booking window

Dubai Health Authority regulates nursing practice in Dubai. Licence to practise as a registered nurse in Dubai.

High-yield domains for the DHA exam

These are the areas that produce the most marks — and the most repeated mistakes — in the DHA paper.

~30% of the paper

Medical-surgical nursing

  • Acute coronary syndrome: chest-pain triage order, troponin timing, nitrate contraindications with PDE-5 inhibitors
  • Heart failure: daily weights as the first sign of fluid overload, ACE inhibitor cough, digoxin toxicity signs
  • COPD vs asthma: target SpO2 88–92% in CO2 retainers, never withhold oxygen in acute hypoxia
  • Chronic kidney disease: hyperkalaemia ECG changes, phosphate binders given with meals
  • Diabetes emergencies: DKA fluids before insulin, hypoglycaemia 15/15 rule

~15%

Pharmacology & dosage calculation

  • Ten rights of administration and the two-nurse check list (insulin, heparin, opioids, chemo)
  • IV rate formula: volume × drop factor ÷ time in minutes
  • High-alert antidotes: naloxone, protamine, vitamin K, flumazenil, calcium gluconate
  • Narrow therapeutic drugs: digoxin, lithium, phenytoin, warfarin, gentamicin trough timing

~12%

Infection prevention & patient safety

  • WHO five moments of hand hygiene — the default correct answer in a transmission stem
  • Isolation matching: airborne (TB, measles, varicella), droplet (influenza, meningococcus), contact (C. difficile, MRSA)
  • Never events, incident reporting without blame, correct use of restraints
  • Two patient identifiers and read-back for verbal orders

~12%

Maternity & newborn

  • Late decelerations mean uteroplacental insufficiency — reposition, oxygen, stop oxytocin, call
  • Postpartum haemorrhage: fundal massage first, then uterotonics
  • Pre-eclampsia: magnesium sulphate toxicity monitoring — reflexes, respirations, urine output
  • APGAR components and normal newborn vital ranges

~10%

Paediatrics

  • Weight-based dosing and safe-range verification before administration
  • Dehydration grading in infants; fontanelle and capillary refill findings
  • Epiglottitis: never inspect the throat; croup versus bronchiolitis management
  • Developmental milestones and immunisation schedule logic

~21%

Fundamentals, ethics & UAE health law

  • Nursing process order — assessment always precedes intervention in a 'first action' stem
  • Maslow and ABC prioritisation for multi-patient delegation questions
  • Informed consent, confidentiality and mandatory reporting under UAE federal health law
  • Scope of practice and delegation to assistive personnel

Everything in the DHA track

Self Study PlanQ&A BankCrash CoursePlans & Pricing

Ready to start your DHA preparation?

Every plan is a single payment with lifetime access. Switch exam track at any time — the licence rules change, the nursing science does not.

See DHA plans