Specialist Internal Medicine Prometric & Licensing Exam 2026: Complete Syllabus, Passing Marks and Study Guide (DHA, MOHAP, DOH, SCFHS, Oman, Qatar DHP, NHRA, Kuwait MOH)

If you are an Internal Medicine-trained physician planning to practise as a Specialist in Internal Medicine in the Middle East, your licensing pathway will depend on the country, the recognition tier of your postgraduate qualification and the health authority you are applying to. Several regulators use a dedicated Internal Medicine examination, but the question count, duration, pass standard and exemption rules are not identical.

This guide covers the major Middle East health authorities and explains the eligibility requirements, exam format, syllabus, reference books and licensing pathways relevant to Specialist Internal Medicine candidates.

1. What is the Specialist Internal Medicine Exam?

The Specialist Internal Medicine licensing or classification examination assesses whether a physician with recognised postgraduate Internal Medicine training has the breadth of clinical knowledge, diagnostic reasoning, acute-care judgement, evidence-based management skills and patient-safety awareness required for specialist practice. Because Internal Medicine is a broad base specialty, the assessment spans cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal, infectious, renal, rheumatologic, endocrine, neurologic, hematologic and oncologic disease together with medical emergencies and professional practice.

Question type: Where a computer-based Internal Medicine examination is required, questions are predominantly single-best-answer multiple-choice questions, usually built around clinical scenarios. The number of questions and blueprint weighting vary by authority.

Language: English. Prometric licensing examinations covered by this guide are conducted in English.

Delivery: Mainly computer-based testing through Prometric, Pearson VUE or an authority-approved testing platform. Some applicants may be exempt from the specialty examination based on the recognition category of their postgraduate qualification.

Result: Reporting varies by authority. The UAE guideline used across DHA, MOHAP and DOH publishes a fixed pass percentage; SCFHS publishes title-specific thresholds; Oman and Qatar publish their own Internal Medicine standards; and Bahrain uses its general medical-practitioner licensure examination when an exam is assigned.

Attempts: Authority-specific. The UAE Unified PQR grants three examination attempts across the UAE Authorities, with limited additional-attempt provisions. Qatar physician guidelines allow three attempts where a specialty qualifying examination is required. Bahrain permits four initial licensure-exam attempts within three years.

2. Middle East Health Authorities and Regulatory Pathways for Specialist Internal Medicine

Each regulator has its own specialist-classification route, and an Internal Medicine licence or title issued by one authority is not automatically valid in another jurisdiction. The table below summarises the principal pathway across the authorities covered by this guide.

3. Specialist Internal Medicine Passing Marks and Exam Format

Specialist Internal Medicine examination specifications differ across Middle East regulators. Across DHA, MOHAP and DOH, the same UAE Specialist Internal Medicine specification applies: 150 MCQs in 3 hours with a 60% pass mark. Saudi Arabia, Oman and Qatar publish separate Internal Medicine examination standards.

*Qatar note: the current DHP qualifying-examination webpage lists Internal Medicine as 150 MCQs in 3 hours with a 65% pass mark, while DHP's published physician specialty exam material lists the same 150-MCQ Internal Medicine examination as 3.5 hours. Candidates should follow the duration shown on their current eligibility and booking confirmation. Qatar physician guidelines state that Category 3 specialty qualifications require the qualifying examination, while Category 1 and 2 qualifications do not.

4. Eligibility Criteria for Specialist Internal Medicine Candidates

The exact requirements differ by regulator and depend heavily on how the postgraduate Internal Medicine qualification is classified. A primary medical degree alone is not sufficient for the Specialist title; applicants need a recognised specialty qualification and must meet the experience, registration and assessment rules of the target authority.

Primary medical qualification: A recognised MBBS, MBChB, MBBCh, MD or equivalent primary medical degree from an accredited institution, with completed internship as required by the regulator.

Specialty qualification: Completion of a recognised postgraduate Internal Medicine specialty programme or board qualification is required. Examples may include recognised national board/certificate pathways, MRCP-based specialist pathways or other credentials listed by the target regulator, but recognition depends on the authority's qualification tables.

UAE experience requirement: Under the current UAE PQR, Specialist physicians with Tier 1 or Tier 2 recognised specialty qualifications require no post-specialty experience. For Tier 3 main-specialty qualifications, UAE nationals and children of Emirati women generally require one year after the specialty qualification, while non-UAE nationals require three years.

Saudi classification: SCFHS lists Internal Medicine as a dedicated classification examination. The blueprint uses Registrar and Senior Registrar passing thresholds; the final professional title depends on the recognised specialty qualification, training and SCFHS classification decision.

Qatar qualification categories: Qatar DHP uses physician specialty categories. Category 1 requires one year of post-qualification experience and no qualifying exam; Category 2 requires two years and no exam; Category 3 requires at least three years of postgraduate specialty training, three years of post-qualification experience and the DHP qualifying examination.

Professional licence and Good Standing: A valid professional registration/licence and a recent Certificate of Good Standing are commonly required. Under UAE requirements, Good Standing documentation is generally expected to be current and issued by the relevant licensing authority.

Primary Source Verification: The primary medical degree, specialty qualification, professional licence and claimed experience may require primary-source verification such as DataFlow or another regulator-approved provider.

Training documentation: Regulators may request internship evidence, residency or specialty-training certificates, transcripts, board certificates, experience letters and other documents showing that the applicant's training matches the requested Internal Medicine title.

Resuscitation and clinical privilege requirements: BLS, ACLS or other resuscitation credentials may be required by the regulator, employer or facility for clinical privileging. These requirements should be checked separately rather than assumed to be identical across all Middle East authorities.

Examination exemption is not uniform. UAE authorities apply PQR-based exemption rules, Qatar exempts Category 1 and Category 2 physician specialty qualifications from the qualifying exam, and other regulators apply their own recognition and assessment policies. Candidates should not book an examination until the regulator confirms that an exam is required for their specific qualification and title.

5. Specialist Internal Medicine Syllabus and Core Study Areas Across Middle East Health Authorities

The 13 study areas below combine the 12 domains published in the UAE Specialist Internal Medicine examination guideline with the separate Professionalism and Ethics domain explicitly included in the current SCFHS and Oman Internal Medicine blueprints. The overlap across the UAE, Saudi and Oman blueprints is unusually strong. SCFHS publishes explicit weightings, led by Infectious Diseases at 11%, Cardiovascular, Pulmonary and Gastrointestinal Diseases at 10% each, and Endocrinology at 9%. Qatar's published Internal Medicine blueprint similarly concentrates on the major organ-system domains and Emergency Medicine. This framework is therefore suitable for broad Middle East preparation while recognising that exam weighting differs by authority.

Topic 1: Cardiovascular Medicine

Acute and chronic coronary syndromes, heart failure, hypertension, valvular disease, atrial and ventricular arrhythmias, cardiomyopathies, pericardial disease, aortic and peripheral vascular disease, cardiovascular risk reduction, ECG interpretation and evidence-based use of antiplatelet, anticoagulant, antiarrhythmic and heart-failure therapies.

Topic 2: Pulmonary Diseases

Asthma and COPD, community- and hospital-acquired pneumonia, pulmonary embolism, pleural disease, interstitial lung disease, pulmonary hypertension, sleep-disordered breathing, lung masses, respiratory failure, oxygen therapy, non-invasive/initial ventilatory principles, pulmonary function testing and arterial blood gas interpretation.

Topic 3: Gastrointestinal and Hepatobiliary Diseases

GERD and peptic ulcer disease, upper and lower GI bleeding, inflammatory bowel disease, malabsorption, pancreatitis, acute and chronic liver disease, viral and autoimmune hepatitis, cirrhosis and portal-hypertension complications, hepatic encephalopathy, ascites, spontaneous bacterial peritonitis and appropriate liver-cancer surveillance concepts.

Topic 4: Infectious Diseases

Sepsis and septic shock, common community and healthcare-associated infections, antimicrobial selection and stewardship, endocarditis, meningitis, tuberculosis, HIV, opportunistic and fungal infections, fever in immunocompromised patients, travel-related infection, infection prevention and rational diagnostic testing.

Topic 5: Hematology

Microcytic, macrocytic and normocytic anemia, hemolysis, thrombocytopenia, coagulation disorders, venous thromboembolism, sickle cell disease and thalassemia, transfusion principles, disseminated intravascular coagulation and recognition of common hematologic malignancies requiring specialist referral or emergency management.

Topic 6: Oncology

Principles of cancer screening and diagnosis, common solid tumours, systemic-therapy complications, febrile neutropenia, tumour lysis syndrome, hypercalcemia of malignancy, superior vena cava syndrome, malignant spinal cord compression, venous thromboembolism, goals-of-care discussions and palliative/supportive management.

Topic 7: Nephrology, Fluids and Electrolytes

Acute kidney injury, chronic kidney disease, glomerular and tubulointerstitial disease, nephrotic and nephritic syndromes, fluid assessment, sodium and potassium disorders, acid-base interpretation, renal replacement indications, CKD-related anemia and mineral-bone disease, nephrotoxic medications and renal dose adjustment.

Topic 8: Rheumatology

Rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, spondyloarthritis, gout and crystal arthropathy, vasculitis, polymyalgia rheumatica/giant-cell arteritis, systemic sclerosis, inflammatory myopathy, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, interpretation of common autoimmune serology and safe use/monitoring of corticosteroids, DMARDs and biologic therapies.

Topic 9: Endocrinology and Metabolic Medicine

Type 1 and type 2 diabetes, DKA and HHS, hypoglycemia, thyroid disease and thyroid nodules, adrenal insufficiency and Cushing syndrome, pheochromocytoma, pituitary disorders, calcium/parathyroid disease, osteoporosis, lipid disorders, obesity and evidence-based cardiovascular/renal risk modification in metabolic disease.

Topic 10: Neuroscience

Ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke, TIA, seizure and status epilepticus, headache syndromes and red flags, delirium and altered consciousness, Parkinson disease, multiple sclerosis, peripheral neuropathies, myasthenia gravis, Guillain-Barre syndrome, meningitis/encephalitis and recognition of neurologic emergencies requiring urgent escalation.

Topic 11: Emergency and Acute Internal Medicine

Initial assessment and stabilization of critically ill adults; acute coronary syndrome, shock, severe sepsis, anaphylaxis, hypertensive emergencies, acute respiratory failure, severe asthma/COPD exacerbation, pulmonary embolism, stroke, status epilepticus, DKA/HHS, major electrolyte disturbances, toxicologic presentations and cardiac-arrest principles.

Topic 12: Patient Safety

Correct patient identification, medication reconciliation and high-alert medication safety, dose adjustment in renal/hepatic impairment, infection prevention, venous-thromboembolism prophylaxis, falls prevention, diagnostic safety, escalation of deterioration, structured handover, incident reporting and prevention of avoidable harm.

Topic 13: Professionalism and Ethics

Informed consent and capacity, confidentiality, shared decision-making, professional boundaries, documentation, conflict of interest, culturally appropriate communication, ethical end-of-life care, appropriate referral and consultation, disclosure of adverse events and responsibilities to patients, colleagues and healthcare systems.

Cross-Authority Focus: The Core Internal Medicine Blueprint Is Highly Consistent

The UAE, SCFHS and Oman examination content is built around essentially the same major organ-system framework, and Qatar's published blueprint also emphasises the same medical domains. The main differences are exam length, passing standard and domain weighting rather than a completely different clinical syllabus. SCFHS gives Infectious Diseases the highest single weighting at 11%, followed by Cardiovascular, Pulmonary and Gastrointestinal Diseases at 10% each, while professionalism and patient safety together account for 10%.

6. Recommended Reference Books

The UAE Specialist Internal Medicine guideline and the current SCFHS Internal Medicine blueprint list the same six core references. Several textbook editions named in the regulator documents are old, so candidates should use the official titles as the examination framework while studying from the latest available editions and current evidence-based clinical guidelines:

Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine by Fauci and colleagues. The regulator documents list the 17th edition (2008); use the latest available edition for current disease definitions, diagnostics and therapy.

Differential Diagnosis in Internal Medicine: From Symptom to Diagnosis by Siegenthaler. Useful for systematic symptom-based clinical reasoning and differential diagnosis.

Cecil Review of General Internal Medicine by Cooper and Pappas. The published regulator list names the 8th edition; use an up-to-date review source where available for contemporary management.

Davidson's Principles and Practice of Medicine. The regulator list names the 20th edition; use the latest available edition for current clinical medicine.

Professionalism and Ethics, Handbook for Residents, SCFHS, latest edition. Reference for professional conduct and ethical decision-making.

Essentials of Patient Safety, SCFHS, latest edition. Reference for patient-safety principles, systems-based care and prevention of avoidable harm.

Beyond textbook study, exam-day preparation benefits from high-quality MCQ practice. The Specialist Internal Medicine MCQ bank on prometricguide.com is designed around the 13-topic cross-authority framework above and includes 2500 plus questions with detailed explanations covering the major organ systems, acute medicine, patient safety and professional practice.

7. Two Ways We Can Help You Get Licensed

Prometric Guide supports Specialist Internal Medicine exam preparation across the Middle East, while our sister company Alzantra International supports the UAE licensing process.

For Exam Preparation: Prometric Guide (All Middle East Authorities)

Whether you are targeting DHA, MOHAP, DOH Abu Dhabi, SCFHS Saudi Arabia, OMSB Oman, Qatar DHP, NHRA Bahrain or Kuwait MOH, our MCQ bank provides one broad preparation base across the major Internal Medicine licensing destinations:

2500 plus Specialist Internal Medicine MCQs mapped to the 13-topic cross-authority framework.

Detailed explanations with references to Harrison's, Davidson's, differential-diagnosis resources, patient-safety material and current evidence-based clinical guidelines.

Free introductory mock tests and topic-wise practice sets.

High-yield coverage of cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal, infectious, renal, endocrine, rheumatologic, neurologic, hematologic, oncologic and emergency medicine together with patient safety and ethics.

Access on any device, unlimited attempts.

Explore the full Specialist Internal Medicine exam preparation package on prometricguide.com.

For UAE Licensing Paperwork: Alzantra International (DHA, MOHAP, DOH)

For UAE licensing, Alzantra International supports Internal Medicine candidates targeting Dubai, the Northern Emirates and Abu Dhabi with documentation and licensing coordination.

DataFlow / primary-source verification of the medical degree, specialty qualification, professional licence and experience.

DHA Sheryan Specialist Internal Medicine application and assessment coordination for Dubai.

MOHAP specialist evaluation and licensing application for the Northern Emirates.

DOH Abu Dhabi Specialist Internal Medicine application through TAMM.

Medical degree, internship, residency/specialty qualification, experience and supporting-document preparation guidance.

Eligibility submission, tracking and follow-up.

CBT or additional assessment coordination where required.

Specialist licence activation and UAE facility-credentialing support.

Contact Alzantra International at www.alzantra.ae or [email protected] for UAE licensing support. For SCFHS/Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar DHP, NHRA Bahrain and Kuwait MOH, use the relevant regulator's official pathway.

8. Frequently Asked Questions

What is the passing score for Specialist Internal Medicine?

For DHA, MOHAP and DOH, Specialist Internal Medicine is 150 MCQs in 3 hours with a 60% pass mark. SCFHS publishes 65% for Registrar and 70% for Senior Registrar. Oman publishes a 50% pass mark for the 150-question OEIM content specification. Qatar DHP publishes 65% for the Internal Medicine qualifying exam. NHRA Bahrain publishes 60% for Bahrain licensure examinations when an examination is assigned.

Am I eligible with MRCP, an Internal Medicine board certificate or another postgraduate qualification?

Potential eligibility depends on whether the exact qualification is recognised by the target authority and how it is categorised. A recognised Internal Medicine specialty or board qualification is required; MRCP may form part of an accepted specialist pathway in some systems, but it should not be assumed that MRCP alone automatically grants the Specialist title in every authority. The regulator's recognised-qualification table determines the title, experience requirement and possible examination exemption.

How many questions are in the Specialist Internal Medicine exam?

DHA, MOHAP and DOH use the same UAE Internal Medicine specification: 150 MCQs in 3 hours. SCFHS uses 200 MCQs in 4 hours. Oman publishes 150 MCQs for the OEIM. Qatar DHP lists 150 MCQs; its current webpage states 3 hours, while published physician exam material also shows 3.5 hours. Bahrain and Kuwait should be followed according to the assessment actually assigned.

Which reference books should I use?

The UAE and SCFHS published lists include Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, Differential Diagnosis in Internal Medicine, Cecil Review of General Internal Medicine, Davidson's Principles and Practice of Medicine, SCFHS Professionalism and Ethics, and SCFHS Essentials of Patient Safety. Because several listed textbook editions are old, use the latest available editions together with current clinical guidelines.

Can I complete the exam from my home country?

Often yes when the assigned assessment is delivered through an international test network such as Prometric or Pearson VUE. OMSB states that its Occupational Classification exams are available at Pearson VUE centres worldwide. Availability for every authority depends on the eligibility period, exam provider and centres shown during scheduling.

How is the SCFHS Internal Medicine classification exam different?

SCFHS lists Internal Medicine as a dedicated classification exam with 200 MCQs over 4 hours. The blueprint contains 13 domains; Infectious Diseases carries 11%, Cardiovascular, Pulmonary and Gastrointestinal Diseases 10% each, Endocrinology 9%, Nephrology and Rheumatology 8% each, Emergency Medicine 7%, Hematology and Neuroscience 6% each, Oncology 5%, and Professionalism/Ethics and Patient Safety 5% each. The passing score is 65% for Registrar and 70% for Senior Registrar.

How many attempts do I get?

Attempt rules vary by authority. UAE examinations follow the Unified PQR framework of three attempts across the UAE Authorities, with limited provisions for additional attempts. Qatar physician guidelines allow three attempts where the specialty qualifying examination is required. Bahrain allows four initial licensure-exam attempts within three years before retraining rules apply.

Does every Middle East authority use the same Specialist Internal Medicine exam?

No. DHA, MOHAP and DOH use the same UAE specification; SCFHS uses a 200-question classification exam; Oman uses the OEIM Occupational Classification exam; Qatar uses its own physician specialty qualifying examination when required; Bahrain may assign the general medical-practitioner licensure exam; and Kuwait follows its own MOH assessment pathway.

Is Specialist Internal Medicine the same as its subspecialty examinations?

No. Specialist Internal Medicine is the broad base specialty covering the major adult medical organ systems and acute medical care. Cardiology, Gastroenterology, Endocrinology, Nephrology, Rheumatology, Pulmonology, Hematology/Oncology and other subspecialties can have separate licensing or classification exams. Apply under the title that matches your recognised qualification.

What is the best MCQ bank for Specialist Internal Medicine exam preparation?

The Specialist Internal Medicine MCQ bank on prometricguide.com includes 2500 plus questions aligned to the 13-topic cross-authority framework, with detailed explanations covering the major organ systems, medical emergencies, patient safety and professional practice.

9. Final Thoughts

Specialist Internal Medicine is a recognised physician specialty across the major Middle East health authorities, but the route to the title and examination requirement is not uniform. The UAE authorities use a common published examination specification, SCFHS uses a separate 200-question classification examination, Oman has the OEIM Occupational Classification exam, and Qatar applies the specialty exam according to the physician qualification category.

Prepare around the complete Internal Medicine scope: cardiovascular, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, infectious, hematologic, oncologic, renal, rheumatologic, endocrine and neurologic disease; acute medical emergencies; patient safety; and professionalism. Use current clinical guidelines and current textbook editions for management decisions, because several official regulator reading lists still name older textbook editions.

Prometric Guide supports Specialist Internal Medicine candidates preparing across the major Middle East health authorities.