No UAE health authority publishes past papers for its nursing licensing exam, so practise from each regulator's published outline. For a structured route through every outline area, see the Myndaq UAE nursing course; for titles and the licensing sequence, read the UAE nursing licence guide.
The exam pattern each authority publishes
Formats change, so recheck before booking; figures here are as published when checked on 20 September 2026.
DHA Dubai
DHA's Healthcare Professional Licensing Assessment Guideline (CBT) lists the Registered Nurse exam as:
- 150 multiple-choice questions
- 3 hours, which DHA says includes registration and the process introduction
- Pass score 50%
- Exam code RNT0312, listed fee USD 240
- taken at a Prometric centre after you generate an Eligibility ID in Sheryan
Assistant Nurse (ARN5061) and Registered Midwife (MID5104) share the same 150 questions, 3 hours and 50% pass score. Sheryan shows only Pass or Fail; DHA shares no scores and may change content, format or pass score without updating the guideline. Prometric's DHA page says Prometric and DHA maintain a strict no-refund policy.
DoH Abu Dhabi
DoH's Licensing Procedural Manual (circular 151 of 2024) sets formats by title:
- Registered Nurse - CBT, 150 MCQs in 3 hours
- Assistant Nurse, School Nurse, Registered Midwife - CBT, 100 MCQs in 2 hours
- Nurse Practitioner, Certified Anesthesia Nurse, Community Nurse, Critical Care Nurse, Homecare Nurse, Pediatric Nurse, Mental Nurse, Neonatal Nurse, Assistant Midwife - oral exam, 45 to 60 minutes
Exams are in English. DoH publishes no percentage pass mark, only an internal cut-score. CBT results appear on TAMM as Pass or Fail within 24 hours, and a pass stays valid for five years, subject to the PQR. Once approved, pay in TAMM and book with Pearson VUE via the link in your case.
MOHAP
MOHAP's evaluation page says Prometric results are processed automatically and shown as Pass or Fail against a minimum passing score of 60%, with a maximum of three attempts. It publishes no nursing question count or duration; check your booking notice.
See the DHA, DoH and MOH comparison to pick your regulator, and the UAE Prometric and Pearson VUE exam-day guide for ID and check-in.
What the official outlines cover
The same DHA guideline lists four coverage areas for Registered Nurse:
- unit management and leadership
- fundamentals
- maternal-child nursing
- adult nursing
DHA publishes no weightings, so any percentage split elsewhere is unofficial. The reference list shows the breadth: clinical skills, health assessment, medical-surgical and critical care, pharmacology, nutrition, maternal-newborn, paediatric, psychiatric and community nursing, plus the ANA Code of Ethics. DoH asks candidates to contact its exam team for CBT study materials; MOHAP gives no study references.
How to use these practice questions
The 12 questions below are original Myndaq practice questions in the single-best-answer style of the DHA outline, not official or past-paper items; Prometric says it sells no practice content. Rationales for questions 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10 and 11 follow the guidance under Official sources; the others reflect standard nursing textbook practice; your facility's policy governs real practice. With check-in inside DHA's 3 hours, allow under 72 seconds per question.
Twelve original practice questions
Question 1 - who to see first
After handover, which patient should the nurse assess first?
- A. Day two after hip replacement, pain 5 out of 10, analgesia due in an hour
- B. Four hours after thyroidectomy, new noisy breathing and a swelling neck
- C. Type 1 diabetes, breakfast tray just arrived
- D. Waiting for discharge teaching
Answer: B. Noisy breathing and neck swelling after thyroid surgery suggest airway compromise from bleeding or oedema. Airway comes first: assess now, get urgent help.
Question 2 - delegation
Which task can a registered nurse most appropriately delegate to an assistant nurse?
- A. Admission assessment of a patient from the emergency department
- B. First-time teaching of insulin self-injection
- C. Recording vital signs for a stable patient on day three after surgery
- D. Evaluating response to intravenous morphine
Answer: C. Routine measurements on a stable patient can be delegated. Assessment, first-time teaching and evaluation need registered nurse judgement, and the nurse remains accountable.
Question 3 - pressure ulcer prevention
A patient at high risk of pressure ulcers cannot turn without help. Which plan fits NICE guidance?
- A. Help with repositioning at least every 4 hours and record the frequency
- B. Reposition once per 8-hour shift
- C. Start repositioning when redness appears
- D. Keep the backrest at 60 degrees at all times
Answer: A. NICE CG179 says adults at high risk should change position at least every 4 hours (at least every 6 hours if at risk), with help if needed and the frequency documented. Waiting for redness is too late.
Question 4 - suspected tuberculosis
A patient with chronic cough, night sweats and a cavity on chest X-ray is suspected of pulmonary tuberculosis. Which precautions start now?
- A. Standard precautions until sputum results return
- B. Droplet precautions with a surgical mask
- C. Airborne precautions with an isolation room and a fit-tested N95 or higher respirator
- D. Contact precautions with gown and gloves
Answer: C. CDC lists tuberculosis under airborne precautions: an airborne infection isolation room and a fit-tested, NIOSH-approved N95 or higher respirator. Without one, mask the patient in a single room, door closed.
Question 5 - low blood glucose
A conscious patient with diabetes is sweaty and shaky, with capillary glucose of 60 mg/dL (3.3 mmol/L). What comes first?
- A. 15 g of fast-acting carbohydrate, recheck in 15 minutes
- B. The scheduled insulin with the meal
- C. A glucagon injection
- D. Recheck glucose in one hour
Answer: A. CDC's 15-15 rule: 15 g of carbohydrate, wait 15 minutes, recheck, and repeat while glucose stays below 70 mg/dL, then a snack or meal. Glucagon is for severe lows.
Question 6 - drip rate
An order reads 1,000 mL of sodium chloride 0.9% over 8 hours by gravity, with a 20 drops/mL giving set. What is the rate?
- A. 21 drops/min
- B. 42 drops/min
- C. 63 drops/min
- D. 125 drops/min
Answer: B. Volume x drop factor / minutes = 1,000 x 20 / 480 = 41.7, rounded to 42. 125 is the pump rate in mL/h.
Question 7 - after birth
Two hours after a vaginal birth, the fundus is soft, above the umbilicus and deviated to the right, and lochia is heavy. What is the first action?
- A. Massage the fundus until firm, then help her empty her bladder
- B. Record normal involution
- C. Offer a sitz bath
- D. Encourage her to sleep
Answer: A. A soft uterus bleeds, and a deviated fundus usually means a full bladder is blocking contraction. Massage, help her void, reassess, and escalate if bleeding persists.
Question 8 - magnesium sulfate
A woman with severe pre-eclampsia on intravenous magnesium sulfate has absent patellar reflexes and a respiratory rate of 10 per minute. What first?
- A. Increase the infusion
- B. Stop the infusion, call the obstetric team urgently, have calcium gluconate ready
- C. Continue and recheck in four hours
- D. Give intravenous labetalol
Answer: B. NICE NG133 uses magnesium sulfate in critical care for eclampsia and some severe pre-eclampsia (4 g IV over 5 to 15 minutes, then 1 g an hour for 24 hours). NG133 does not cover toxicity, but absent reflexes and slow breathing are recognised warning signs: stop the infusion, support breathing and escalate at once, following your unit's magnesium protocol, which names calcium gluconate as the antidote.
Question 9 - infant choking
A 7-month-old is choking with an ineffective cough but is still responsive. What should the nurse do?
- A. A blind finger sweep
- B. Up to five back blows, then up to five chest thrusts if still obstructed
- C. Abdominal thrusts
- D. Five rescue breaths straight away
Answer: B. Resuscitation Council UK's 2025 paediatric guideline gives up to 5 back blows, then up to 5 chest thrusts with the two-thumb encircling technique, repeated as needed. Infants get no abdominal thrusts, and a blind sweep can push the object deeper. If unresponsive, start CPR with five rescue breaths.
Question 10 - reaction to an infusion
Minutes after an intravenous antibiotic starts, an adult develops wheeze, hypotension and hives. The infusion is stopped and help called. Which drug comes first?
- A. Adrenaline 0.5 mg (0.5 mL of 1 mg/mL) IM into the anterolateral thigh
- B. Adrenaline 1 mg IV bolus
- C. Oral antihistamine
- D. IV hydrocortisone
Answer: A. Resuscitation Council UK's anaphylaxis guideline gives adults 500 micrograms IM into the anterolateral middle third of the thigh, repeated after 5 minutes if there is no improvement. An IV bolus with a pulse risks arrhythmias; nothing should delay adrenaline.
Question 11 - chest compressions
An adult on the ward is unresponsive and not breathing normally. Help has been called. Which technique is correct?
- A. Lower half of sternum, 5 to 6 cm, 100 to 120 per minute, 30 to 2
- B. Upper sternum, 3 to 4 cm, 80 per minute, 15 to 2
- C. Lower sternum, 7 cm, 140 per minute, 30 to 2
- D. Lower sternum, 4 cm, 100 per minute, 5 to 1
Answer: A. Resuscitation Council UK's 2025 adult guideline: at least 5 cm but not more than 6 cm, 100 to 120 per minute, lower half of the sternum, with trained rescuers alternating 30 compressions and 2 breaths.
Question 12 - sudden calm
A patient admitted with severe depression, withdrawn for days, is suddenly calm and giving her belongings away. What is the best action?
- A. Record improved mood and plan discharge
- B. Ask directly about thoughts of ending her life, keep her safe and inform the team
- C. Avoid mentioning suicide
- D. Encourage group activity and reassess next shift
Answer: B. Sudden calm and giving things away can signal a decision to act. Asking directly is part of risk assessment; increase observation per policy.
Quick answers
Does DHA publish past papers for the nursing exam?
No. DHA publishes format, pass score, coverage areas and references, not questions; MOHAP says questions cannot be disclosed.
What is the pass mark for the UAE nursing exam?
It depends on the authority: 50% for DHA Registered Nurse, a 60% minimum at MOHAP, and an unpublished internal cut-score at DoH.
Are these sample questions from the real exam?
No. They are original Myndaq practice questions written to the published DHA outline.
