Short answer: DHA’s CBT Guideline lists reference books for many titles, such as Toronto Notes, Davidson, Harrison and Kumar and Clark for General Practice. It does not say how questions relate to them. Use the list to find gaps, not as a reading plan, and check each title’s own list for yours.
Which books does the DHA exam use?
DHA does not publish a syllabus in the form of a textbook. What it does publish, in the CBT Guideline, is a list of content areas for each title and, for many titles, a list of references. The Sheryan FAQ points candidates to the guideline for references, and says DHA gives no references for the oral assessment. The guideline does not say how the exam questions relate to the books. Meddex is independent and is not connected to the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) or Prometric.
Key facts and where they come from
From DHA’s CBT Guideline, cover reads “Updated - Sep 2026”, and the Sheryan FAQ, read 15 and 16 October 2026.
- Registered Nurse and Assistant Nurse: the reference list includes pharmacology, nutrition, ethics, fundamentals, health assessment, medical-surgical, maternal-newborn, paediatric, critical care, psychiatric and community health texts, and an item called Nursing Technician Blueprint.
- General Practice: the references include Toronto Notes, Davidson, Harrison, and Kumar and Clark, plus obstetric and paediatric texts.
- The guideline says all exam content is developed and validated by subject matter experts.
- DHA may change the assessment content, exam format or pass score without updating the guideline.
- We did not record the reference lists for every one of the 118 titles.
Does a reference list mean questions come from those books?
Not as far as DHA says. The guideline lists the books and does not say that questions are taken from them, or that a topic outside them cannot appear. The organiser of EMREE, a different exam, says in similar words that its textbook list is a study aid and does not imply that questions come from those sources. DHA does not make the same statement, so we do not know. Treat the list as a signal of the depth and breadth DHA expects, not a boundary.
How to use a reference list well
You do not need every book on it. A better method has four steps.
- Write the content areas for your title next to the list, so that each book is attached to an area.
- Take a timed set on each area first. Where you score well, you do not need the book.
- For weak areas, read the matching chapter of one book, not three, and then do questions again.
- Check the edition and the date of any book before you rely on a threshold or a drug dose in it. Guidelines change, and the exam is not a test of one edition.
A note on the nursing list
The nursing list includes review books of the kind used for US nursing licensing. That suggests, without proving, that nursing items may follow a similar style. It is an inference, and DHA does not publish sample items. Read how to read a nursing exam stem and the DHA exam syllabus for nurses for method that applies either way.
When reading is the wrong tool
Reading a book is a slow way to find out what you do not know. Retrieval practice, which means answering questions without looking, shows gaps faster and strengthens memory more than rereading, as work by Roediger and Karpicke and others reports. The active recall versus rereading guide explains why. Use books to repair what practice reveals.
What does a reference list not tell you?
It tells you where to read. It does not tell you how the exam asks. Two candidates who read the same chapter can do very differently if one has practised turning facts into decisions and the other has not. That is why practice questions with explanations belong beside any reading, and why you should review every answer, including the ones you got right. See how to review answer explanations for a method that makes the learning stick.
What we do not know
Frequently asked questions
This article is general educational guidance, not official advice. Exam rules, fees and timelines are set by the Dubai Health Authority and the test provider and can change, so always confirm the latest details on their official channels. Review of Meddex content by named, licensed clinicians is not complete yet. See how we write and check our content.
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