Short answer: The organiser’s exam structure page links a 21-item sample file, named for 2012, that it says indicates the depth and breadth of the tests. Each item has a stem, one lead-in and four options with one best answer. Diagnosis and next-step questions dominate. It is an old set, so treat it as a style guide only.
Does EMREE have official sample questions?
Yes, one file. The exam structure page links a PDF of 21 sample items, and its file name refers to 2012, so it predates the November 2025 blueprint. The page says samples give an indication of the depth and breadth of tests. This guide describes the patterns in our own words. It reproduces no question text, and Meddex questions are original. Meddex is independent and is not connected to the EMREE organiser, UAE University or the National Institute of Health Specialities.
Key facts and where they come from
From the sample file and the organiser’s exam structure page, read 15 October 2026.
- 21 items, in a file named for 2012, linked from the exam structure page.
- Each item: one stem, one lead-in on its own line, four numbered options, one best answer.
- Stems run from two sentences for basic science to about ten lines for investigation and management items.
- Lead-ins are mostly most likely diagnosis (about half the set), next step in management, most appropriate investigation, most likely cause of a complication, and true-statement items on aetiology, inheritance or ethics.
- Not seen in the sample: negative stems, select-all items, extended matching, images and long multi-patient vignettes. This says little about the current exam.
What do the stems look like?
Most clinical stems follow one order: age and sex, the presenting complaint with a duration, a short history, examination findings, and sometimes a result such as a vital sign, a blood value with its reference range in brackets, or an imaging finding. Occupation or setting is sometimes the clue, for example a manual worker or an emergency department arrival. Obstetric items give gravidity, parity and gestation. Paediatric items give age and feeding or development.
A few items are short definition stems: one or two sentences that state a diagnosis and ask about its mechanism, inheritance or an ethical principle.
What do the questions ask?
Mostly one of a few things.
- Most likely diagnosis.
- Most appropriate next step, or initial management, including time-critical cases where resuscitation is already under way.
- Most appropriate test to find a cause or to confirm a diagnosis.
- Most likely cause of a complication.
- Which finding suggests a property of a lesion, such as malignant versus benign.
- Which statement is true about aetiology, inheritance or an ethical principle.
- Which nerve or structure is affected, given a deficit.
What makes the wrong options tempting?
In the sample, wrong options are plausible neighbours: four related diagnoses, four related tests, or four related treatments. A test can be less specific, out of sequence or unsafe, and several items separate what to do first from the final treatment. The stem gives enough to tell which is meant, so read the last line before the options. Our guide to single best answer technique shows a reading order that fits this.
How should you use a 2012 sample?
As a style check, and no more. It cannot tell you the current mix of topics, which the blueprint gives, or the number of options in the live exam, which the organiser does not state. For topic mix read EMREE discipline weights. For practice, use the free EMREE questions, which are original, and explain how Meddex writes questions. Do not seek out recalled items, which the organiser’s rules treat as misconduct: it says sharing questions leads to debarment.
A short exercise using the patterns
Take a topic you find hard, such as an acute abdomen, and write one original stem in each of three shapes: a most likely diagnosis item, a next step item and a most appropriate investigation item. Give each four plausible neighbours as options. Then swap with a study partner and answer theirs. Writing items teaches you what the examiner needs the stem to contain, which makes reading real ones faster.
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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