Prometric Exam for Anesthesiologists (Anaesthetists): Specialist Anesthesia Licence for DHA, MOHAP, DOH, SCFHS & QCHP — the 13-Area Blueprint, 65% Pass Mark, Eligibility, Critical Care Overlap and Salaries (2026)

Anaesthesia is the specialty that sets the ceiling on how much surgery a hospital can do, which is why Gulf hospital groups recruit for it continuously. For a doctor holding an MD, DNB, FCPS, FRCA, Arab Board or equivalent in anaesthesia, the process is predictable: verification, one written paper, an offer. This guide covers that paper and the decisions around it. Anaesthesia technicians and technologists are licensed separately — see the technician guide.

The exam

• Specialist Anesthesia (ANA5781): 150 single-best-answer questions, 3 hours, pass mark 65% — 98 correct answers
• References: Morgan and Mikhail, Stoelting's Anesthesia and Co-Existing Disease, Barash, Miller, and Chung and Lam's Essentials

Who sits it

Doctors with a full postgraduate degree or fellowship in anaesthesia. A diploma (DA) is the usual problem case: it is a shorter qualification than an MD or DNB, and regulators generally place it at a lower tier, which can mean more required experience, a lower title, or no route to Specialist. Tier 1 holders (American Board, FRCA with CCT, FANZCA) are generally exempt from the written paper in the UAE. See the recognition guide, the exemptions guide, and check your own case with the eligibility check.

The thirteen blueprint areas

1. Airway — assessment and predictors of difficulty, difficult airway algorithms, "can't intubate, can't oxygenate", awake fibreoptic intubation, extubation strategy
2. Thoracic, cardiac and vascular — one-lung ventilation and hypoxaemia management, double-lumen tube positioning, cardiopulmonary bypass basics, aortic cross-clamp physiology, carotid surgery
3. Neurosurgical anaesthesia and critical care — intracranial pressure control, cerebral perfusion pressure, venous air embolism in the sitting position, awake craniotomy
4. Obstetrics and gynaecology — physiological changes of pregnancy, neuraxial analgesia and its complications, general anaesthesia for caesarean section, pre-eclampsia, major obstetric haemorrhage, amniotic fluid embolism
5. Neonatal and paediatric — airway differences, fluid and dose calculations, laryngospasm, pyloric stenosis, the child with an upper respiratory infection, emergence delirium
6. Organ-based anaesthesia — the patient with hepatic, renal, endocrine, cardiac or respiratory disease; diabetes and steroid cover; phaeochromocytoma
7. Trauma, burns and orthopaedics — damage-control resuscitation, suxamethonium after burns, fat embolism, bone cement implantation syndrome, tourniquet effects
8. Regional anaesthesia, acute and chronic pain — multimodal analgesia, opioid conversions, neuropathic pain drugs, interventional options
9. Peripheral nerve blocks, epidural and spinal — anatomy and landmarks, ultrasound appearance, dermatomes, local anaesthetic maximum doses, anticoagulation timing rules
10. Perioperative medicine — risk scoring, fasting rules, which drugs to continue or stop, anticoagulant bridging, enhanced recovery
11. Critical care medicine — ventilation strategies and ARDS, sepsis, renal replacement, sedation, nutrition, brain-stem death testing
12. Professionalism and ethics
13. Patient safety — the WHO surgical safety checklist, wrong-site prevention, drug-error prevention, equipment checks

What repeats

• The crises. Malignant hyperthermia (triggers, first signs, dantrolene), local anaesthetic systemic toxicity (lipid emulsion), anaphylaxis under anaesthesia, high or total spinal, laryngospasm, bronchospasm, venous air embolism. Each has a first action the examiners want.
• Pharmacology comparisons. Induction agents by haemodynamic effect; volatile agents by MAC and blood–gas solubility; neuromuscular blockers by onset, duration and metabolism; suxamethonium contraindications and hyperkalaemia; sugammadex.
• Physics and monitoring. Capnography waveforms and what each abnormal trace means, pulse oximetry limitations, the oxygen failure safety mechanisms of the anaesthetic machine, vaporiser principles, breathing circuits.
• Numbers. Maximum local anaesthetic doses with and without adrenaline, paediatric tube size and depth formulas, fluid and blood volume estimates, fasting intervals.
• Neuraxial anticoagulation rules. How long to wait after each anticoagulant before a block or catheter removal.
• Obstetric emergencies. Failed intubation drill, hypotension after spinal, magnesium toxicity.
• Co-existing disease. Aortic stenosis and spinal anaesthesia, the pacemaker patient, myasthenia gravis, sickle cell disease, obstructive sleep apnoea — Stoelting territory.

Anaesthesia or critical care licence?

Anaesthetists who work mainly in intensive care sometimes ask which title to apply for. The rule is simple: you are licensed on the qualification you hold. An anaesthesia degree supports a Specialist Anesthesia licence, which in most hospitals includes ICU cover as part of the department's work. The separate Specialist Critical Care Medicine title requires a recognised critical care qualification — a fellowship or diploma such as EDIC alongside a base specialty is assessed case by case. Do not apply for the critical care title on ICU experience alone.

Process and documents

1. Portal registration (Sheryan, Mumaris+ or the relevant portal).
2. DataFlow verification of both degrees, registration, experience and good standing (DataFlow guide). A logbook or case summary is sometimes requested for procedural specialties; keep yours current.
3. Eligibility, exam booking (lead times), exam. DOH uses Pearson VUE; the others use Prometric.
4. Offer, credentialing, activation. BLS and ACLS are universally required at credentialing; PALS for paediatric lists.

Fees are in the fee guide.

Salaries

Specialist anaesthetists in the UAE typically earn AED 35,000–55,000 a month and Consultants AED 55,000–90,000; cardiac, paediatric and obstetric subspecialty experience, and a recognised pain or regional fellowship, move offers upward. Saudi Arabia pays SAR 30,000–50,000 for Specialists with housing commonly included; Qatar is comparable. On-call frequency varies enormously between a single-theatre day-surgery centre and a trauma hospital, so compare rotas as well as figures. Use the salary calculator and register in the talent pool.

Ten-week plan

1. Weeks 1–2: pharmacology and physics — the foundation that most working anaesthetists have let slip.
2. Week 3: airway and the crisis algorithms.
3. Weeks 4–5: cardiac, thoracic, vascular, neuro.
4. Week 6: obstetrics and paediatrics.
5. Week 7: regional, nerve blocks, pain.
6. Week 8: co-existing disease and perioperative medicine.
7. Week 9: critical care, ethics, patient safety.
8. Week 10: timed mocks from the Specialist Anesthesia question bank at 72 seconds a question.

Frequently asked questions

What is the pass mark for the Prometric anesthesia specialist exam?

65%. The paper has 150 single-best-answer questions in three hours, so 98 correct answers are needed.

Is a diploma in anaesthesia (DA) accepted for a specialist licence in the Gulf?

A diploma is a shorter qualification than an MD, DNB or FCPS and is generally placed at a lower tier. It may require more experience or support only a lower title, so confirm eligibility before paying for verification.

Can an anaesthetist work in the ICU on an anaesthesia licence?

In most hospitals, yes — ICU cover is part of the anaesthesia department's work. The separate Critical Care Medicine title requires a recognised critical care qualification.

Do FRCA holders need to sit the Prometric exam?

Holders of a Tier 1 qualification with completed specialist training are generally exempt from the written paper in the UAE, although all documents are still verified.