Prometric Exam for General Surgeons: Specialist General Surgery Licence for DHA, MOHAP, DOH, SCFHS & QCHP — the 16-Area Blueprint, 65% Pass Mark, Logbooks and Laparoscopic Privileges, MS, FCPS and MRCS Recognition and Salaries (2026)

General surgery in the Gulf is dominated by gallstones, hernias, appendicitis, anorectal disease, trauma and — increasingly — bariatric surgery, driven by some of the highest obesity rates in the world. The licence is a written paper followed by a privileging process that matters just as much.

The exam

• Specialist General Surgery (GEN5341): 150 single-best-answer questions, 3 hours, pass mark 65% — 98 correct answers
• References: Sabiston, Schwartz, Cameron's Current Surgical Therapy, Bailey and Love, the Rush surgical review, plus the ethics and patient-safety handbooks

Do not confuse the code with GEN5331, which is the General Practice paper. Candidates book the wrong one every year.

Which qualification gives the Specialist title?

• MS or DNB general surgery, FCPS surgery, FRCS with completed training, Arab Board, American boards → Specialist, or Consultant with the higher tier and experience.
• MRCS alone → a membership examination taken early in training, not a completion qualification. It does not by itself give the Specialist title.
• MBBS with surgical house jobs or registrar experience → General Practitioner.

See the recognition guide, the exemptions guide, and run the eligibility check.

The sixteen blueprint areas

1. Fluid and electrolytes — resuscitation fluids, losses by site, refeeding, nutrition
2. Shock — classes of haemorrhage, massive transfusion, vasopressor choice
3. Sepsis and surgical infections — necrotising fasciitis, prophylactic antibiotics, wound classification, intra-abdominal sepsis
4. Endocrine and breast — thyroid nodule work-up, thyroidectomy complications, parathyroid, adrenal incidentaloma, breast triple assessment, cancer staging and surgery
5. Upper GI — perforated ulcer, gastric cancer, reflux surgery, bariatric procedures and their complications
6. Vascular — acute limb ischaemia, aneurysm thresholds, diabetic foot, venous disease
7. Paediatrics — pyloric stenosis, intussusception, undescended testis, inguinal hernia in infants
8. Skin and soft tissue — melanoma margins, sarcoma, burns assessment
9. Hepato-biliary — gallstone disease and its complications, bile duct injury, liver lesions, hydatid disease
10. Hernia (all) — inguinal anatomy, mesh repair, strangulation, incisional and rare hernias
11. Perioperative care — risk assessment, anticoagulant bridging, thromboprophylaxis, enhanced recovery
12. Trauma and critical care — ATLS sequence, damage-control surgery, splenic and liver injury grading, abdominal compartment syndrome
13. Colorectal and perianal — cancer screening and staging, diverticulitis classification, obstruction, haemorrhoids, fissure, fistula, pilonidal disease
14. Pancreas and spleen — pancreatitis severity and necrosis management, pancreatic tumours, splenectomy vaccines
15. Professionalism and ethics
16. Patient safety — surgical checklist, wrong-site prevention

What repeats

• The next step in the trauma patient — stable vs unstable decides everything.
• Thyroid and breast work-up algorithms.
• Inguinal canal anatomy and hernia types.
• Bile duct injury and post-cholecystectomy problems.
• Bariatric complications — leak, internal hernia, nutritional deficiency.
• Bowel obstruction — operate or observe.
• Burns — surface area and fluid formula.
• Post-operative fever by day.

Logbooks and privileges

The licence lets you practise; the hospital's credentialing committee decides what you may operate on. Expect to submit a signed logbook for the last two to three years with numbers as primary surgeon. Advanced laparoscopy, bariatric, thyroid, breast oncoplastic and hepatobiliary surgery are privileged separately, usually on fellowship evidence or substantial recent volume. A break from operating of more than two years triggers extra requirements (gap rules).

Process

1. Portal registration and title selection.
2. DataFlow verification of the primary degree, the surgical qualification, registration, experience and good standing (guide, good standing, fees).
3. Eligibility, booking (lead times), exam — Prometric for most authorities, Pearson VUE for DOH.
4. Offer, credentialing and privileging, activation. ATLS is commonly required.

Salaries

Specialist general surgeons in the UAE typically earn AED 35,000–55,000 a month and Consultants AED 55,000–100,000; bariatric and advanced laparoscopic surgeons in private groups often work on a base plus revenue share. Saudi packages run SAR 30,000–52,000 for Specialists with housing; Qatar is comparable. Compare in the salary calculator and register in the talent pool.

Eight-week plan

1. Week 1: fluids, shock, sepsis and perioperative care.
2. Week 2: trauma and critical care.
3. Week 3: upper GI, bariatric and hernia.
4. Week 4: hepato-biliary, pancreas and spleen.
5. Week 5: colorectal and perianal.
6. Week 6: endocrine and breast.
7. Week 7: vascular, paediatrics, skin, ethics and safety.
8. Week 8: two timed mocks from the Specialist General Surgery question bank.

Frequently asked questions

What is the pass mark for the Prometric general surgery exam?

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

Is MRCS enough for a specialist surgeon licence in the Gulf?

No. MRCS is taken early in surgical training. The Specialist title needs a completion qualification such as MS, DNB, FCPS or FRCS with completed training.

Can I perform bariatric surgery after passing the exam?

Only if the hospital privileges you for it, which normally requires fellowship evidence or a logbook showing substantial recent bariatric volume.

What is the difference between GEN5341 and GEN5331?

GEN5341 is Specialist General Surgery. GEN5331 is General Practice, the paper for MBBS doctors without a specialist qualification.