Prometric Exam for Pulmonologists (Chest Physicians): Specialist Pulmonary Disease Licence for DHA, MOHAP, DOH, SCFHS & QCHP — the 12-Area Blueprint, 60% Pass Mark, Bronchoscopy and Sleep Privileges, DM, DTCD and FCPS Recognition and Salaries (2026)
Asthma, sleep apnoea, tuberculosis screening and post-ICU follow-up keep chest physicians busy across the Gulf. This guide covers the Specialist Pulmonary Disease paper — 150 questions, three hours, 60% to pass — its twelve official blueprint areas, the spirometry, ILD and pleural questions that repeat, how DM, DNB, FCPS and the DTCD diploma are recognised, how bronchoscopy and sleep-medicine privileges work, and salaries.
Dust, indoor air conditioning, smoking and shisha, high obesity rates driving sleep apnoea, tuberculosis screening for a large migrant workforce, and intensive care units that need chest physicians to share the load: respiratory medicine has more work in the Gulf than it has doctors. For holders of a DM, DNB or DrNB in pulmonary medicine, FCPS pulmonology, Arab Board or equivalent, the Specialist Pulmonary Disease paper is the gate — and at 60% it is one of the more forgiving physician papers.
The exam
- Specialist Pulmonary Disease (PUL5081): 150 single-best-answer questions, 3 hours, pass mark 60% — 90 correct answers
- References: Murray and Nadel, Fishman's Pulmonary Diseases and Disorders, West's Pulmonary Pathophysiology and Felson's Principles of Chest Roentgenology
West and Felson on the list mean physiology and chest-film interpretation are tested directly, not just clinical management.
Which title fits your qualification?
- DM, DNB or DrNB pulmonary medicine, FCPS pulmonology, Arab Board, UK or North American certification → Specialist Pulmonary Disease.
- MD in tuberculosis and chest diseases (a three-year degree in India) → generally assessed as a pulmonary qualification; the wording of the degree matters.
- DTCD (a two-year diploma) → a shorter qualification, generally placed at a lower tier; may support a lower title or need more experience.
- MD medicine with chest experience → Specialist Internal Medicine (INT5921).
Read the recognition guide, the exemptions guide for Tier 1 holders, and run the eligibility check. Doctors working mainly in ICU should read the intensivist guide before choosing a title.
The twelve blueprint areas
- Obstructive lung disease — asthma phenotypes and stepwise therapy including biologics, severe asthma work-up, COPD assessment and inhaler strategy, exacerbation management, bronchiectasis, cystic fibrosis in adults
- Interstitial and inflammatory lung disease — the HRCT patterns, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and antifibrotics, connective-tissue-disease ILD, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, sarcoidosis staging and treatment, drug-induced lung disease
- Occupational and environmental disease — asbestos-related disease, silicosis, occupational asthma, altitude and diving
- Infections — community- and hospital-acquired pneumonia, tuberculosis diagnosis, drug regimens, resistance and latent infection screening, non-tuberculous mycobacteria, fungal infection, pneumonia in the immunocompromised, MERS-CoV and other respiratory viruses of regional importance
- Neoplasms — the solitary nodule, lung cancer staging, tissue acquisition strategy, molecular markers and immunotherapy basics, screening criteria, mesothelioma
- Pleural disease — Light's criteria, the undiagnosed exudate, empyema management, pneumothorax guidelines, malignant effusion options
- Sleep medicine — obstructive sleep apnoea diagnosis and severity, CPAP and alternatives, obesity hypoventilation, central apnoea, narcolepsy
- Congenital, neuromuscular and skeletal abnormalities — respiratory failure in neuromuscular disease, home ventilation, kyphoscoliosis
- Vascular disorders — pulmonary embolism diagnosis and treatment, pulmonary hypertension groups and therapy, vasculitis, haemoptysis
- Critical care medicine — acute respiratory failure, non-invasive ventilation, ARDS ventilation strategy, weaning
- Patient safety — bronchoscopy safety, oxygen prescribing, infection control in TB and respiratory viruses
- Professionalism and ethics
What repeats
- Spirometry and lung function interpretation. Obstructive vs restrictive, reversibility, DLCO patterns, flow-volume loop shapes for upper-airway obstruction.
- Blood gases and physiology. A–a gradient, hypoxaemia mechanisms, oxygen dissociation, dead space.
- HRCT pattern to diagnosis — UIP vs NSIP, upper- vs lower-zone diseases, crazy paving, tree-in-bud.
- TB. Standard regimens, drug side effects and what to do about them, MDR principles, latent TB testing in patients about to start biologics.
- Pleural fluid — Light's criteria, pH in parapneumonic effusion, when to drain.
- Asthma step-up and step-down and biologic eligibility by phenotype.
- Pulmonary embolism — pre-test probability, D-dimer use, anticoagulant choice and duration, thrombolysis criteria.
- Sleep apnoea — index thresholds, CPAP indications, driving advice.
- Chest films described in words — Felson territory: silhouette sign, lobar collapse patterns, the pleural line.
Bronchoscopy, sleep and other privileges
Flexible bronchoscopy with BAL and biopsy is privileged on logged numbers; endobronchial ultrasound, interventional bronchoscopy and pleural procedures (medical thoracoscopy, indwelling catheters) usually need documented fellowship or substantial recent volume. Sleep laboratory reporting is privileged on evidence of sleep-medicine training, and several Gulf hospitals require a recognised sleep qualification for the sleep-lab director. Bring a signed logbook covering the last three years.
Process
- Portal registration and title selection.
- DataFlow verification of the primary degree, the medicine and pulmonary qualifications, registration and experience (guide, fees).
- Eligibility, booking (lead times), exam — Prometric for most authorities, Pearson VUE for DOH.
- Offer, credentialing and privileging, activation. BLS and ACLS are expected.
Salaries
Specialist pulmonologists in the UAE typically earn AED 35,000–55,000 a month and Consultants AED 55,000–95,000; interventional pulmonologists and sleep-medicine leads sit at the upper end. 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. Respiratory therapists, who staff Gulf ICUs and sleep labs, are licensed separately (respiratory therapist guide).
Eight-week plan
- Week 1: physiology, lung function and blood gases.
- Week 2: asthma, COPD, bronchiectasis.
- Week 3: infections and tuberculosis.
- Week 4: interstitial lung disease and HRCT.
- Week 5: neoplasms and pleural disease.
- Week 6: vascular disease, sleep medicine.
- Week 7: critical care, occupational disease, ethics and patient safety.
- Week 8: two timed mocks from the Specialist Pulmonary Disease question bank.
Frequently asked questions
What is the pass mark for the Prometric pulmonology exam?
60%. The Specialist Pulmonary Disease paper has 150 single-best-answer questions in three hours, so 90 correct answers are needed.
Is DTCD accepted for a chest physician licence in the Gulf?
DTCD is a two-year diploma and generally sits at a lower tier than DM, DNB or FCPS. It may require more experience or support a lower title, so check eligibility before applying.
Can a pulmonologist work in the ICU on a pulmonary licence?
In many hospitals, yes — critical care is a blueprint area and chest physicians commonly share ICU cover. The separate Critical Care Medicine title requires a recognised critical care qualification.
Do I need a separate qualification to run a sleep laboratory?
Sleep-study reporting is privileged on evidence of sleep-medicine training, and several Gulf hospitals require a recognised sleep qualification for the laboratory director role.
Practice banks for this exam
Chapter-wise MCQs with written reasoning on every question, and timed mocks at the real pass mark.