QCHP Exam Questions and Answers for Nurses 2026: What the Qatar DHP Nursing Exam Tests, Pass Mark and Format, How It Compares with DHA and SCFHS, and 20 Free Qatar-style Nursing Questions with Answers and Explanations
Preparing for the QCHP exam for nurses in Qatar? This guide explains the Department of Healthcare Professions (QCHP/DHP) registered nurse exam in 2026: number of questions, time, 60% pass mark and domains, why the employer opens the file, how Hamad Medical Corporation recruits, how the paper compares with the DHA and SCFHS exams, and 20 free Qatar-style nursing questions with answers across medical-surgical, pharmacology, maternal, paediatric, critical care, infection control and professional practice.
The QCHP exam for nurses, now run by Qatar's Department of Healthcare Professions (DHP) but still called QCHP by every recruiter and by Prometric's own programme list, is the licensing exam for registered nurses at Hamad Medical Corporation, Sidra, the Primary Health Care Corporation and Qatar's private hospitals. The employer opens the file, so nurses usually sit it after an offer and under a deadline, which makes being exam-ready before the offer the biggest advantage a candidate can have. This guide explains the format and gives 20 free Qatar-style questions with answers. The full route is in the QCHP exam for nurses guide.
The QCHP nursing exam at a glance (2026)
| Item | QCHP/DHP Registered Nurse exam |
|---|---|
| Delivery | Computer-based at Prometric centres worldwide, booked after the DHP issues eligibility through the employer's file |
| Questions | About 100 to 150 single-best-answer MCQs |
| Time | About 2 to 3 hours |
| Pass mark | About 60% |
| Domains | Medical-surgical nursing, fundamentals and professional practice, pharmacology and calculations, maternal and newborn, paediatric, mental health, critical care and emergency, infection control, community health and ethics |
| Attempts | Usually three per eligibility with waiting periods |
| Fee | About USD 220 to 280 per attempt (Qatar fees) |
| Same blueprint as | DHA, MOHAP, NHRA, OMSB and Kuwait MOH nursing papers; SCFHS is longer and scaled (SCFHS questions) |
Prepare with the Registered Nurse bank (chapter 1 free with explanations) and the Qatar-specific plan in QCHP practice questions online; the authority page is QCHP exam for nurses.
What Qatar employers add on top of the exam
- English: Hamad, Sidra and PHCC usually require IELTS or OET for nurses not trained in English (English requirements).
- Experience: two years in a hospital of 100 beds or more, recent and continuous; Hamad favours tertiary ICU, emergency, OR and oncology experience.
- Timing: the offer letter sets a deadline for the exam and DataFlow; nurses who already hold a DataFlow report for another authority and have practised to 70% in timed mocks meet it comfortably.
20 free Qatar-style nursing questions with answers
Medical-surgical
1. A patient with a sickle cell crisis has severe pain and a temperature of 38.3 °C. Priorities: (A) paracetamol only (B) opioid analgesia within 30 minutes, hydration, oxygen if hypoxic, cultures and antibiotics for fever, monitoring for acute chest syndrome (C) cold compresses (D) withhold opioids. Answer: B.
2. A dialysis patient misses a session and has a potassium of 7.0 mmol/L with peaked T waves. First: (A) oral binder (B) cardiac monitoring, calcium gluconate, insulin with dextrose and salbutamol as prescribed, urgent dialysis (C) fluids (D) wait. Answer: B.
3. After a thyroidectomy, a patient has perioral tingling and a positive Trousseau sign. Prepare: (A) insulin (B) calcium gluconate (C) potassium (D) magnesium. Answer: B.
4. A patient with a chest drain has stopped swinging and bubbling. The nurse: (A) removes the drain (B) checks for kinks and position, assesses the patient and requests a chest radiograph before any removal decision (C) clamps the drain (D) raises the bottle. Answer: B.
Pharmacology and calculations
5. Heparin 25,000 units in 500 mL at 1,200 units/h runs at: (A) 12 mL/h (B) 24 mL/h (C) 48 mL/h (D) 6 mL/h. Answer: B. 50 units/mL.
6. A patient on warfarin with an INR of 6.5 and no bleeding: (A) give the dose (B) withhold warfarin and inform the prescriber (C) give aspirin (D) double the dose. Answer: B.
7. Which insulin is never mixed with another? (A) regular (B) NPH (C) glargine (D) aspart. Answer: C.
8. Intravenous potassium chloride is given: (A) undiluted by push (B) diluted, by pump, at no more than 10 mmol/h peripherally (C) over 30 minutes (D) in blood. Answer: B.
Maternal and newborn
9. A woman on magnesium sulfate has absent reflexes and a respiratory rate of 10. The nurse: (A) increases the infusion (B) stops it and prepares calcium gluconate (C) gives a diuretic (D) continues. Answer: B.
10. A term baby of a diabetic mother weighing 4.3 kg is jittery at two hours. First: (A) wrap and recheck tomorrow (B) check glucose immediately and feed, follow the hypoglycaemia protocol (C) oral rehydration (D) phototherapy. Answer: B.
11. During a vaginal examination after rupture of membranes, the nurse feels a pulsating cord. Actions: (A) push it back (B) call for help, keep the hand in place lifting the presenting part, knee-chest position, prepare for emergency caesarean (C) clamp the cord (D) encourage pushing. Answer: B.
Paediatric
12. A 22 kg child's Holliday-Segar maintenance fluid over 24 hours is: (A) 1,000 mL (B) 1,540 mL (C) 2,200 mL (D) 880 mL. Answer: B.
13. A 7-year-old with asthma has a respiratory rate of 40, saturations of 90% and cannot speak in sentences. First: (A) peak flow then wait (B) oxygen to 94 to 98%, salbutamol via spacer or nebuliser with ipratropium, steroid, urgent review (C) antibiotics (D) sedation. Answer: B.
Critical care and emergency
14. A patient with COPD has pH 7.26 and PaCO₂ 9.5 kPa after an hour of treatment and is alert. Next: (A) intubate immediately (B) non-invasive ventilation with close monitoring (C) high-flow oxygen only (D) 15 L/min oxygen. Answer: B.
15. A patient develops urticaria, wheeze and hypotension after an antibiotic. First drug: (A) IV hydrocortisone (B) IM adrenaline 0.5 mg (C) oral antihistamine (D) IV adrenaline bolus by the nurse. Answer: B.
16. A T4 spinal cord injury patient has a pounding headache, blood pressure 210/120 and bradycardia. First: (A) lie flat (B) sit upright, check and empty the bladder, look for noxious stimuli, antihypertensive as prescribed (C) beta blocker (D) ignore. Answer: B. Autonomic dysreflexia.
Infection control and professional practice
17. A patient with suspected MERS-CoV requires: (A) standard precautions (B) airborne and contact precautions in a negative-pressure room with N95, and public health notification (C) droplet only (D) no isolation until PCR. Answer: B.
18. A central line-associated bloodstream infection is best prevented by: (A) routine line changes every 7 days (B) maximal sterile barriers at insertion, chlorhexidine skin antisepsis, daily review of need and prompt removal (C) prophylactic antibiotics (D) ointment at the site. Answer: B.
19. Before any medication, the nurse identifies the patient by: (A) bed number (B) two identifiers against the wristband (C) asking "Are you Mr Khalid?" (D) face. Answer: B.
20. A family asks the nurse not to tell the patient a cancer diagnosis. The nurse should: (A) agree (B) explore what the patient wants to know, respect the patient's own wishes about information, and involve the physician and the family sensitively (C) tell the patient immediately regardless (D) refuse to speak to the family. Answer: B.
How to prepare for the QCHP nursing exam
- Confirm eligibility with the free eligibility check and read QCHP requirements.
- Work through the Registered Nurse bank by domain with an error log (error-log method).
- Use the free domain sets: medical-surgical, pharmacology, maternal and newborn, paediatric, critical care, emergency and infection control.
- Sit three timed mocks, book the first available seat when eligibility arrives (exam dates and booking), and join the Qatar talent pool so employers can request your profile; the job route is in how to get a nursing job in Qatar.
Frequently asked questions
Can I sit the QCHP nursing exam without a job offer?
No. A Qatari employer opens the file and the DHP issues eligibility through it; you can and should prepare before the offer.
How many questions are in the QCHP nursing exam?
About 100 to 150 MCQs in 2 to 3 hours with a pass mark of about 60%.
Is the QCHP exam the same as the DHA exam for nurses?
The blueprint, format and pass mark are very similar and both are delivered by Prometric; one preparation covers both.
Where can I get free QCHP exam questions for nurses?
The 20 questions above, the free domain sets linked in this article, and the free chapter 1 of the Registered Nurse bank.
Does Hamad require IELTS for nurses?
Usually, for nurses not trained in English; the requirement is set by the employer rather than the exam.
Practice banks for this exam
Chapter-wise MCQs with written reasoning on every question, and timed mocks at the real pass mark.