Updated 7 min read
How Abu Dhabi licensing works
The Department of Health – Abu Dhabi replaced the Health Authority – Abu Dhabi (HAAD). Pharmacists apply through the DOH licensing system and complete primary source verification. Once approved for the exam, they pay the pre-booking fee in TAMM and book the computer-based assessment with Pearson VUE. DOH's Healthcare Professionals Qualification Requirements set which title you qualify for and the experience required.
Topics to prioritise
- Cardiovascular and anticoagulation therapy, including bridging and reversal.
- Diabetes management, including insulin adjustment and sick-day rules.
- Antibiotic selection for community and hospital infections, and renal dose adjustment.
- Asthma and COPD inhaler therapy and technique.
- Pain management and opioid conversion.
- Pregnancy, lactation and paediatric dosing.
Medication safety is examined directly
- High-alert medications: insulin, anticoagulants, opioids, concentrated electrolytes, chemotherapy.
- Look-alike, sound-alike drug names and tall-man lettering.
- Error-prone abbreviations (for example 'U' for units and trailing zeros).
- Reporting and learning from medication errors and adverse drug reactions.
A six-week plan
- Weeks 1–3: organ-system therapeutics, 30–40 MCQs a day.
- Week 4: special populations and calculations.
- Week 5: medication safety, drug information and pharmacy practice.
- Week 6: full timed mocks and targeted revision.