Free DHA Cheat Sheet — Labs, Vitals & Priorities (2026)
High-yield DHA preparation for the UAE — Dubai Prometric exam — free, no credit card.
The DHA (Dubai Health Authority) nursing exam is the licensing test every nurse must clear to work in a Dubai-based hospital, clinic, or long-term care facility. Delivered by Prometric with 100 multiple-choice questions, the exam favours candidates who can read a scenario, spot the priority action, and apply nursing process quickly. The DHA syllabus is heavily weighted toward Medical-Surgical nursing, but Fundamentals, Pharmacology, Maternal-Newborn, Pediatric and Psychiatric nursing all appear — so a rounded, exam-focused prep plan is essential.
This free DHA cheat sheet condenses the numbers and rules that appear most often in the UAE — Dubai Prometric nursing exam — normal laboratory values, vital sign ranges, prioritisation frameworks, infection-control precautions, high-alert drug checks, positioning pairs and maternal-newborn essentials. It is the sheet our own students revise from in the final week before exam day.
How to Revise With the DHA Cheat Sheet
Cover the right-hand column, say the answer out loud, then reveal. Active recall is what moves the score. Run the whole sheet once a day for the last seven days, and pair it with the free DHA Q&A and the free DHA mock test so you are applying the values, not just reciting them.
DHA High-Yield Cheat Sheet
Normal Adult Vital Signs
Prometric items rarely ask you to recite a range — they show a value and expect you to decide whether to act. Learn the range, then learn the first nursing action when it is breached.
- Temperature
- 36.5–37.5 °C (97.7–99.5 °F) · > 38 °C = fever, assess source before antipyretic
- Pulse
- 60–100 bpm · < 60 bradycardia, > 100 tachycardia — check rhythm and perfusion first
- Respirations
- 12–20 /min · < 12 with opioids = hold dose, consider naloxone
- Blood pressure
- 90/60 – 120/80 mmHg · ≥ 180/120 = hypertensive crisis, notify provider
- SpO2
- 95–100% · < 90% = hypoxaemia, reposition and give oxygen before calling
- Pain
- 0–10 self-report — the patient's number is the correct number
Key Laboratory Values
These appear in almost every Gulf licensing paper. Memorise the number, the direction that is dangerous, and the drug or condition tied to it.
- Sodium
- 135–145 mEq/L · low → seizures, high → thirst and neuro changes
- Potassium
- 3.5–5.0 mEq/L · never IV push; high K = peaked T waves
- Calcium
- 8.5–10.5 mg/dL · low = Trousseau / Chvostek signs, tetany
- Magnesium
- 1.5–2.5 mEq/L · high in eclampsia therapy — watch reflexes and RR
- Glucose (fasting)
- 70–110 mg/dL · < 70 = give 15 g fast carbohydrate, recheck in 15 min
- Haemoglobin
- M 14–18 g/dL · F 12–16 g/dL
- WBC
- 5,000–10,000 /mm³ · < 1,000 neutrophils = neutropenic precautions
- Platelets
- 150,000–400,000 /mm³ · < 50,000 = bleeding precautions
- Creatinine
- 0.6–1.2 mg/dL · rising = hold nephrotoxic drugs (aminoglycosides, contrast)
- INR
- Therapeutic 2–3 on warfarin · antidote vitamin K
- aPTT
- 1.5–2.5 × control on heparin · antidote protamine sulfate
- Digoxin level
- 0.5–2.0 ng/mL · check apical pulse 1 full minute, hold if < 60
Prioritisation Frameworks
When two answers both look safe, the framework decides. Apply them in this order.
- ABC
- Airway → Breathing → Circulation. An airway problem always outranks a circulation problem.
- Maslow
- Physiological → Safety → Love/Belonging → Esteem → Self-actualisation. Physical before psychosocial.
- Nursing process
- Assess before you intervene — unless the stem describes an emergency.
- Acute over chronic
- A new symptom outranks a long-standing, expected one.
- Unstable over stable
- Unexpected findings first; expected findings can wait.
- Least invasive first
- Reposition, oxygen, and reassurance before medication or a call to the provider.
Infection Control Precautions
Guaranteed marks. Learn the disease-to-precaution pairing, not just the PPE list.
- Airborne
- TB, measles, varicella · negative-pressure room + N95
- Droplet
- Influenza, meningitis, mumps, pertussis, rubella · surgical mask within 1–2 m
- Contact
- MRSA, VRE, C. difficile, scabies · gown + gloves; soap and water for C. diff
- Protective / reverse
- Neutropenia, transplant · no fresh flowers, fruit or plants; private room
- Standard
- Every patient, every time — hand hygiene is the single highest-yield answer
High-Alert Drug Classes
Know the class effect, the classic side effect, and the one nursing check before administering.
- Beta blockers (-olol)
- Hold if HR < 60 or SBP < 90; never stop abruptly (rebound)
- ACE inhibitors (-pril)
- Dry cough, hyperkalaemia, angioedema — first dose hypotension
- Loop diuretics
- Hypokalaemia, ototoxicity; give in the morning, monitor daily weight
- Aminoglycosides (-mycin)
- Nephrotoxic and ototoxic — monitor creatinine and hearing
- Warfarin
- Monitor INR; consistent vitamin K intake, not zero vitamin K
- Insulin
- Regular insulin is the only IV insulin; peak times drive hypoglycaemia timing
- Opioids
- Assess RR before and after; naloxone at the bedside for high-risk patients
- Corticosteroids
- Hyperglycaemia, infection masking, osteoporosis; taper, never stop suddenly
Positioning At A Glance
Position questions are free marks when you have the pairings memorised.
- Post lumbar puncture
- Flat supine 4–8 hours
- Increased ICP
- Head of bed 30°, head midline, no neck flexion
- Post total hip replacement
- Abduction pillow, no hip flexion beyond 90°
- Air embolism
- Left lateral Trendelenburg
- Post tonsillectomy
- Prone or side-lying to drain secretions
- Unconscious, no spinal injury
- Recovery (lateral) position
- Shock
- Supine with legs elevated (modified Trendelenburg)
Maternal & Newborn Essentials
Consistently 10–15% of Gulf nursing papers.
- APGAR
- Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity, Respiration — scored at 1 and 5 minutes
- Normal newborn HR
- 120–160 bpm · RR 30–60 /min
- Preeclampsia
- BP ≥ 140/90 + proteinuria after 20 weeks; magnesium sulfate, antidote calcium gluconate
- Fetal heart rate
- 110–160 bpm · late decelerations = uteroplacental insufficiency, reposition left side
- Postpartum haemorrhage
- > 500 mL vaginal / > 1000 mL caesarean — massage fundus first
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