Residency Training Programs for Medical Graduates

Our Programs

HMC sponsors 22 medical and surgical residency training programs. To date, nineteen (19) of HMC’s medical residency training programs have successfully achieved ACGME International LLC program accreditation.

ACGME-I Accredited

Please note that the Pediatrics Residency Training Program is under the management of Sidra Medicine. Prospective applicants for this program should apply directly to Sidra Medicine through their website, https://sidra.org/education/residency-and-fellowships/residency/pediatrics or contact pediatricresidents@sidra.org for any queries.

Non AGGME-I Accredited

Our residency training programs range in duration from four to seven years. We recruit to our programs through a single annual intake, conducted in the Autumn, with selected trainees joining their programs the following 1 July.

All Medical Residents enrolled in our residency training programs follow the Arab Board curriculum and are eligible to sit for the Arab Board Specialty Certificate upon completion of training. All Medical Residents enrolled in ACGME-I accredited programs are also registered into the Qatari Board of Medical Specialties and are eligible to sit for the Qatari Board Specialty Certificate upon completion of training. Upon completion of residency training, Medical Residents will have the opportunity to match into Fellowship programs, generally one to three years in duration.

HMC’s training is delivered in English and English is the language of business in HMC’s hospitals. However, due to the patient population, some programs require Arabic proficiency as an eligibility criteria (see “Programs and Seats Available”).

Eligibility Requirements

Category 1a: Local Medical Graduates (LMGs) (Graduates of WCM-Q or QU CMED only)

1. Graduated, or will graduate by 30 June of the intake year, from WCM-Q or QU CMED.
2. Hold a valid Medical License or be eligible for licensure in Qatar.
3. Passed any one of the following required clinical examinations:

Applicants may submit their application with a provisional score that does not yet meet the above-mentioned minimums but are required to submit a passing score by 30 November or their application will be withdrawn.

Category 1b: Qatari Graduates of International Medical Schools (Qatari IMGs)

1. Graduated from a medical school listed on the register of the World Directory of Medical Schools (https://www.wdoms.org/).
2. Have completed, or will complete by 30 June of the intake year, an internship training program or one (1) year of postgraduate, hospital-based training in several major medical specialties.

*An Internship Training Program is 12 months of clinical rotations in major medical specialties (e.g. Medicine, Surgery, Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology) usually after graduation from Medical School. The trainee should receive a Certificate of Completion of Internship at the end of the Internship Training Program. Externship Rotations, Observership Rotations, and Clinical Attachment Rotations are not considered internship training. In some instances, we may accept internship training which has been completed as the final year of the medical school curriculum.

3. Hold a valid Medical License or be eligible for licensure in Qatar.
4. Passed any one of the following required clinical examinations:

Qatari IMGs may submit their application with a pending examination date or pending score but must submit a passing score within one year of program entry, if selected.

5. Met the minimum listed score in any one of the following required English language proficiency examinations:

   Authority	Examination Name	Minimum Accepted Score
   TOEFL	PBT / PBT Revised (RPDT)	Prior scoring format: 550 Revised scoring format: 60
   	iBT (professional level) (including Home Edition or MyBestScore)	87
   IELTS	Academic Level	7.0 (overall band score)
   OET	Medical(including Home Edition)	B / 350 (average score of all sections)

   
   Qatari IMGs may submit their application with a pending examination date or pending score but must submit a passing score within one year of program entry, if selected.

   Category 2: Non-Qatari International Medical Graduates (Non-Qatari IMGs) (Graduates of Medical Schools outside of Qatar)

1. Graduated within the past six years from a medical school listed on the register of the World Directory of Medical Schools (https://www.wdoms.org/). For the current intake (2025-26 academic year), graduates of 2019 or more recent are eligible to apply. Graduation date is calculated based on the final medical school exam dates. 

2. Have completed, or will complete by 30 June of the intake year, an internship training program* or one (1) year of postgraduate, hospital-based training in several major medical specialties.

^*An Internship Training Program is 12 months of clinical rotations in major medical specialties (e.g. Medicine, Surgery, Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology) usually after graduation from Medical School. The trainee should receive a Certificate of Completion of Internship at the end of the Internship Training Program. Externship Rotations, Observership Rotations, and Clinical Attachment Rotations are not considered internship training. In some instances, we may accept internship training which has been completed as the final year of the medical school curriculum.

3. Hold a valid Medical License or be eligible for licensure in Qatar.
   
   
4. Have been in continuous clinical practice in the one-year period preceding application and with no practice gaps of one year or greater at any time since internship completion (without appropriate justification of extenuating circumstances).
   
   
5. Passed any one of the following required clinical examinations:

   Authority	Examination Name	Minimum Accepted Score
   USMLE	Step 2 Clinical Knowledge (CK)	Pass
   IFOM	Clinical Science Exam (CSE)	Equivalent to the pass score of USMLE for the year in which the exam was written Exams written from 20 March 2023 onwards: 74 All previous exam dates: 72
   MCC	Qualifying Examination (QE) Part 1	Pass

   
   Applicants must include the passing result in their application; it is not possible to submit scores later.

6. Met the minimum listed score in any one of the following required English language proficiency examinations:

   Authority	Examination Name	Minimum Accepted Score (See Note 5)
   TOEFL	PBT / PBT Revised (RPDT)	Prior scoring format: 550 Revised scoring format: 60
   	iBT (professional level) (including Home Edition or MyBestScore)	87
   IELTS	Academic Level	7.0 (overall band score)
   OET	Medical (including Home Edition)	B / 350 (average score of all sections)

   
   Applicants who hold a valid Qatar Residency Permit may apply with a TOEFL iBT score of 80 or​ IELTS score of 6.5 (overall band score) or OET score of 300 (average score of all sections), but if selected, will be required to raise their score to the above mentioned level prior to the program start date.

Application Dates

1 August to 30 September (11:59 pm Qatar time): Category 1a and 1b applicants should submit within this period. 

24 October: Inventory of available Category 2 positions will be posted to our website.

25 October to 30 November (11:59 p.m. Qatar time): Category 2 applicants should submit within this period.

Programs and Seats Available

Category 1a and 1b Applicants

Applicants from these categories may apply to any of the following programs. The maximum number of seats available is indicated beside each program name. 

For programs where Arabic Language Proficiency is required, applicants should hold “Professional Working Proficiency”. For reference, someone at this language proficiency should be able to contribute to departmental/corporate meetings, have conversations with patients, and carry out most work functions requested of them. They should be able to speak at an average speed in Arabic and hold a fairly extensive vocabulary though they may need help understanding subtle and nuanced phrasing. Self-reported proficiency is sufficient at the application stage; applicants should be prepared to demonstrate/validate their proficiency upon request.

Category 2 Applicants

How to Apply

All applications must be submitted through our online application portal, SMApply.

1. Register for a new account at https://hamad.smapply.io or log in to your existing account. New account registration will only be available while the application intake period is open.

2. a) For new users: complete the Eligibility Quiz, to determine eligibility to apply. Applicants who provide false information in the Eligibility Quiz, in order to bypass the system, may be disqualified from the application process.
   b) For account holders who have previously applied online to our programs: under Account Settings, update your existing Eligibility Quiz, in order to view programs to which you may apply. Please note this should be done from a non-mobile device. Programs will only become visible and open for applications while the application intake period is open.
   
   
3. Initiate the application. Take note of the unique application number, for future reference.
   
   
4. Complete all parts of the application, including the application form and uploading of all required documents. The various sections of the application can be modified or corrected prior to submission; however, no further changes are permitted once submission is complete.
   
   
5. Submit the completed application prior to the intake deadline. The system does not allow late submissions and will automatically close to submissions at 11:59 p.m. (Qatar time) on the day of the deadline. Incomplete applications or those not submitted prior to the deadline will not be considered for selection.

We strongly encourage all applicants to review Frequently Asked Questions and Appendix (A) “General Guidelines on Completing the Application” before completing their application. 

Additional Information

Please take careful note of the following:

• TOEFL, IELTS, and OET results must be valid at the time of application. The current validity of these exams is two years from the date of testing. Applicants with a score which is valid at the time of application but will expire prior to the program start date should contact our office by email, for early verification of your certificate.
• Applications must be fully complete prior to submission, including all required clinical and English language proficiency examination scores. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that exams are written in sufficient time that scores are available prior to the application deadline. 
• All applications will be verified thoroughly for false information. Any discovered instances of plagiarism (e.g. copied Letters of Intent), false information, or manipulation of documents will result in disqualification and withdrawal of your application.

Contact Us

All queries should be addressed to residency@hamad.qa. This email address is monitored Sunday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Qatar time) and queries are dealt with in the order in which they are received. We endeavor to reply within 2 to 3 business days; however, response time may lengthen during peak periods. Please do not resend your query multiple times as it may result in a delay in replying to you.

Personal visits (by the applicant or family members), phone calls, and emails to individual staff members will not be entertained. This will be strictly enforced and attempts to do so may be considered interference in the selection process. ​​​​​