Saudi Board Examinations in Pediatrics: Format, Blueprint, and Preparation

The Saudi Commission for Health Specialties (SCFHS) postgraduate-programs listing places Main Specialty in Pediatrics separately from the Pediatrics Diploma and pediatric subspecialty programs. It lists distinct Part One, Final Written, and Final Clinical examination documents. This guide covers those three assessments, not licensing exams, the Pediatrics Diploma, or subspecialty examinations.

The listed Part One and Final Written blueprints are labeled 2024–2027, version 1; the listed Final Clinical blueprint is 2024–2027, version 2. The exams have different formats, and the written examinations have different percentage distributions. Use the current SCFHS listing and the blueprint for your specific assessment.

The 2024–2027 Part One blueprint gives a standard passing score of 65%, with a stated cohort-based adjustment rule and a floor of 60%. The Final Written blueprint gives a standard passing score of 70%, with a cohort-based adjustment rule and a floor of 65%. These are the rules printed in the cited documents; check the current SCFHS instructions for your sitting.

The Final Clinical blueprint describes integrated clinical or practical encounters. Domains and content sections may overlap, and a station may include one or more cases or scenarios. SOE stations use preset questions and ideal answers. The blueprint identifies four clinical/practical skill domains: data gathering, reasoning and analysis, decision-making, and professional attitude.

Part One Examination

Final Written Examination

The written blueprints share broad categories but not identical percentages. Each says a section’s distribution may differ by up to ±5% and that content and percentages may change. Research, ethics, professionalism, and patient safety are identified as integrated themes.

Final Clinical Examination

The version 2 blueprint lists 12 possible content sections: General Pediatrics / Growth & Development; Adolescent and Behavioral / Ambulatory; Acute care (PICU / ED / NICU); Cardiology; Neurology; Gastroenterology / Nutrition; Pulmonary / Allergy & Immunology; Nephrology / Rheumatology / Dermatology; Infectious diseases / Preventive Medicine / Immunization; Hematology & Oncology; Endocrinology / Genetics & Metabolic; and Pediatric Surgery / Ophthalmology / ENT. It says eight or more will be covered. The document does not assign percentages to these sections.

Keep entry to a training program separate from applying for an examination sitting. SCFHS describes its postgraduate-exam application service as serving trainees in Saudi postgraduate programs and providing a Mumaris+ route for applications to Part One, Final Written, and Final Clinical examinations for the Saudi Board and Saudi Diploma. Follow the current service instructions for your trainee status and examination.

The separate Saudi Board program-admission service lists general admission and registration checkpoints, including a recognized health-specialty degree, internship completion before the program starts, a complete transcript, a valid Saudi Professional Licensure Examination result within the stated validity period, medical fitness, GPA documentation where required, professional classification, and sponsorship documentation for sponsored trainees. These are program-admission or registration requirements; do not treat them as a substitute for examination-sitting instructions.

If your training or classification route differs from the current Saudi postgraduate trainee route, confirm the applicable examination process with SCFHS rather than assuming the general admission list establishes your eligibility for a particular sitting.

Part One and Final Written

• Work from the blueprint for your immediate exam. Both give 15% to acute care, but Part One gives 30% to General Paediatrics / Growth & Development while Final Written gives it 20%. Adjust your plan to the relevant table instead of reusing one weighting for both exams.
• Practice timed SBA question blocks. Review missed items for knowledge gaps, misreading, premature closure, and time management; use the pattern of errors to choose what to revisit.
• Keep lower-weight sections in your plan as well as the higher-weight priorities. The documents allow section distributions to vary by up to ±5% and identify research, ethics, professionalism, and patient safety as integrated themes.

Final Clinical

• Rehearse SOE answers aloud in a concise, organized sequence: relevant findings, priorities and reasoning, next steps, alternatives or risks, and professional communication.
• Practice the OSCE separately as a timed, observable clinical encounter. Verbal SOE drills alone do not reproduce an OSCE station.
• Rotate through all 12 listed content sections during preparation. The blueprint states that eight or more are covered but publishes no section percentages to support predictions about station frequency.
• Use timed practice that reflects the published 10-minute station encounters and review how clearly you gather information, reason, make decisions, and communicate professionally.

A practical cycle is to map strengths and gaps against the relevant blueprint, study priority areas, practice in the specified format, and then review recurring errors or performance gaps.

• Check the current SCFHS listing. It links the Pediatrics Part One and Final Written blueprints labeled 2024–2027, version 1, and the Final Clinical blueprint labeled 2024–2027, version 2. The documents state that content may change.
• Do not carry written percentages over to Final Clinical. The clinical blueprint lists possible sections and says eight or more will be assessed; it does not provide section weights.
• Use the examination application service for the sitting-specific process. SCFHS directs trainees to Mumaris+ for postgraduate examination applications. Confirm the current instructions and applicable application window in the official workflow.
• Separate matching requirements from examination requirements. Degree, internship, licensure-examination, and registration checkpoints belong to the program admission service; they do not replace the current examination service instructions.
• Clinical-day rules: the version 2 blueprint prohibits electronic devices and communication with other candidates during evaluation. It also directs candidates to identify a perceived substantial examiner conflict at the time of introduction.
• Results timing: the Final Clinical blueprint states that results will be published within 14 business days after the last examination date.