The Diploma of Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery (DO-HNS) is an intercollegiate exam awarded by the Royal College of Surgeons of England. It's taken by ENT trainees, GPs with an ENT interest, and doctors seeking a credential in otolaryngology — and it has effectively zero dedicated revision resources.
The exam format
The DO-HNS consists of two papers sat on the same day:
Paper 1: 90 Single Best Answer (SBA) questions covering clinical ENT — otology, rhinology, head and neck, paediatric ENT, and emergency presentations.
Paper 2: 90 SBA questions covering applied basic sciences — anatomy of the head and neck, physiology of hearing and balance, pathology relevant to ENT, and pharmacology of commonly used ENT drugs.
Total: 180 questions across a single day. The clinical paper tests what you'd see in an ENT clinic and on call. The basic science paper tests what you'd learn in the first year of ENT training — and have probably forgotten if you're a GP.
What resources exist
Logan Turner's Diseases of the Nose, Throat and Ear — the classic ENT textbook. Comprehensive and authoritative. Not exam-format, but the definitive knowledge source.
Dhillon & East: Ear, Nose and Throat and Head and Neck Surgery — a more concise alternative, popular among DO-HNS candidates.
ENT Secrets / ENT in a Nutshell — quick-reference texts useful for the clinical paper.
MRCS Part A resources (anatomy sections) — the head and neck anatomy tested in DO-HNS Paper 2 overlaps significantly with MRCS anatomy content. Pastest and similar MRCS anatomy question banks can provide useful practice for this component.
No dedicated DO-HNS qbank exists. There are scattered practice questions in textbooks and some past papers circulated informally, but no online question bank specifically targeting the DO-HNS.
How to prepare
For Paper 1 (clinical): Work through a clinical ENT textbook systematically. Focus on common conditions (otitis media, sinusitis, tonsillitis, hearing loss, vertigo, epistaxis, head and neck lumps) and emergencies (airway obstruction, peritonsillar abscess, acute mastoiditis, foreign bodies). The clinical content overlaps substantially with primary care ENT — iatroX's guidelines summaries cover several of these conditions. Supplement with MRCS clinical question banks filtered for ENT content.
For Paper 2 (basic sciences): The anatomy component is the hardest part for most candidates. Head and neck anatomy at DO-HNS level means: cranial nerves (all twelve, in detail), blood supply of the head and neck, anatomy of the middle ear and temporal bone, nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses, and laryngeal anatomy. Use anatomy atlases (Netter, Gray's) and MRCS anatomy revision resources.
Timeline: 8–12 weeks of focused preparation is typical. Split roughly 60/40 between clinical and basic science if you have clinical ENT experience, or 40/60 if your background is non-ENT.
Practice questions: Generate practice SBAs using AI tools — "Generate 10 SBAs on the management of acute sinusitis with reference to UK guidelines" — then verify answers against your textbook. This is the most practical way to get volume practice in the absence of a dedicated qbank.
Is it worth it?
The DO-HNS is a recognised ENT credential that demonstrates competence to employers, commissioners, and patients. For GPs developing an ENT special interest (GPwSI), it provides a formal qualification. For ENT trainees, it's an expected milestone. For anyone wanting to demonstrate ENT knowledge formally, it's the standard qualification.
The lack of resources makes it harder to prepare than exams with comprehensive qbanks, but the content is finite and manageable with systematic study.
iatroX offers AI clinical search covering ENT-relevant NICE guidelines and a UK qbank with general medicine and primary care content. Built by a practising NHS GP.