PLAB
What is PLAB?
PLAB means Professional and Linguistic Assessment Board. General Medical Council (GMC) of United Kingdom conducts this test to ascertain the suitability of an overseas doctor to work safely in a first appointment as a senior house officer in a British hospital.
IELTS is necessary pre-requisite to get admission in PLAB.
Part 1
Part 1 of the test is a computer-marked written examination consisting of extended matching questions (EMQs) and single best answer (SBA) questions. The paper contains 200 questions and may include images. The examination lasts three hours. The proportion of SBA questions may vary from examination to examination but no more than 30% of the paper is composed of SBA questions.
Four skill areas will be tested, Diagnosis, Investigations, Management and context of clinical practice.
Fees
The booking fee for Part 1 is £145.
How to prepare
The examination is testing your ability to apply knowledge to the care of patients rather than how well you can remember and recite facts.
Names of drugs are those contained in the most recent edition of the British National Formulary (BNF).
Remember that you are being tested at the level of a doctor who has qualified and completed one year of clinical practice.
For complete Part 1 guidance please visit GMC Website
Part 2
Part 2 is an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE). It
takes the form of 14 clinical scenarios or ‘stations' as well as a
rest station and one or more pilot stations. A pilot station is one
where we are checking whether the station can be used in future
examinations. Your mark for this station will not count towards your
result. It is important, however, that all candidates complete the
station because without the information gained from this we cannot
evaluate the station properly. For this reason we do not reveal
which is the pilot station.
Each station lasts five minutes.
The skills assessed are:
- Clinical examination
- Practical skills
- Communication skills
- History taking
You will be assessed on managing chronic and acute conditions and patients in peri-operative and emergency situations, as well as palliative and terminal care.
Fees
The booking fee for Part 2 is £430.
How to prepare
The OSCE is assessing your skills rather than your knowledge. You have demonstrated that you know how to apply your clinical knowledge by passing Part 1 of the test. In the OSCE, you must show the examiner that you could perform the tasks competently in practice in an NHS hospital. Although you will be marked down for communicating incorrect facts and advice, you should concentrate on showing the examiner how you perform clinical tasks and interact with patients.
Remember that you are being tested at the level of a doctor who has qualified and completed one year of clinical practice.
For complete Part 2 guidance please visit GMC Website
You may also want to see
Examination Regulations from May 2008
International Medical Graduates - Important information
