Hey everyone, it's Reetu here! Hope everyone is surviving our third national lockdown and able to get themselves booked for a vaccine! (:
So due to COVID-19, Travel restrictions, limited spots and increased cancellations of exams, there have been a lot of doctors worried about how they're going to book seats or if they will get seats.
While I can't guarantee a seat, I can tell you some advice I gave my juniors/friends who were able to book last-minute seats for PLAB 1 and PLAB 2 (after September 2020) and have all luckily gotten GMC registration. So hopefully this will help you as well (:
1)IF YOU CAN TRAVEL TO THE UK - PLEASE DO! If you don't have VISA issues, or if you have friends/family who are willing to sponsor your visitor VISA then get to the UK ASAP. Generally, people from India, Pakistan, Dubai are less likely to cancel seats last min, but a lot of people in the UK have, in addition, are there are a larger number of seats in the UK. Also, the seats in the UK don't get booked up as fast. Even if a seat gets booked months in advance closer to the exam due to the travel restrictions, unfortunately, few people do cancel their seats. But if you are in the UK this can be an opportunity for you. Another recurring theme, PLAB 1 seats were cancelled in India, Dubai, etc (even the night the before the exam) but never have they been cancelled in the UK. After everything last year, GMC has made it very clear that they are doing everything they can to make sure exams run smoothly. PLAB 2 seats get cancelled more often than PLAB1, and sometimes even 2 days before the exam. If you are already in the UK and have finished your quarantine, you may be able to snap up these last minute vacancies!
2)PREPARE--- even if you don't get a seat, start preparing because if you see a last minute seat you don't want to waste it, just because you didn't start studying. Don't ever wonder- "What if I had just started studying last month..." You make your own destiny
3)SEARCH SEARCH SEARCH!! If you look on the actual website EVERYDAY for 2-3 weeks, multiple times a day SOMETHING will pop up! I don't mean once or twice a day, I mean 10-20 times a day. While this is not practical for many people (I understand its like finding a needle in a haystack), if you have nothing else to do and are just relaxing, why not try it?
4) Take up a course in the UK. Why not apply for a short course, masters course or public health course. This has two added benefits one being it will add more points to your application when you apply for training, it will also improve your CV when applying for non training jobs. Second one being it will get you a VISA for the UK (probably for a year or so depending on your course) and during this time you can simultaneously pursue PLAB (:
I know this is not for everyone and unfortunately, some of these routes are exhausting and can be time-consuming. But they do increase your chances of getting a PLAB 1 or.2 date! Hope this helps!
