LET’S GO - PLAB 1

Hey everyone! This is Vaanathi here.

So I hope everyone has successfully passed IELTS. The next step is PLAB 1.

Don’t be scared. PLAB 1 is not a scary exam. It tests you on basic knowledge that you would have learnt throughout MBBS. The main difference is learning NICE guidelines for management of various diseases. The exam is known for repeating concepts, so if you do a few mock tests, you should be good to go!

ABOUT THE EXAM:

This is an MCQ exam covering various subjects that have been covered during MBBS. It is a 3 hour exam and Initially there used to be 200 questions, now there are 180 (although the september exam had 150) (idk exactly they decreased it bc of covid). There is no exact pass mark and it varies slightly from exam to exam (https://www.gmc-uk.org/registration-and-licensing/join-the-register/plab/plab-1-guide/your-results). The percentage for pass is around 60-65%. The exam does include images like CTs, MRIs, X-rays and ECG’s.

DISCLAIMER:That does not mean you have to learn every image on the net, but try to google a few of them. If you don't have time or if you don't know the picture in the real exam its OKAY. Take a deep breath, read the question and solve the answer based on the question stem. In 8/10 images you can solve it without knowing the picture.

BOOKING:

In order to book your PLAB 1 exam, the first step involves you creating a GMC online account. This will provide you with a GMC number. This can be done before IELTS.T

Once you have your number and your IELTS results, you can book your exam. The exam gets booked extremely fast so please book it as soon as possible! During the process of booking the exam, it will ask you for your IELTS Test Report Form Number (This is a number that is present only on the hard copy of your IELTS result).

HOW TO STUDY:

There are several ways to study for the exam. There is no particular way which is better than the other, it simply depends on what suits you! If someone had found a fool proof way to pass this exam with a 100% pass percentage we would all be doing that exact same thing. But unfortunately there is nothing of that sort yet, so I’m going to tell you what Reetu and I did. We both scored 140+ / 180, so we hope this will help you as well!

TO JOIN OR NOT TO JOIN? COACHING CLASSES:

To be honest, I was finding it a bit difficult to concentrate while studying, and I felt the subjects were too vast to know where to focus on. It had also been over two years since I finished my final year exams. That was why I joined a coaching class. I joined SWAMY as it was recommended to me by a friend. (Disclaimer: This is not saying the other centres are not good. Both of us don’t know anyone who has joined any other coaching class so we can’t comment on it). It is not mandatory to join a class and I have met several people who passed by studying on their own and using question banks. The benefit we both found in the classes was the chance to meet other doctors in our same situation (which is always helpful) and also the numerous question banks that were solved and discussed. These classes were long hours, and yes it was not very easy to concentrate for so long.

Reetu would often not attend classes and only attend the question solving part at the end of class. So it very much differs person to person and also on the teachers which take the class for you. We've had friends pass with just plabable, so again it's not mandatory especially if you're a fresh graduate. If it's been awhile since you've done MBBS it might be a good idea to do a quick revision course.

QUESTION BANKS:

This is the main source of study material for this exam. There are several question banks available online, however that one that both Reetu and I used was PLABABLE. It was recommended by almost everyone we knew. It is a very comprehensive question bank with over 2000 questions and mock tests. They now also have whatsapp groups available (Though we are not aware how helpful those are). PLABABLE provides links for their references (You cannot access some of the NICE guidelines and BNF pages from outside the UK, so if you know anyone already in the UK, you can ask them to check for you or refer to Oxford handbook). If you have time you can use pass medicine, emedica, etc but first get through Plabable and know everything on it.

Reetu used to take notes on every section and review those. She flipped through those on the last few days before the exam and found it helpful. They were composed of PLABABLE and NICE CKS guidelines. She tried PLAB keys, but found her notes to be more helpful. We both did plabable twice. But the important thing we can both agree on is DON'T MEMORIZE questions or questions. They WILL BE DIFFERENT in the real exam. This exam tests CONCEPTS so be clear on those! If we didn't UNDERSTAND some topic then we would immediately watch a youtube video on the topic (I found osmosis to be very helpful -https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNI0qOojpkhsUtaQ4_2NUhQ , but any other videos you like is fine too) or refer back to our college books.

I've seen a lot of posts where people have said they did plabable 3-4 times and still failed or attempted the exam twice and still failed. Which is why I recommend understanding the concept, not just memorizing! People say that PLAB 1 is repeat questions, I think this is a false state, as this exam is repeat concepts, the actual question will change. Even a change of ONE WORD in the question, changes the whole meaning of the question. So please please please, UNDERSTAND DON'T MEMORIZE, I cannot stress this enough.

A hint I can give you is read the questions first, so read the last line of the question stem. Then you know what they're asking and can focus on it. Now go back and read the whole question again so you get the whole picture.

You need to be true to yourself and ask yourself how strong or weak are you in these subjects. If it takes you 5 months and it takes your friend 3 months, that's okay. Just make sure you're strong in your foundation.

DURATION OF STUDYING:

It all depends on you! I took 1 month of classes and 1 month to study, Reetu took 2 months. It’s all based on what you know already and what you need to review. We never say you need to study for X number of hours for X number of days, because everyone is different. You should feel confident before taking this exam and I suggest scoring 80% or higher on the mocks just to be on the safe side.

MOCK EXAMS:

We both took plabable mocks, swamy mocks and the plabable big mock. In total I took around 8 mocks and Reetu took around 15. We both did 1 MOCK/day for the last 10 days prior (I repeated the Swamy mocks as well) to the exam. DO IT TIMED!! Please treat it like a real exam. Don't be distracted or leave the mock half way. The first mock will take the longest, but you should aim to finish the mocks by 2hrs+30 mins. The mock exams have shorter question stems since they're incomplete.

The more mocks you do, the more questions you do the better. Seeing the same concept presented in different ways will really solidify your knowledge.

Now if you're doing mocks and you disagree with the answer bank you found online or from your friends, don't waste time arguing just go to NICE CKS and find the correct answer. You could be wrong, as could your friend, or the answer bank writer or the academy; we're all human. But NICE CKS is never wrong so refer back to that at all times!!

DISCUSSION:

Discussing with other doctors who are also studying for PLAB 1 is very helpful. They will understand the stress you are going through and I’ve always found it easier to ask someone my doubt if I felt too lazy to google it ;D

I finished the exam with 15 mins left, and I had enough time for a quick review (I usually prefer having atleast 40 minutes to review). Reetu finished her exam with 30 mins left. Training ourselves to do these mocks in 2 ½ hours really did help us both in the real exam. We were not rushed for time and this is something many people complain about. You don't want to fail something you know you had enough knowledge to pass just because you didn't have time.

ULTIMATELY, how you study for the exam is upto you. It varies from person to person and that is something to remember. Reetu used to always ask me if how she was studying was enough and my answer would always be, it just depends on what works for you. You know how confident you are, you know what you know and don’t and you can see how you’re solving questions, so do you feel you are ready?