IMG

PLAB 1 Exam Experience, Feedback, and Suggestions from Dr. Avik Roy (an IMG from India)

Hello doctors, it's me Dr. Avik from Kolkata.  I passed my PLAB 1 in March 2020. I would like to share my experience and suggestions for this exam, especially for Indian doctors. The proper strategy right from the beginning is required to succeed in this exam. Let me share the strategies that worked for me.

Booking a date:

When I searched for PLAB 1 dates, after passing my OET on July 2019, there was a slot available for November 2019, but I didn't go for that. I chose March 2020. I went for March date instead of November because:

 1) I will have a large window period for my preparation. Life is not like a rat race. So, better you collect all your materials and then start to prepare slowly and steadily.

2) If I would book a slot in November then I wouldn't have that pleasure to enjoy Durga Puja and Diwali. That's very important to me.

3) Mostly all the doctors who appear for PLAB have their commitments towards the job. And in India 99.9% doctors prepare for NEET PG exam which is held on the month of January (1st wk) so everyone would like to take study leave in the month of November and December. But they generally work hard after the PG exam i.e. till August. So, when you'll have your exam on March you don't have to think for a study leave as your colleagues would love to replace your duty days. However, if you seek study leave during October/November (for November PLAB) they would not like to replace your duty as they are working hard for their NEET PG exam.

Study materials:

I'm an average student. I never had honors or gold medals during my medical school, but having said that, I never had to take a supplementary exam during my studies too. I started everything from scratch. If you are a beginner like me and you are preparing from scratch, then you need to carry two things on your Tablet (as the screen is bigger so it's always better to study in tablet)

1) PLAB 1 keys (free/subscribe)

2) PLABABLE Q bank (always try to subscribe it so you can get the recent advances and changes of NICE guidelines only 25gbp for 5months subscription 2300 INR)

Study tips:

First, read the topic from PLAB 1 keys then try to solve the questions from PLABABLE. Bookmark the questions which you answered wrongly. This will help you for the revision. Don’t just read the explanations of the questions which you answered wrong. Read all the explanations even if you tick it as a correct answer. You'll get to know about a few new things which you might not have known. It's always better you make your own notes from those explanations. This way, during your revision you'll only read the bookmarked questions and your own notes. This is all for BEGINNERS like me. I used to study 4 hours daily and 6/7 hours in the last 15-20days for my exam. I took 6 Mocks from the PLABABLE. My average score used to be 140+ but in the real exam, I got 123.

Revision:

I attended a 3-day revision course from the team PLABABLE (10 hours a day) and it's beautiful. It's not mandatory but you can always go for it (12000 INR).

I revised PLABABLE for one single time and studied my notes afterward.

All the best for your exam. I guarantee that you'll pass your exam on one go.