PLAB 1

PLAB 1 Exam - My Experiences

Disclaimer :

These are all my personal views. I recommend that you listen to all the other views as well, but take a decision yourself. That’s what I did too. All the contents here are my personal experiences and honest reviews and are not intended to promote or advertise any product. If you find anything here objectionable do contact me so that I can review them from your perspective. Thank you.

Which English Language test did you sit to apply for PLAB 1?

I used OET (Medicine) Pathway to apply for PLAB 1.

If you want to read my OET exam experience here is the link:

https://sidukjourney.blogspot.com/p/oet_5.html

If you are confused on which English Language test to sit (IELTS or OET), then follow this link:

https://sidukjourney.blogspot.com/p/ielts-vs-oet.html

How long did you prepare for PLAB 1 exam?

My total duration of preparation for PLAB 1 was 4 weeks in total.

P.s., do not get misguided by my duration of preparation for PLAB 1. Read my overall situation completely in this blog, before deciding how much duration will be adequate for you.

What are the materials that you used during your PLAB 1 preparation?

PLABABLE, Samson Notes, Dr. Aman Arora PLAB 1 audio course and Passmedicine

Was PLABABLE enough?

Yes and No.

PLABABLE is by far the most and undoubtedly the best material for the preparation of the PLAB 1 exam. But having said that, PLABABLE is not the ultimate resource. You will find many questions different than PLABABLE in the real exam and sometimes questions are tricky and lengthy too.

It's always safe to add-on OHCM/ OHCS or Samson Notes along with PLABABLE. And of course, your own knowledge and skills acquired during your medical school days come in more than handy on this exam.

Why you didn’t even mention 1700?

1700 is a good resource for the preparation of PLAB 1. But if you study PLABABLE, 1700 becomes redundant. Moreover, many explanations are not updated and will just unnecessarily confuse you. There is no harm in doing 1700 side by side, but my suggestion would be to follow PLABABLE wholeheartedly than 1700.

Is the revision of PLABABLE necessary?

After you complete all the online pool of PLABABLE, you can’t reset the answers, thus revision becomes difficult. Rather on your first read, make a separate note and jot down only important and volatile points. Revise these notes on last week before your exam.

I would suggest you start doing PLABABLE mocks after completing the qbank. All the questions in mocks are the same as in the bank. If you complete all the 11 mocks, you would have already completed your second revision.

How to use Samson notes?

Almost all of the content in Samson's notes matches the PLABABLE. So it's better you study Samson Notes and PLABABLE side by side. It will make your preparation more efficient and easy.

What about Dr. Arora PLAB1 audio course?

Dr. Arora PLAB1 audio course is like a refresher course. This is a 9-hour audio podcast fully dedicated to PLAB 1. You can listen to it on-the-go and chapter wise course categorization make it pretty systematic. However, be careful, this should not be your starter course, neither it should be your only resource. Complete PLABABLE first, then all of its mocks, and then finally start this audio podcast. It will help you fill in the gaps unfulfilled by PLABABLE.

What about Passmedicine?

This was something that I wanted to do, but couldn’t do completely due to time constraints. If you have enough time for preparation (like more than 12 weeks) then I would definitely suggest you go for it. Passmedicine is an excellent resource, with good explanations of the question and also a fantastic collection of notes. An added advantage is that it has updated NICE guidelines compiled as a note. Adding this to your list of resources makes your preparation an ideal one.

Passmedicine comes in various forms of subscription. There are Passmedicine for MRCP, Passmedicine for PLAB, etc. Make sure you subscribe to the one for PLAB and not for other exams.

Which books should I use as a reference?

Two good books for reference in Plab 1 are OHCM and OHCS. Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine (OHCM) and Clinical Specialities (OHCS) are two very good starter book for the preparation as well. Even Plabable explanations have used this book as a reference.

Likewise patient.info and nhs.uk websites are good resources on disease knowledge and guidelines database.

Tell us about your situation, overall preparation method, and the exam day experience.

If you go through my previous blog, you will quickly know about my journey to the UK. I am not fully dependent on the PLAB pathway, rather I am taking my MRCP route side by side. I didn’t take the MRCP route solely, because, MRCP Part 2 PACES slots are difficult to get and are quite expensive. So my strategy is to gain GMC registration via PLAB pathway and in the meantime gain an extra edge in the future from MRCP.

Since I had already done MRCP part 1, my PLAB1 preparation was not that difficult. In the meantime I was also preparing for MRCP part 2 (written), so I hardly got enough time to dedicate fully for PLAB. My MRCP preparation helped me a lot in solving pharmacology, genetics, endocrinology, and psychiatry questions in the exam. Hence, I would suggest you dedicate at least 12 weeks fully to prepare for PLAB 1 (unlike 4 weeks that I have done in my case).

In the exam, questions were mostly easy, barring few exceptions. When I got the paper on my hand, I quickly realized that these 180 questions are almost impossible to complete in 180 mins. At the same time, I was also fully confident that, if I am able to complete all 180 on time, I can pass it easily. So for me, the exam was mainly the race against the clock. Even my colleagues who were sitting on this exam on the same session also shared the same thoughts. So prepare accordingly on your mock test. Try to beat the clock and complete the exam well within 2.5 hours, so that it will be easy on your judgment day.

On the exam center, reach early, take a label-less water bottle

(though they will also provide on the center), at least 5 properly sharpened 2B pencils (they will only provide one of pencil, and it will be time-consuming to sharpen it again and again), your admission document, and your Passport. Listen to the instructions carefully and be cool and calm. After the exam begins, do not waste your time anywhere and start solving questions directly. Mark your answer sheets properly side by side (do not wait to shade it at the end, as the odds are, you will never get the time to come back to the same question later).

Thank you.

If you have any further questions put on the comment section, I will try to answer them as much as possible.

If you want to read my MRCP Part 1 exam experience, here is the link:

https://sidukjourney.blogspot.com/p/mrcp_27.html

If you want to read my MRCP Part 2 (written) exam experience, here is the link:

https://sidukjourney.blogspot.com/p/mrcp-part-2.html

If you want to read PLAB 1 exam experience of an IMG from India, here is the link:

https://sidukjourney.blogspot.com/p/guest-diary.html