(please refer to Plab official site for any updates)
In order to undergo postgraduate medical training in the United Kingdom, a person has to obtain a limited registration with the General Medical Council (GMC) of UK. For obtaining this limited registration one has to pass the Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board (PLAB) Test conducted by GMC. Passing PLAB test allows a person to start the postgraduate training at the level of a Senior House Officer (SHO) in a UK hospital.
If you are interested in MRCP, MRCS, FRCS, MRCOG, etc, and want to be trained in UK for these exams, than this is the test for you.
PLAB Test
The test has two parts:
-Part 1 is a written paper-pencil exam based on Extended Matching Question (EMQ) system not very different from the MCQ system. There is no scoring system. You may either pass or fail the test.
-Part 2 is an assessment of clinical skills of an individual called Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE). One can only appear in part 2, when he/she has passed part 1. There is no scoring system. You may either pass or fail the test.
Eligibility Requirements for PLAB Part 1
There are two requirements for appearing in part 1:
-A person must be a medical graduate, in possession of a basic medical degree like MBBS or equivalent. Medical students are not eligible to take PLAB.
-One must have passed the IELTS test with the required score set by GMC. (See below)
-Though not a requirement to appear in part 1, a candidate should have at least 12 months of postgraduate clinical experience (like one year of house job) in a teaching hospital in his/her country to work as an SHO in UK. Otherwise the person after passing both parts of PLAB must first obtain this 12 months experience in UK, and finding a house job in UK is indeed very difficult. Therefore you are strongly advised to complete your one-year house job before appearing in part 2.
Eligibility Requirements for PLAB Part 2
Passing part 1 is the only requirement for appearing in part 2. One must take part 2 within 2 years of passing part 1, otherwise he/she will have to take part 1 again.
IELTS
International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test is a test of English language conducted by the British Council all over the world. You can apply for the test and appear in the test in your local British Council office. The fee for the test is approximately Rs. 31,000/-. The test has 4 parts or bands, listening, reading, writing and speaking. Each band has a maximum score of 9. There is also an overall band score (maximum 9), which is the average of the 4 individual band scores.
To be eligible to appear in PLAB part 1 one must achieve a minimum overall band score of 7.5 and a minimum of 7 in each.
For more information on IELTS contact your local British Council or visit www.ielts.org
Fee for the PLAB
The fees for part 1 and part 2 is 155 and 465 British pounds respectively.
Test Centers for PLAB
Part 1 of PLAB is held in countries outside UK as well. These include Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Srilanka and Egypt. In Pakistan part 1 is held in Islamabad and Karachi.
Part 2 can be taken only in UK.
Test Dates
Part 1 is held in Pakistan 3 times each year usually in the months of April, July and November. For other countries please refer to official site.
Part 2 is held more often.
Format of PLAB Part 1
PLAB part 1 is a one-day, paper-pencil exam. Correct answers are marked on an answer sheet with a pencil, which is later checked by a computer. Format of the test is called Extended Matching Questions (EMQ). PLAB Part 1 consists of 200 EMQs. Usually 4 EMQs are grouped under a certain topic like for example, the joint pain. Each EMQ describes a certain clinical situation in the form of a short patient history and clinical findings. Than for the group of 4 EMQs there are given upto 20 (A to T) possible answers. Each EMQ has only one correct answer from the list of 20, which you have to mark on the answer sheet.
Examination Content of PLAB Part 1
Part 1 of PLAB is a purely clinical exam covering all the major clinical specialties including:
-Medicine
-Surgery and Orthopedics
-Obstetrics and Gynecology
-Pediatrics
-Psychiatry
-Ophthalmology
-Otolaryngology
-Accident and Emergency Medicine
Basic Sciences are not tested in PLAB.
Format of PLAB Part 2 "OSCE"
Part 2 assess the clinical skills. There are 14 booths or "stations" and in each station you have to perform a particular task. You have to complete each station in 5 minutes. Some stations have patients where you have to take a short history or perform a certain examination according to the instructions. In other stations you might be required to carry out certain procedure like venepuncture, per-rectal examination or others on dummies.
Examination Content of Part 2 OSCE
Examination content is the same as for part 1. In addition you have to sharpen your clinical skills of history taking, physical examination and carrying out routine diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. This is yet another reason why part 2 should be taken after house job.
Recommended Books for PLAB Part 1
Medicine: Davidson's Principles and Practice of Medicine by Christopher Haslett (Editor), Edwin Chilvers (Editor), Nicholas Boon (Editor), Nicki Colledge (Editor), John Hunter (Editor)
OR
Clinical Medicine: A Textbook for Medical Students and Doctors by Parveen Kumar, Michael Clark
Surgery: Pocket Diagnosis in General Surgery: A Companion to Lecture Notes on General Surgery by Harold Ellis, Christopher J. E. Watson
Orthopedics: Orthopedics portion of Bailey & Love's Short Practice of Surgery by R. C. G. Russell et al
Gynaecology: Gynaecology by Ten Teachers by Stuart Campbell , Ash Monga
Obstetrics: Obstetrics by Ten Teachers by Geoffrey Chamberlain
Pediatrics: Blueprints in Pediatrics -- by Bradley S., Md. Marino, et al
Psychiatry, Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology: Oxford Handbook of Clinical Specialties (Oxford Medical Publications) by J.A.B. Collier, et al
Other Books:
The complete set of "Underground Clinical Vignettes Set of 8 (Internal Medicine Vol. 1, Internal Medicine Vol. 2, Surgery, Ob/Gyn, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Neurology, Emergency Medicine" by Vikas Bhushan, et al (small books with approximately 50 clinical cases in each book).
Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine by Murray Longmore, et al (for quick revision just before the test).
250 Short Cases in Clinical Medicine by Ragavendra R. Baliga
Recommended Books for PLAB Part 2
In addition to the books above you should practice more to examining the patients, take their medical histories and perform common diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in your hospital. Also read the following books:
Hutchinson's Clinical Methods
You can also get coaching classes for part 2 in UK. Information on these couching classes can be obtained from www.plabmaster.co.uk
Applying for PLAB Part 1
For application material and more information contact the following offices:
General Medical Council
PLAB Test Section
178 Great Portland Street
London W1N 6JE
United Kingdom
Phone: 44-207-915-3727
Fax: 44-207-915-3558
E-mail: plab@gmc-uk.org
Website: www.gmc-uk.org
Shahnaz Farooq
British Council
Block 14
Civic Center
G-6
Islamabad
Phone: 92-51-111-424-424
Fax: 92-51-27-6683
E-mail: Shahnaz.Farroq@bc-islamabad.bcouncil.org
Irum Fawad
British Council
20 Bleak House Road
Near Cant's Station
PO Box 10410
Karachi
Phone: 92-21-56-703-917
Fax: 92-21-56-836-94
E-mail: Irum.Fawad@bc-karachi.bcouncil.org
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