Introduction for PLAB -1

What is PLAB?
PLAB is License exam for practice in UK. All International Medical Graduates are required to take PLAB
exam if they wish to pursue their career in UK.

PLAB comprises of 2 exams Plab 1 and Plab 2.

PLAB 1:
 PLAB -1 is of 180 BCQs type single paper exam. Time duration allowed is 3 hours.
 It is a paper based exam and you need to mark answers with lead pencil on an answer sheet.
 There is no negative marking.
 It is conducted 4 times in a year in United Kingdom and overseas centers in the month of March,
June, September & November.
 Major portion of PLAB -1 is from medicine. Approximately 50-55% paper is from medicine. Then
Pediatrics 10-15% Obstetrics & Gynecology 10 % Surgery 8% & Basic Sciences 2%. These
percentages are changeable but these aren’t changed to major difference.

TIME DURATION REQUIRED FOR PREPARATION OF PLAB -1 EXAM:

It can’t be universalized time duration for all candidates. Every person has different capabilities &
circumstances so each one may need different time duration for preparation depending upon their
individual situations. Fresh Graduates may require more time to prepare exam and doctors who are out
of practice may also need longer duration to prepare. Doctors who have attempted other exams and
who are pretty up to date with recent clinical guidelines may require less time. Job nature is another
factor to decide time duration.

As a general rule 3 – 6 months are enough to prepare PLAB -1 exam if someone passionately and
regularly continues studying on daily basis. Regular & daily basis studies much more helpful than once a
weekly 24 hours study.

Study Resources for PLAB -1 Exam

There is a lot of study material available online and in hard form. A precise and limited study material is
more than enough. Mostly doctors gather lot of study material and get confused at the end which one
to follow. Following are the resources which are more than enough if done wisely.
  Plabable. It is online BCQs pool with concise explanation. Questions and explanations are very
close to exam pattern.
 Passmedicine (PLAB). It is also online BCQs pool with extensive explanation for different exams.
So particularly PLAB -1 option is also available.
 Oxford Hand Book of clinical Medicine – it is a theory book as per UK Guidelines. It is a good
handbook to review topics as theory when needed.
 Dr. Khalid 1700 BCQS – it is PDF file available online and in hard copy. Basically its collection of
old PLAB -1 exam BCQs. There are many broken and incomplete BCQs. It was very famous file
for PLAB -1 exam in the past because mostly PLAB -1 questions were from this pool. But recently
PLAB -1 one exam is changed and a lot of new questions are added.

How to Use these Resources?

These are more than enough resources to prepare PLAB -1 exam. How to use them depends on where
do you stand knowledge wise? Lot of guidance available and every one guide according to his / her
shoes and most of time doctors follow statement blindly and result in exam failure. As mentioned above
every individual has different capacity, so each of you need to plan your own pathway according to your
knowledge & clinical skills. What points should be kept in mind before deciding resources and time
duration mentioned already.

So our advice is don’t follow statements from other doctors blindly. As mostly they don’t let you know
how much they have done for other exams and how much they have studied for this exam. Assess
yourself before starting your preparation. Have good detailed information regarding exam requirement
and pattern and then decide resources and timeline for your preparation. Some common statements we
are quoting here just to let you know how you are miss guided by other doctors.

 I studied just one week and cleared my PLAB -1.

 I studied just Plabable and cleared my exam.
 Don’t give more than 2 weeks for this exam.
 It is very easy exam.
 I studied just 2-3 hours per day for 2 weeks and made my exam.

How to approach for PLAB -1 Exam preparation

On an average 3 – 6 months for exam preparation are more than enough. It can be bit less or more time
according to individual case.
 Doctors who have attempted other exam earlier need less preparation time for this exam. It
doesn’t make difference they cleared other exam or no. But they have prepared for that exam
and they have knowledge.
 Doctors who are not working and can give full time to studies also may not need much time to
prepare exam.
 Doctors which tough job routine need more time to prepare.
 Doctors who are fresh and no clinical experience need more time.
 Doctors who are out of practice need more time.
 Doctors who are not updated to recent UK Guidelines require more time.
Following are points to prepare exam. If these are followed completely then most likely you will
make your exam easily.
 Assess yourself initially to see where you stand clinically. Best is do some questions test
and see what score you get. That will give you an idea how much more efforts you need
to crack this exam.
 Have a scheduled study plan for duration you have decided for preparation. Follow your
timetable strictly. You have to stretch yourself for your career and need to manage time
within your circumstances.
 If you are weak and you are out of practice then study theory and BCQs practice
sideways.
 At least manage 5-6 hours per day for studies regularly. Divide 3 hours for theory and 3
hours for BCQs practice.
 Don’t give long gaps between your studies.
 You don’t need to read theory books from A to Z. Find out your weak topics and read
them from oxford handbook as per need.
 BCQs are passive way of learning. Don’t try to memorize BCQs. Get an idea from BCQs
related to topics. Improve your BCQs solving techniques.
 Revise, Recall & Recall is rule to retain knowledge.
 If you feel you are weak in theory or you don’t have much background knowledge then
start with pass medicine. It has extensive explanation with each BCQ. Read explanation
properly and try to memorize explanations to solve further related questions in one go.
Pass medicine is good in the sense they keep updating their explanations according to
UK guidelines and it is an easy way to get familiar with guidelines as they formulate
guidelines in bullet form as per exam requirements.
 Then start with Plabable questions pool and keep your BCQs practice with Plabable.
 Oxford Handbook of clinical as back up for theory when needed.
 You need to do Plabable at least thrice and Pass medicine at least twice before your
exam.
 Start doing mocks before 1 month of your exam. Timed mocks are very important to
manage time in exam. So practice mock with exactly 3 hours time and you must
complete mocks at least 30 minutes before the specified time so in exams if you will get
difficult questions you can manage time easily.
Why Doctors fail PLAB – 1 Exam?
Following the critical mistakes responsible for failing any exam and particularly PLAB -1

 Lack of Proper information related to exam requirement. So have good home work before
starting preparation for exam. So consult to senior colleagues who have attempted exam. Go to
Exam official links and read what exam is expecting from you.
 No Self Assessment – Assess yourself how much you are prepared and how much more time
you need to have this exam. Don’t follow others advise blindly. Make your own timeline for
exam according to your circumstances. And if you are clinically weak then there is no harm to
get proper study assistance to prepare exam.
 Lot of study material – Don’t try to gather lot of study material. Concise, limited study material
is more than enough.
 Non -logical time duration – Set logical time duration for preparation. Don’t rush for a
premature attempt. It will be a financial & mental trauma for you.
 Interrupted Studies – Mostly people prepare exams in patches. They studies 2-3 days in a week
for 12 hours and then stop for days. This is lethal and can’t help. Regular daily studies hours are
mandatory to nail any exam. You should set daily logical study goals and hours as per your
circumstances and try to manage them on daily basis. Remember you will never get time of ease
to study. So you have to stretch yourself in your circumstances. Cut down social life,
compromise on your sleep and manage your daily study hours.
 Time management during exam – Many doctors are unable to complete paper in 3 hours time.
They leave many questions unsolved & straightaway loose marks. Do timed mocked practice as
much as you can. You should be able to finish mocks at least 30 minutes before. Only then you
will be able to manage your time during exam. As this exam don’t have any negative marking, so
you should solve all 180 questions.
 Get assistance if you need it. These are professional exams and there is no harm if you are not
updated to clinical medicine, it is wise to get proper study assistance to accelerate your career
and exams.

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