Plab Exam for Indian Doctors: My Experience and Advice for Other Doctors

All right guys. I passed my PLAB 1 in my second attempt and am posting my experience here for anyone it might help. So here’s my two cents worth…

My background: I am from India. I passed my MBBS 10 years back and specialised in Nuclear Medicine. I practised till 2015 after which I moved to a non-clinical career. My wife got a job here and we moved here in April 2017. Since my daughter was 15 months old then, I decided to become a stay at home dad. In July, I decided to give PLAB and registered for the September exam and started preparing for it from July.

My Preparation: I started out with trying to read the OHCM and OHCS 10th editions which I bought. I thought I would do it cover to cover but was impossible. I then heard about BMJ OnExamination which advertised itself as the guys who set the PLAB papers. I registered for their course for 3 months. The actual cost is £45 but if you register and keep checking their facebook page, you will get at least a 20% off code. I was lucky enough to get a 30% off code so ended up paying £30. I started off with the questions only to find that it was at a far higher level than I thought it would be. I started getting frustrated. I then found a group on Facebook and that was extremely helpful. I learned about the 1700 QB and PLABABLE. The PLABABLE course was £20 for 3 months which I felt was extremely cheap. I subscribed to it and started on it. PLABABLE was much more easier and better structured. I began doing their questions from the 1^st of August and did about 50 questions a day. I could barely put in 3 hours of study everyday as I was also looking after my kid and housework. On weekends when my wife was home, I did about 100 questions. I completed the QB by the 1^st of September. I was still nervous. I then got a mail from PLABABLE about a webinar just before the exam. It was £30. I registered for it. It was on the 4^th and 5^th of September for about 2 hours each day at night. I think that was the best thing. They broadly covered all topics with high value questions. I found I knew the answer to most of them and became confident again. I felt I was now prepared for the exam.

In short, the BMJ On Examination was not very helpful except for the ethics questions. If you are subscribing to a QB, I think the PLABABLE one is definitely worth it.

Click Here to Get PLAB Questions and Answers

The September exam:

My exam was in Manchester. Google maps gave me very clear directions and time of travel. Do plan beforehand. I shall be putting in tips for the exam at the end of the document. I reached with barely any time to spare. By the time I used the toilet, which was in another floor at another end of the building, and got back, the papers had already been distributed. I quickly filled in my details and waited for the examiner to ask us to start. I waited about 15 minutes before I realised that everyone had begun. I realised then that they had asked us to start 15 minutes back but I had not heard it as I was at the back of the hall. I was then racing against time to complete the paper in 165 minutes instead of the 180 minutes. I completed it with barely any time to spare. I left the hall, got back home and posted whatever questions I could recollect. Then began the agonising wait for the results.

Results:

The results came on October 12. I had failed. The pass mark was 123 and I had got 122. Missed by a single mark. It was frustrating. But I also knew that I had almost done it. I quickly registered for the November exam and started preparing from the 15^th. I now had 3 weeks to prepare again.

Preparation for the November exam:

I now found it difficult to study. I had not done anything between the exam and the results. And getting back to studying was somehow not happening. I started going through PLABABLE QB again (my subscription was still valid). I then heard of their 2.5 day course in London from 24^th to 26^th of October. Since I was going to be in London, I decided to attend it. It was £130 of which they gave me a discount of £30 so I ended up paying £100. It was worth every single penny. They went through all the topics and high yield questions. It was more of a discussion than a lecture which helped me remember things a lot better. It also gave me more confidence that I did remember most of what I had studied. So, I did the course and got back to my home. The last week I did only mocks mainly to get into the groove of writing the exam. This is very important as you need to be in a frame of mind to concentrate for 3 hours straight. I did just 1 mock a day for 3 hours straight and did not bother too much with the scores.

The November exam:

This was much better. Reached there with 15 minutes to spare. It was much better organised. No problems here though the exam appeared a lot more difficult than the September one. The weightage on topics and the way the questions were framed was quite different. The last exam had more of Psychiatry and Ethics questions while this one had more of Poisoning and Hypercalcemia. Done and went home. Posted recalls.

The results:

Passed with a good score. The score does not matter so don’t bother asking me or anyone for it. The cutoff was 122 this time and that’s what you need to clear.

Points to remember:

1. Preparation: Everyone’s circumstances are different. It does not matter how much you put in. It’s how you put it in. You can do it in about 1 month with 2-3 hours of study everyday as I did. So don’t lose hope if you think you are not studying enough.
2. QB: I think PLABABLE is well worth it. Subscribe to it. It’s quite cheap too. I have heard that the 1700 QB is equally good. Plus it is free. Either of them should be fine. Both would be a bonus. I did not have time to do the 1700 but it comes highly recommended.
3. Exam tips:
   1. Arrive early. Use GMaps to see hoe to get there as well as the time it takes. Factor in travel delays and aim to reach about an hour before.
   2. Preferable before you leave. You may not find anything early in the day near the venue. Don’t expect anything at the venue. You can carry your food so you may carry some sandwiches if you like. I did bur did not find time to eat in in the exam hall. Carry water. The first exam did not have any while the second exam did. I found it very useful to carry some Snicker Bars (or whatever other chocolate bar you fancy). I had one every hour with water and they were worth it.
   3. Use the toilet at the venue before the exam. Trust me on this. You are going to be holding it in for 3 hours. Plus the tension of the exam. If you go during the exam, you will end up losing about 5 minutes at least. So do go before. Also, find out where the toilets are as soon as you reach. In the first exam, it was on a different floor altogether. It took about 15 minutes to get there, do my job and get back. The second venue had it all attached to the hall. So no problems there. Both these were in Manchester. The London venue seems to be the same every time so people who have been there can describe it better.
   4. Dress comfortably. It can get very cold here especially if you are giving it in Autumn/winter. Plus it tends to be wet. So dress accordingly. Note that the halls are generally (not always) heated. You will have to remove all jackets prior to the exam. Sweaters are allowed.
   5. Pay attention to the examiners instructions. They will also announce the time left.
   6. You will see a lot of people studying at the venue. It’s your personal choice but I personally don’t think last minute cramming helps. You can look up some notes/one-liners on your way there but I think it’s best if you stop everything half an hour before the exam.
   7. Not during the exam but the previous night. Unless you get a good night’s sleep, your mind won’t be clear enough for you to do anything. I would rather miss out on a couple of questions than not be able to concentrate on the entire paper.
   8. And finally, DON’T PANIC! Even if it looks like you may not be able to complete the paper. A lot of people have left 10-20 questions in the end and still passed. So don’t worry about it. Just don’t leave marking the answer sheet for the end. A lot of people have also failed just because they marked the answers on the question paper and planned to fill in the answer sheet in the end but were unable to do so.

I am available on Facebook and you guys can ping me if you have any queries. Please do not ask for my number as I do not give that out. And don’t expect an instant answer. I am still a Dad first. J

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