Through my understanding, PLAB-1 is an Exam which tests your clinical knowledge. It contains a very small portion of Basic Sciences and a major 90% portion of Clinical Sciences. The exam covers Medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics, Gynecology, Pediatrics, ENT, Ophthalmology, Anatomy, Community Medicine and Medical Ethics. It is not a very difficult exam if you prepare well for it. The pass score for PLAB-1 is not constant. It keeps varying depending on the average pass score but it is always around 120 to 126 which is almost 60 to 62%.
Time Management
The most important part of this exam is Time Management. Regarding Time Management, the PLAB-1 consists of 200 SBAQ’s (Single Best Answer Questions). The time given to complete the exam is 3 hours (180 mins) which means that you have 180 minutes to cover 200 Questions. Ultimately, you have around 52 seconds for each question (less than a minute). Some scenarios are short which may save your time. Majority have a moderate length and you can easily read and mark each within a minute. Once you start your exam, keep an eye on your watch. After first 20 minutes, make sure that you have at least done 20 questions. Similarly after 40 mines, make sure that you have covered 45 to 50 questions. Most Important thing that you need to remember is that you must be marking the answers on the computerized answer sheet after completing each question (instead of marking them on the question Book). That will save your time and you will be less worried by the time you are close to the end. Because if you keep marking on your question book, your stress levels are slowly going to rise and there’s a bright chance that you might panic in the end realizing the end time is near and you still need to mark 200 answers on the answer sheet. (Sufficient to give a last moment heart-attack). Reason why I am emphasizing on this particular point is because I remember the person sitting next to me who faced similar situation. The way she was sweating and trembling in the last 5 minutes still sends chills across my spine.
Booking
The exam is held in two centers i.e. Islamabad and Karachi in Pakistan. There are high demands for both PLAB-1 and PLAB-2 exams. Make sure you book the exam at least 3 to 4 months prior to the exam date. It is only held in March and November in Pakistan. In UK, the exam is held four times a year. It’s very important to understand how to time your professional career and PLAB-1 exam, when exactly to book and when to take the exam if you are ambitious about your plans and if you plan not to waste your time after your graduation. I’ll discuss these pearls in a separate Blog Post.
How to prepare for PLAB-1 exam?
PLAB-1 exam preparation depends on your personal circumstances. Most of the people appear in PLAB-1 after the House Job. Some appear during House Job. So it’s little different in both the situations because you can’t give your complete time and attention if you’re doing House Job. Nevertheless, you can pass which means that the exam is not very difficult if you have given it enough time and attention. I would suggest you a minimum of full 8 to 10 weeks time for you exam preparation if you are not doing your House Job. Remember to be safe always while preparing for any exam in Medicine. So longer the time you have for preparation, the safer you are. If you are doing your House Job in a government Hospital and taking the exam, then you need safe 3 months because you would not be able to give a lot of time to the exam prep.
What Study material to Consult for PLAB-1 Exam?
You may hear people saying a lot about preparation material. Although there’s no harm in involving multiple study sources (given you have sufficient time), it is still advisable to study the 3 major tools for PLAB-1 exam. Many people would tell you to consult Oxford handbook of Medicine, Oxford Handbook of Clinical Specialties, PLABABLE and even Pass Medicine for MRCP-1. I would not recommend this to anyone because I believe it’s possible to pass the exam by consulting fewer and much easier sources. Here are the three sources I consulted for my exam.
1st Month
The Gold standard for PLAB understanding is the basic PLAB-1 1700 MCQs. I would recommend doing Dr. Khalid Saifullah’s 1700 with explanation in the first month. Go through the 1700 MCQS at least once or twice by doing 100 to 200 MCQs daily. You may not be able to understand a few although the explanation to each is very detailed, carefully written and constantly updated by Dr. Khalid. The link to this document is available on the Facebook ‘PLAB’ group. (I will find the link and attach below). You can easily read the 1700 twice in the first month.
2nd Month
Samson Notes for PLAB-1 is the most precise and authentic source to prepare for the PLAB-1 exam. They are much smaller in size as compared with other sources such as Oxford Handbook. Although they are not detailed, the explanation is sufficient for you to remember a one line management plan as required in the Exam. The Notes cover all the topics and subjects including Medical Ethics. The notes are very easy to understand and comprehend therefore it is advisable to cram them entirely so that your chance of missing any question in the exam goes to negligible. I did the notes in 12 days only. I’m absolutely sure that the notes will be on your finger tips if you give them one complete month. (Remember to be safe). I had some difficulty while doing Neurology and Anatomy from the notes because it was too short. For that I consulted First Aid for USMLE STEP-1 (for Neurology) and Kaplan Handbook of Anatomy (for Blood and Nerve Supply of Upper and Lower Limbs). Once you cover the Samson Notes in the 2nd month, the 1700 MCQS will start making a lot of sense to you and your confidence level will reach new heights.
Last 2 weeks
Lastly, the Samson Mocks for PLAB-1 are the most important tool to ace PLAB-1 Exam. There are 7 Mocks available on the PLAB group on Facebook. These Mock Papers are formed by Dr. Samson Chissi from Samson Academy, London. Each Mock is important and will be your test to assess your preparation. It is therefore recommended to time each Mock by giving yourself exact 2 hours. After following this preparation plan you will probably score around 66% to 75% in all Mocks. You are required to cover one Mock daily. You will be done with 7 Mocks in 7 days. Once you cover and pass all the mocks, you will be in a very confident position to enter the PLAB-1 Exam because the Mock scenarios are the closest to the exam. (Not the 1700 MCQs). The topics are the same, the options are the same, the clinical scenarios are the same, just that they are differently written in the exam. Remember you still have 7 Days left. In the last 7 Days, revise the Samson Notes from the Book or from your own notes if you have written them down (advisable).
End Note
I took the new PLAB-1 format exam on 15th November, 2016. The exam is not difficult but remember to never consider your task easy even if it actually is. As long as you have put in sufficient time and effort, you will surely ace the exam. It is advisable to study in group so find your study partners if possible. Always believe in Allah’s help when you have put in your effort. The above writing is based on my personal experience and the study plan that I have shared was my own. The Blog is open to Questions and will be modified and updated accordingly if you will require more help on any other aspect of PLAB-1 Exam. My purpose is to help all the Doctors who need guidance regarding PLAB which is why I tried covering everything related to this exam. Hope you shall benefit.
I wish you all the best of luck, health and success.