Plab 1
PLAB 1
Hina A. Raz
Dow Medical College
Class of 2009
Part 1 of Plab is a computer-marked written examination consisting of extended matching questions (EMQs) and single best answer (SBA) questions. The paper contains 200 questions and may contain images. It lasts three hours. The proportion of SBA questions may vary from exam to exam but no more than 30% of the paper is composed of SBA questions. You can have an unlimited number of attempts but you must pass Part 1 within two years of the date of your IELTS certificate.
The two main books are:
1. OHCS (Oxford Handbook of Clinical Specialties)
2. OHCM ( Oxford Handbook Of Clinical Medicine)
A book for Surgery is optional because the OHCM has a section on surgery which is sufficient. If you want to use another book, then you may use “Oxford Handbook of Surgery”. Likewise, for gynecology/obstetrics, OHCS and OHCM are sufficient if you read them thoroughly and try to remember important details. If you want to use another book, then you may use “Ten Teachers”. For Psychiatry, however, it’s better to do it from Davidson since many people find it better than OHCS. I also felt that in the exam, Psychiatry came mostly from Davidson.
The Extended Matching Question (EMQ) books are:
- 1000 EMQS by Una Coales.
- Medicbyte 3 Volumes.
- Plab Digest by Atish Pratap Mathur.
- RXPG First Aid 3rd International Edition by Tyagi Vidyarthi.
I suggest that you take about 4 months for the preparation for this exam. So, 1.5 month for the OHCS, 1.5 months for the OHCM, and then, take 1 month to do book and online EMQs. However, the time varies with everyone and also depends on when you graduated and for how long you haven’t been in touch with regular studies.
Join different forums where questions are discussed regularly. One of the best forums I have seen is rxpgonline.com Plab 1 forum. I also suggest that you book “123Doc Plab Part1 Online E- Course” which costs 24 Pounds for a 2 month subscription. They have up to 2000 EMQs in their bank and they daily select a topic and then you have to solve the questions. Most people recommend one online examination. It’s best to first give at least two reads to OHCM and OHCS thoroughly. And then, you should solve EMQs daily. Last but not the least; solve all the past papers from 2001 till the time you take the exam. I solved all the papers from 2001 to 2009.
Hope all the above information helps. If you have any more confusion, let me know and try to get the latest editions of all the books. Many of the latest editions are not in Pakistan, so I ordered a few books from www.amazon.co.uk and there are many book shops who can order them for you. They give you the photocopy of that book at a reasonable price.
Remember that practice is the key. Good luck!
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The new guidelines for ielts exemption
You change a PLAB Part 1 test place you have already booked to take place on or after 1 February 2011.
You took PLAB Part 1 on 16 December 2010 and failed.
If you do not pass PLAB Part 1 on or after 1 February 2011.
If you do not pass PLAB Part 2 four times and therefore need to re-sit PLAB Part 1.
If you apply for registration more than three years after passing PLAB Part 2.
If any of these circumstances apply to you, you will need to update the evidence to demonstrate your knowledge of English by providing a letter from the university or awarding institution to confirm that:
Your course of study was taught and examined solely in English
and
At least 75% of any clinical interaction which took place as part of your course of study (including personal contact with patients, their families and other healthcare professionals) was conducted in English.
I am not sure about this but if i get a letter from my college stating the above two conditions(2nd would be wrong offcource as we live in Pakistan and interact with patients in Urdu) than i must be exempted. Isn’t it ? Please give your feedback
hi hina..i would like to know wether u can give plab 1 in uk or not? or do i hav to give in my home country..i do have a visit visa of uk..can i just go straight to uk after my graduation and give plab 1 and 2 there..??
hi saara
u can give plab either in pak or in uk
its ur choice
only difference is in uk it takes place 4 times in a year and in pak and other countries only twice a year
u can give it on visit visa
Hey Hina.Where can we get the past papers from?.rpx people are a little weird,many of them so negative and discouraging in their stance towards PLAB,so I dont want to ask them for past papers nor could I find it in their old forums.
I’ll appreciate your help
u can download all papers from ere
i think the site was under maintanance so m not sure if they are available
but u can get it from DOW ALUMINI section of this website
hope that helps
Great.Thanks:)
ASSALAM O ALAIKUM, first i would like to appreciate u for such a great effort .
i have a question that if after gettin provisional registration from GMC, u get failed in PLAB 1 then what ahead?
Hi Dr. Hina,
Do you have a copy of emqs books and SBAS book.
If so , please reply to me at the earliest , as my plab exam is there on 8th September 2011.
Waiting for your positive reply.
Thank you.
hi hema
sorry i dun have copies…
i got all my books from pak as here they were very xpensive..n i have distributed half of em…sorry abt tht..ill check if i can try to get books frm smwhere then ill try n post u
hi Hina,
gr8 work here..may ALLAH reward you for ur efforts…..
I wanted to ask whether we can give plab1 in our final year?
and is an elective in UK important for a job?
and what degree will we be getting after we complete the foundation years??
Hi Hina, with a postgrduate qualification from a uk university will i be exempted from IELTS for PLAB ?
Cheers
@ shahvaiz: u can not give plab 1 in ur final year as u need to enter ur date of qualification and graduation for plab booking..but u can prepare in ur final year and give it immediately after ur final yrs…
elective makes ur CV luks good and give the hosp an idea tht u r aware of the UK workin system..its worth doing but not a mandatory thing to get a job..ppl get job without it as well…
after u complete ur foundation year u will b awarded COMPLETION OF FOUNDATION COMPETENCE which is a requirement for ur ST ( speciality training ) or CT ( core medical training) years ahead
Lovejay@ u wont be xempted from plab..but i think u can skip ielts..bt m nt sure..u can ask IELTS.ORG ppl they r very helpful
hi how r u doing all..i m new to this forum..i have recently cleared fcps part 1 exam..now i want to give a foreign exam…i m very confused which way i go..can anyone guide me..what are the chances of rresidency in U.K after clearing plab??
can anyone tell me the present situation of the indian doctors in uk? what is the scope for an indian doctor after plab part 2?
i cant find the past plab papers. plz help
Hi Masood,
sorry i am unable to find the papers as well, actually the outlook have changed a bit so i have asked one of my friend who can help us out.meanwhile if u want to join DOLCE group on facebuk where i have posted a link for the past papers.. as because of security issues v r not actually allowed to paste links .urls ere
so if u can join the group u can find it
its a mediafire file where i have compiled all papers till 2010
hope tht helps
tc
salam dear hina,
im preparing for the plab1. i need to know that from where can i get the swammy notes?
i’ll be highly grateful to you.
thanking you in anticipation.
please check this website
u have to pay to get them
http://www.plabtrainer.co.uk/
Hi Hina,
I took plab1 and plab 2 in 2005.Unfortunately I have not cleared plab2.
I have decided to take plab again.Could you help me with past papers?.
Also, if someone help me with the present scenario of Indian doctors after plab2 in UK?.
My mail id is sankalpsuman@yahoo.com
Hi Hina , Thanks for this useful post. wanted to ask , u have commented above about a facebook group for past papers, i really need the past papers till 2010, but wasnt able to find the group. So plz if u could tell us the about the group or somehow share the mediafire file. Thanks
May Allah bless you for your work Ameen.
I want to solve past papers for plab 1 as i am giving it in march 2012. I read in your previous answers that i can download it from alumini section. However, i cant find it in there. Can you please help. The exam is very near. Please help me. i also read a msg from you in which u stated that if we join DOLCE we can find some past papers. I just sent an invite now. Many thanks
JazakAllah
Hey Hina, Salam, i want to ask you that when did u give your PLAB1 after your MBBS? and how much gap u gave between PLAB 1 and PLAB 2. Did you give your PLAB1 in Pakistan? I wanted to go to UK for both PLABS, because i wanted to do clinical attachment there after PLAB1, but every1 says its better to give PLAB1 in Pakistan. and can you please tell me,that when did you apply for F1 post, after PLAB1 or after passing both?
i am really confused in sorting out what to do at what time. please help, cuz i was thinking of going to UK for PLAB1 for this november 2012 exam, and i was thinking of droping my housejob,but now m confused. because people say its very hard to get F1 POST. so its better to give PLAB here meanwhile complete 1 year of housejob and than go for PLAB2 and apply for F2 POST. but i think you MASHALLAH managed to do PLABS there and get F1 post.
please guide! Thanks!