My PLAB 2 Experience
I passed my PLAB 2 exam with a score of 154, in which I appeared
on 26th April 2019.
PLAB-2 Visa
If you're applying from Delhi VFS,
you can mention the academy.
I gave a detailed cover letter
along with my application. I find this very crucial to get a visa.
I got my Visa in 3 days after
my appointment.
If you're applying from VFS
centers in South India, please do not mention the academy. Everyone I know
who mentioned it in Chennai, got their visas rejected.
My Timeline
March 5
- Arrived in Manchester
- Settled at my AirBNB place at
a 10 min walk from the academy ( I strongly advise you to book a place near to
the academy.)
Please follow the link if you want a good AirBNB discount on your booking-
https://www.airbnb.co.in/c/ashishb1894?currency=INR
March 9- March 21
- Attended the course (never
read the pre-course material or the scripts beforehand)
- During the course days, I came back to my place just to sleep. I
never read anything as it was too tiring.
- Watched half of the classes
online as the classes were getting too boring
- Attended all the classes
which are taken by Dr. Swamy, in the academy. These are very important classes
March 22
- Took a day off
- Explored the city with my
classmates
March 23-27
- Tried reading the notes on my
own but couldn't finish a lot of it
March 28- April 5
- Started practicing the stations with a
partner
- We practiced with the real
GMC alarm bell in our phone.
- We never practiced in the academy as it was too loud and there
were a lot of distractions around.
- One station was done twice,
once by me and then by my partner
- It took us around 18 mins to
finish a station ( 8 minutes for each person, 2 minutes to switch).
- We tried to finish 20-22
stations in a day.
April 1
-Took a break
April 2
- Took my SimMan and special
mannequins class which is a paid class in the academy if you want to see the SimMan
in person.
April 6
- Took my first mock in which I
did well
April 7-9
- Finished my course once along
with practicing most of the stations
- I revised examinations and
mannequins twice in this duration.
April 10 -20
- Read the scripts on my own
again and tried to memorize the important points
April 11, 17, 20
- Took my mocks on these days
- I screwed some mock stations
due to anxiety. I was told that I had good interpersonal skills but I was
nervous during the last few days.
April 21-25
- Read the scripts again and
tried to memorize the important points
April 26
- Appeared from my exam in the
morning batch
Common Misconceptions
"PLAB 2 is a very easy
exam. The examiners are there to pass us because they need doctors in the UK."
Unfortunately, no. This is not
the case. It is a well-structured examination to evaluate your data gathering,
management skills, and your interpersonal skills. It is one of the most
difficult exams I've appeared to date.
PLAB 2 has
become tougher than the previous years due to the ever-increasing number of new
stations. They have around 300 stations these days and GMC is putting new cases every day in the exams. Please don't confuse this exam with USMLE Step 2 CS. The
GMC focuses mostly on your communication skills, ethics, and your inter-personal
skills.I kept a 5 weeks gap after my course ended. Still, I had to read and
practice ( around 70-80 stations) for almost 10 hours a day without any breaks
to finish the course thrice. I seriously advise you to keep around 8 weeks for
your preparation after the course.
"My friend failed
because he was scripted. Don't read the scripts too well."
This is
total bulls**** . All my simulators gave me the exact replies from my scripts
from the course. You need to know the scripts well. ( Don't be smart enough
though, to tell details from the scripts when the simulator hasn't told that to
you.)
"
Dr. Swamy's scripts are useless. I've heard they have better notes in Aspire or
Dr. Hameed's course.I will read their notes too"
The scripts are GOLD. If you
know them, your data gathering and management portion are done.
" Don't shake your
hands with the simulators..."
Please don't be afraid to touch
your simulators. They are human beings too. They like when you shake hands with
them and when you confidently introduce yourself.
" 2-4 weeks are enough
for your preparation"
I kept a 5
weeks gap after my course ended. Still, I had to read and practice ( around
70-80 stations) for almost 10 hours a day without any breaks to finish the
course thrice. I was anxious all the time due to variable opinions. I seriously
advise you to keep around 8 weeks for your preparation after the course.
"
Consider the opinion of mock examiners strictly and try to collect as many
opinions from various teachers and other academy's students."
The mock
examiners at Dr. Swamy's course mark you down brutally and extremely horrify
you. Please don't pay attention to that. The GMC examiners mark you in totally
different and unknown ways. Take your mocks just for self-assessment. Skip your
last mock if you have it too close to your exam date. It will just make you
more anxious.
Essential
points
1.
Keep around 8 weeks for your preparation after the course. There are many
misleading blogs around on the internet which say that they did it in 1-2
weeks. These blog writers portray themselves to be very casual and
unusually talented persons. Please avoid such blogs or try taking their
guidance only if you've got superhuman skills.
2. Accept
healthy criticism and work on yourself.
3. Work on
your interpersonal skills. Talk to people around you and work on your language
barrier. Develop good communication skills and try to become a confident
person overall.
4. Be a nice and kind person, in the exam and in your life.
5. Keep a distance from negative people.
6. Shake hands confidently. Additionally, talk about your simulator's work-life, social support, how the disease is affecting his/her day to day activities, how does he/she feel about the problem, his/her mood, what he/she thinks about what he/she has, all his/her concerns and all his/her expectations from the medical team.
7. Express your emotions and have an open, accepting body language. Don't feel awkward when the simulators express themselves or act sad/ start crying. And, at no point judge them for their addictions, concerns, or sexual history.
5. Keep a distance from negative people.
6. Shake hands confidently. Additionally, talk about your simulator's work-life, social support, how the disease is affecting his/her day to day activities, how does he/she feel about the problem, his/her mood, what he/she thinks about what he/she has, all his/her concerns and all his/her expectations from the medical team.
7. Express your emotions and have an open, accepting body language. Don't feel awkward when the simulators express themselves or act sad/ start crying. And, at no point judge them for their addictions, concerns, or sexual history.
8. Consider
it to be a busy day in the GP clinic. Read your task well, really LISTEN to the
simulators and try to help them out with their problems. Do just what your
question says. I scored well in Inter-personals in most of the stations and I
guess that makes all the difference.
9. Provide a safety net for your simulator. Say that you will refer them to a specialist or will call your seniors if you don't know/are unsure about something. Check the BNF (if you have time). Be a SAFE doctor.
9. Provide a safety net for your simulator. Say that you will refer them to a specialist or will call your seniors if you don't know/are unsure about something. Check the BNF (if you have time). Be a SAFE doctor.
10. Be
extremely confident or fake it. I was unusually calm on my exam day and was
ready to appear again whole-heartedly if things went wrong. No one can
beat you if you've got control over your anxious mind.
Thank you for this information.
ReplyDeleteI can use these tips for my next attempt.
ReplyDelete"Check the BNF" In which situation I would mention this?
ReplyDeleteWhere you have to tell the side effects of a drug or check interactions.
DeleteThank you for sharing your journey.I was curious ,why did you go for the PLAB route?
ReplyDeleteAso, what would you have done differently in your preparation?
And did you solely stick to swamy notes or supplemented with others?
Hello. I've graduated in December 2018. The PLAB route works best for me. I sticked with Dr. Swamy's notes. I think that they are complete.
DeleteI find your blog to be very well written and informative
ReplyDeleteAccording to my understanding you attended fy 2
So were you able to get your full gmc registration done in just two months after getting your plab 2 result on may 2019?
What was your interview date?
Did you attend face to face interview in Manchester only?
I find your blog to be very well written and informative
ReplyDeleteAccording to my understanding you attended fy 2
So were you able to get your full gmc registration done in just two months after getting your plab 2 result on may 2019?
What was your interview date?
Did you attend face to face interview in Manchester only?
Sir Do u suggest any certification course to prepare CV for orthopedics?thak you sir
ReplyDeletehi
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your journey. Great information by this article.
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