I have recently been to the Common Stations course by Dr Hamed and I ended up leaving after only 5 days of the course due to reasons which are explained below.
Since many of you are planning for PLABs and GMC registration, I would like to share my experience with you so you could avoid falling into this trap. Let’s start by overall information regarding this course:
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The course is marketed very differently from what is actually provided to you. From the very first day you start feeling under-valued as a student. We were a 106 people per batch, were told to arrive at 8 AM for registration on the first day, then kept waiting until 1 PM for registration to finish and for class to actually start.
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During registration, you will be made to sign a document that gives the academy the right to suspend you in case you violate any of their “rules”, without any refunds.
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After registration is over all 106 students are crammed together in a small room with a few fans here and there, closed windows, and little fresh air. Each student is given a seat number, so you could end up sitting at the very back of the class with very little to see from the white board in front.
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When class starts on day 1, Dr Hamed begins by laying out the “rules” which you were never told before. These are as follows:
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- You are not allowed to ask questions or talk in class at all, unless you raise your hand or are asked a question. If you have any questions, you have to wait until class ends at 9 PM to ask.
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- If you are late for any reason, you are absolutely not allowed to walk into class. You have to go to the admin and they will allow you to enter class.
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- You are not allowed to be absent without informing the academy first. In case of unexplained absence, Dr Hamed gives himself the right to remove you from the academy, without a refund for your money.
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Dr Hamed insists that class will finish at 8. However, it never does. His classes run from 9 AM till 9-9:30 PM, with only one lunch break around 3 PM.
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Daily, Dr Hamed will mark those who are absent and his admin will make sure to follow them up, ask them to justify absence and threaten them with suspension.
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If you choose this academy, be prepared for a lot of sexist and racist comments, getting screamed at, and many little displays of humiliation here and there.
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Dr Hamed throws tantrums and starts screaming for no reason at times, and with no apologies whatsoever. Some students got up to use the toilet once, and he literally screamed at them “DONT MOVE. GO BACK TO YOUR SEAT.”
Now I’ll share the story of why I personally left the academy:
On the third day of the course I did not come to class. Throughout the day I received 2 missed calls from the academy, along with an email asking me to “explain” why I was absent, and a WhatsApp message telling me I was absent without informing anyone and that I may get suspended from the course if I continue to do so. I calmly reply that I was fine and that I was coming back to class the following day.
As if that were not enough, I also got phone calls from terrified classmates telling me he was “very upset” and kept “complaining about me” throughout the day. Apparently, his ego was hurt by me missing his class without his permission. He’s 41 by the way.
The following day I attend class and am surprised to find out that Dr Hamed was giving me the silent treatment, which was very evident especially that my seat was in the front row. I was also verbally threatened by one of the admins about being absent without informing them beforehand, and how that might result in me getting suspended.
I give it some thought and realise I cannot continue this course because I did not feel respected as a person. I did not want to be taught by a megalomaniac.
I am lucky enough to have not booked my PLAB2 yet, so I could still explore other options. Other students are literally “trapped” there and he takes advantage of it: after booking accommodation in Barking, paying 595 pounds for the course, and booking a PLAB2 exam date, you have no other option but to stay in his course and tolerate him.
In the end you can see why he says on his website that he has a “no refund policy”. If he had one, very few people would remain in his course.