My PLAB 2 Experience
Unfortunately, my PLAB 2 journey was not a very smooth one. This is because I could not clear PLAB 2 on my first attempt. Which made me very very depressed & frustrated. This is because I have been dreaming to work in the UK since 3rd year and has been implementing my plan for PLAB since internship. However, on my second attempt I cleared PLAB 2 by passing 17 stations & scoring 146. Therefore, today I would like to discuss some of the mistakes that I have made on my first attempt & how I corrected myself & improved myself on my second attempt.
Please note that I will not share any GMC materials or questions. I will only talk about some simple tricks & tips to polish yourself for the exam.
First let me discuss my mistakes.
On my first attempt I passed 8 station & got 97. Why? Let me tell u why?
- I had a bit less than 4 week to prepare myself for the exam after the course. Which is not sufficient for a slow learner like me. It’s very important to have 7 to 8 week after finishing the course sitting for the exam. Because number of stations has exceeded 300 now.
- I didn’t practice with people. I did self-study & tried to memorize the script. Therefore, in the exam I lost eye-contact with patients as I was trying to recall the script . Maintaining eye-contact is very important for interpersonal skill.
- As I could not finish studying, therefore I didn’t have any confidence while I was facing each station. I was literally shaking in some of the stations & was looking at the examiner. In these stations I failed badly.
- I didn’t have better understanding of the exam & how it works. It’s important that before coming for the exam, ask your friends or seniors to get minimum idea about the exam. You can listen to Aman Arora’s audio book & subscribe to Broomly video. I found these two things very very helpful in my second attempt which helped me to get 56 in interpersonal skill.
Now let me tell you how I improved myself.
After failing I didn’t change my academy. This is because I think the deficiency was in me. Every academy will provide u guidance but u have to work on them & be unique from other candidates.
- Don’t memorize the script but know your script well. I know it sounds a bit confusing right? Let me tell u what I meant by that. Read the script thoroughly but instead of memorising make a small note from the script. First write down your DD for each scenario at the top. Then make a list of red flag questions. Try to understand the core of each station. Note down the management in short in an outlining manner. Revise these notes of yours just few days before exam. This will immensely help u.
- Practice with different people. I was very introvert kind of person on my first attempt. I was shy of practicing with people. Thanks to two of my best study partners ( Raunak & Naychi) as they forced me to practice with different people & made me extrovert. I practiced with almost everyone in Barking library on my second attempt. This not only helped me to get out of my comfort zone but also made me very very confident. Remember one thing, confidence is the key for this exam. I used to randomly practice with doctors of different countries.
- I also practiced with some of my seniors who have already passed their exam which helped me to learn a lot. I am extremely grateful to Tasin Bhaiya, Nisa apu, Suhaib bhaiya, Fatema apu for giving me time & practicing with me & for giving me proper guidance.
- Understanding the settings for each question is very important. While reading the question outside, remember your settings. Whether u are in GP settings or A& E because your management will very accordingly. Always involve your senior in management to show that you are a safe doctor.
- Never ignore your patient. Address his or her concerns first. Don’t rush to management without addressing your patient concern. On my second attempt could say only two lines in management in one of the stations because I was addressing my patients’ concern so didn’t have much time for management. Still passed that station with a score of 10 with full mark in interpersonal skill. This is because I didn’t ignore my patient & didn’t rush for management. However, having said that it’s always advisable to time yourself while practicing so that you can finish history taking in 4 minutes & give 4 minutes for management.
- Be very very confident. Don’t look at the examiner as this will make u nervous. Look at your examiner only when they give you finding or talking to you. Keep your focus in the patient only. Think of your patient as a real patient. Show the examiner that u know what you are doing & that you are not nervous. This time I was super confident which also immensely improved my interpersonal skill.
- Show enough sympathy & empathy to your patient. Please don’t use common phrases.e.g. “I am sorry to hear about that”. Rather make your own phrases which will make you unique from other doctors.
- Even if you get a brand new station, please don’t panic. It’s very common nowadays to get new stations. I got 3 new stations on my second attempt & passed all of them. This is because I didn’t panic. I just stayed firm. I tried to elaborate presenting complaint, maintained good eye-contact, showed sympathy & empathy, rule out DD & in management involved my senior. I tried to show them that I am a safe doctor.
These are few things that I followed on my second attempt that helped me to pass 17 stations.
This is a nerve-wracking exam. Therefore it’s very important to stay calm. I listened to some music before going for the exam to cool myself down. Though I was screaming inside. Just try to be confident & please have a good sleep the night before exam & proper breakfast as this is a very lengthy exam. Don’t panic too much. I know it’s easy to say but very difficult to do. At least try.
All the best future plabbers. I just hope this helps.