General Information About PLAB 2 Exam

(A) UNDERSTANDING THE EXAM AND ITS FORMAT

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WHAT IS PLAB2?

PLAB 2 is the traditional name of the current  Clinical and Professional Skills Assessment (CPSA). It’s the second component of the UK’s Medical Licensing Assessment (MLA). The exam is designed to follow the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) exams style. It is a performance-based assessment of the clinical and professional skills, knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours expected from doctors on the first day of their Foundation Year 2 (FY2)

 

EXAM FORMAT

The exam consists of 16 stations/scenarios, each lasting eight minutes, designed to reflect real-life settings, including a mock consultation or an acute ward. In addition. there will be at least two rest stations, allowing for breaks. The entire exam will take approximately three hours.

 

HOW TO DEAL WITH THE QUESTIONS?

After spending the allocated 90 minutes outside each cubicle in reading the question and patient information, you will enter the exam cubicle and complete the assigned task. A timer will indicate when to move between stations.

 

MARKING CRITERIA

There are two types of marks which you will be assessed against in each single case.

 

1-Quantitative marks: 

These reflect the number of marks obtained in each case, with a total of 12 marks that can be maximally scored per case, divided equally across three main domains (Data Gathering, Management Skills, and Interpersonal Skills ”IPS”).

 

2-Qualitative marks:

These reflect how well you demonstrate the skills areas in each case, which include Consultation, Diagnosis, Examination, Findings, Issues, Language, Listening, Management, Rapport, and Time.

 

For more details, you can watch the orientation video in this link:

https://youtu.be/DKnEZQOVNrk?si=XbgFJbP6lY4vIf6a

https://youtu.be/waeW5N6Jvn0?si=riJ5fItPlt4V3lF4

 

WHERE WILL THE EXAM TAKE PLACE?

PLAB 2/CPSA exam is carried out in the UK only. This currently takes place in the GMC’s Clinical Assessment Centres in Manchester (3 Hardman Square, M3 3EB   AND   3 Hardman Street, M3 3AW).

 

The exact centre for your exam will be provided in the confirmatory email you’ll receive directly from the

GMC

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(B) Understanding the MLA

 

PLAB / MLA

The Medical Licensing Assessment (MLA) will be required for two groups of candidates:

 

1 -All medical students graduating from UK universities starting in the 2024-25 academic year and beyond will need to pass the MLA as part of their degree before they can join the UK medical register.

 

2 -International doctors who want to join the UK medical register will continue to take the Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board (PLAB) exam, but in 2024 the PLAB test will be made compliant with the requirements of the MLA.

 

Both groups of candidates will take assessments that cover the same topics and meet the same standards.

 

Prior to this change, there was no medical exam equivalent to PLAB for assessing UK medical students - PLAB was only for international graduates.

 

Candidates will notice very little difference once the PLAB test meets the MLA requirements, as the changes are primarily to the quality assurance and construction of the test. Candidates should continue to refer to PLAB guides for practical information about the test.

 

Most aspects of the PLAB test are expected to remain the same, including eligibility, English requirements, test standards, resit policies, the booking process, test day experience, and validity periods.

 

Even after the PLAB test is aligned with the MLA, it will continue to be called PLAB for some time before being renamed later.

 

As part of the transition from PLAB to the MLA, the PLAB blueprint will be replaced with the MLA content map.

 

Specifically, PLAB Part 2 will be equivalent to the new Clinical & Professional Skills Assessment (CPSA) after May 17, 2024, and will be based on the MLA content map. The standard, question types, and test experience for candidates are not expected to change significantly.

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''Please be advised that From November 2024 the GMC has removed the standard minimum of 10 stations to pass, and instead calculates the number of stations a candidate needs to pass for each separate exam. You still must meet or exceed the minimum score required to pass the exam, which is calculated individually for each exam day''

 

For more details about PLAB/MLA/CPSA, please watch one of the videos below (English Version or Arabic Version)

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