Part 1 Guidance

How to apply

1. Where

You can take Part 1 in a number of countries worldwide.

British Council contacts

The countries where the PLAB Part 1 test is held are listed below along with the contact points for each.

Country	City	Contact & email	Tel	Fax
Egypt	Cairo	Hala Hamad	+20 2 3001666	+20 2 3443076
India	Kolkata	Suchitra Mukherjee	+91 33 282 9108/9144	+91 33 2282 4804
	Chennai	Nirupa Fernandez	+91 44 2852 5002 ext 304	+91 44 2852 3234
	Mumbai	Vivek Singh	+91 (0) 22 2282 3560 / 3530	+91 (0) 22 2285 2024 / 6619
	New Delhi	P V Chaary	+91 11 3710 111 / 555 ext 253 / 251	+91 11 331 8795
	Hyderabad	Nirupa Fernandez	+91 44 2852 5002 ext 304	+91 44 2852 3234
	Bangalore	Nirupa Fernandez	+91 44 2852 5002 ext 304	+91 44 2852 3234
Nigeria	Lagos	Olasunkanmi Adenuga	+234 1 2692188 / 2692189 /  2692190 / 2692191 / 2692192	+234 1 2692193 / 2690646
Pakistan	Islamabad	Shahnaz Farooq	+92 51 111 424 424	+92 51 111 425 425
	Karachi	Asim Khan	+92 21 111 424 424	+92 21 111 425 425
South Africa	Johannesburg	Thenjiwe Ntini	+27 11 718 4300	+27 11 718 4401
Sri Lanka	Colombo	Panchalika Kulatunga	+94 4521 500	+94 1 587079
UAE	Dubai	Zara Khan	+971 4 3370109	+971 4 3370703
West Indies	Kingston, Jamaica	Luckresha Ramsamugh-Baker

 

Click here to see more British Council contact addresses.

2. When

There are currently four sittings a year in the UK and two a year overseas. The sittings in the UK will take place in January, April, July and October. The sittings overseas will take place in July and January. Please remember that the number of places available is not linked to the number of jobs available in the UK. Training posts are difficult to obtain and you should think carefully about whether you are willing to take the risks involved in competing for posts before booking your place.

3. To book online

You must apply online if you are able to do so. If you have a disability which prevents you from doing so or if you are a refugee who does not possess a credit or debit card, please contact us.

Existing users

If you have applied to take a PLAB test before, you will already have a GMC reference number.

If you already have a GMC reference number and a PIN and password, you can log in here and make your application in the My Registration section.

Log in to MyGMC (opens in a new window).

If you have a GMC reference number, but do not have a PIN and password, please contact us.

New users

If you do not have a GMC reference number, you will need to set up a MyGMC account. To do this you will need:

• Details of your primary medical qualification (PMQ)
• Details of your current valid passport
• A postal address that we can contact you at (known as your registered address)
• An email address.

When you set up your MyGMC account you will choose a PIN and password, and we will tell you your GMC reference number.

If we already have your details, you will not be able to set up a new account. If you attempt to do so, your account will be locked.

Set up a MyGMC account (opens in a new window).

Once you have set up your MyGMC account, to complete your booking online you must log in to MyGMC using your GMC reference number and the PIN and password you have chosen.

You must then go into the My PLAB section and enter your IELTS scores.

If your IELTS scores are acceptable, you will then be allowed to choose a test place and date.

To complete your booking you will need to proceed to the payment section and enter the details of your valid credit or debit card (VISA, MasterCard, VISA Delta or Maestro).

Once you have entered all the information required and paid your fee, you will receive an immediate confirmation of your booking.

Part 1 places

Part 1 places are listed in MyGMC which will show you the availability of places when you begin to book. Places occasionally become available in previously full exams when someone cancels a place. This is clearly shown and you may want to check the My PLAB section of MyGMC regularly in case a place becomes available in an earlier exam. When you have chosen a date and are ready to book you should continue to pay and a place will be allocated to you.

If you have previously booked a PLAB test

If you have booked a PLAB test before you will already have a GMC reference number. Please contact us if you do not know your number. You will also need to know your MyGMC PIN and password. If you have not received a MyGMC PIN and password, or if you have forgotten them, please contact us.

4. If you cannot book online

You should contact us and we will send an application form to you.

5. Fees

The booking fee for Part 1 is £145.

6. If you are a refugee doctor

If you are a refugee doctor living in the UK, the fee will be waived for your first two attempts. See Refugee doctors living in the UK.

7. If you have a disability

If you have a disability, we may be able to make reasonable adjustments to the examination. We will not make adjustments to the standard of the examination but may be able to make adjustments to the arrangements if you have dyslexia, or a visual or motor impairment for example. If you would like us to consider making reasonable adjustments, please let us know as soon as possible. If you delay in telling us we may not be able to make the reasonable adjustments in time for the date of your examination. Please contact us.

You can find details about the process for reasonable adjustments in the Examination Regulations.

You may find it helpful to contact the Disability Rights Commission (website) (opens in a new window).

Temporary circumstances that might affect your performance in the test, such as illness, pregnancy or bereavement, will not be taken into account. This is because examinations are held frequently and we would expect you to cancel and book a later place. Under these circumstances, you may be entitled to a refund.

8. How to cancel

You can cancel your place online via MyGMC (you will need your GMC reference number, PIN and password). You will automatically be charged the relevant cancellation fee. The remainder of your fee will be credited to the credit or debit card you used when booking your place, or a cheque will be sent to your address if you did not pay by credit or debit card.

If you cannot cancel using the online system, you can download a cancellation form (189kb, pdf).

If you want to change the date of your examination you must first cancel your place, pay the cancellation fee and book again. These are the cancellation fees:

Period of notice	Cancellation Fee
Four months or more	£87
Between 21 days and four months	£101
Less than 21 days	£145

If you cannot attend the examination because of serious illness or another overwhelming problem, you must provide the following evidence:

• Illness – medical certificate or letter on appropriate headed paper covering the day of the examination
• Death or serious injury of family member – death/medical certificate
• Immigration difficulties, such as refusal of visa – a letter from the Home Office
• Any other difficulty you could not have foreseen – a letter of explanation (for example, from an employer)

Every document must be an original. We cannot accept photocopies.

 

What is involved

9. Format

Part 1 of the test is a written paper consisting of extended matching questions (EMQs) and single best answer (SBA) questions. The paper contains 200 questions and may contain photographic material. The examination lasts three hours. The proportion of SBA questions may vary from examination to examination but no more than 30% of the paper is composed of SBA questions.

10. Level

The PLAb test is designed to test your ability to practise safely as a senior house officer (SHO) in a first appointment in a UK hospital. It is set at the level expected at the end of Foundation Year One. You can find out more about the Foundation Programme on the NHS Modernising Careers website. This means that in the Part 1 examination you must show that you are capable of applying knowledge to the care of patients at the level expected of a doctor who has had one year of clinical experience following graduation.

11. Content

The PLAB test is designed to test the knowledge, skills and attitudes relating to conditions commonly seen by trainees entering the second year of the Foundation Programme (first year SHOs), the management of life-threatening situations and rarer, but important, medical problems. This means that UK-trained doctors and international medical graduates (IMGs) are expected to have the same level of knowledge and skills at this stage of their career.

You will not be expected to be familiar with NHS procedures or British culture other than in the way it might affect how you treat patients. You should be familiar with the GMC publication Good Medical Practice, and the supporting guidance as you will be expected to answer questions in line with the advice they give. You should also make sure you are familiar with how people in the UK might behave: you should not make assumptions about a patient on the basis of gender or ethnic origin - for example, women may smoke and drink.

Skills

Four skill areas will be tested. Questions may draw upon recent evidence published in peer-reviewed journals. There may also be questions on the principles and practice of evidence-based medicine.

• Diagnosis

Given the important facts about a patient (such as age, gender, nature of presenting symptoms and duration of symptoms) you will be asked to select the most likely diagnosis from a range of possibilities.

• Investigations

This may refer to the selection or the interpretation of diagnostic tests. Given the important facts about a patient, you will be asked to select the investigation that is most likely to provide the key to the diagnosis. Or you may be given the findings of investigations and asked to relate these to a patient's condition, or to choose the most appropriate next course of action.

• Management/Treatment

Given the important facts about a patient's condition, you will be asked to choose the most suitable treatment, including therapeutics, from a range of possibilities. In the case of medical treatments you will be asked to choose the correct drug therapy and will be expected to know about side-effects. It also includes emergency and acute care, peri-operative care, pain relief, oncology, palliative care, terminal care and complementary therapy.

• The context of clinical practice

This may include:

Explanation of the disease process: Disease factors and the natural history of the untreated disease.

Understanding of epidemiology: You may be tested on the principles of epidemiology, and on the prevalence of important diseases in the UK.

Health promotion: Promoting, monitoring and maintaining the health of individuals and groups.

Application of scientific understanding to medicine: You may be tested on the scientific disciplines that underpin medicine, such as anatomy, genetics and pathology.

Legal and ethical matters: You will be expected to know the major legal and ethical principles set out in Good Medical Practice and supporting guidance.

Conditions

The content to be tested is, for the most part, defined by the symptoms with which the patient presents, and whether these symptoms are acute or chronic.

You will be expected to know about conditions that are common or important in the UK for all the areas outlined below. Examples of the conditions that may be asked about are given under each heading and may appear under more than one heading. Be aware that these examples are only for illustration. Other similar conditions might appear in the examination.

Blood and lymphatic system

Examples: Abnormal blood film, bleeding/bruising/purpura, blood loss, enlarged lymph nodes, pallor.

Cardiovascular system

Examples: Chest pain (including acute myocardial infarction, acute coronary syndrome, coronary heart disease and angina), palpitations, peripheral arterial disease, peripheral oedema/breathlessness, peripheral venous problems.

Digestive system

Examples: Abdominal mass (generalised and localised), abdominal pain (acute and chronic), altered bowel habit (including constipation), anorexia and weight loss, diarrhoea, dyspepsia, dysphagia, facial pain and swelling, gastrointestinal bleeding (lower and upper), jaundice, nausea and vomiting, nutrition, trauma.

ENT

Examples: E arache, hearing problems, hoarseness, nasal symptoms (including rhinorrhoea and epistaxis), speech disorder, vertigo.

Ophthalmology

Examples: Eye pain, orbital swelling, 'red eye', visual impairment.

Homeostasis

Examples: Abnormal blood sugar, acid-base imbalance, electrolyte abnormalities, shocked patient, thyroid abnormalities.

Infectious diseases

Examples: Fever, serious infections (including meningitis, HIV, AIDS, Hepatitis B and TB), travel medicine and tropical infections (including malaria).

Mental Health

Examples: Alcohol and drug misuse and dependence, anxiety, confusion, poor concentration and memory loss (including dementia), deliberate self harm, eating problems, learning and communication problems, mood (affective) problems (including depression, suicide risk), psychological problems, severe behavioural disturbance (including confusional states, psychoses and personality disorders).

Musculoskeletal system

Examples: Conditions relating to the back, neck, foot, ankle, hand, wrist, hip, knee, shoulder and upper limb, including fractures, dislocations, sprains, strains and rheumatological disease.

Neurological system

Examples: Coma, blackouts, cranial nerve problems, headache, faints and falls, movement disorders (including tremor and gait problems), peripheral nerve problems, seizures.

Renal system

Examples: Abnormalities of the urine, groin/scrotal pain and/or swelling, renal problems (including renal failure), urethral discharge (including STI), urinary symptoms, urinary tract obstruction (including prostate and calculus), fertility problems (male and female).

Respiratory system

Examples: Breathlessness (including pneumonia, bronchiolitis, COPD, asthma, sleep apnoea), chest pain, cough, haemoptysis (including pulmonary embolism), wheeze/stridor.

Seriously ill patient

Examples: Anaphylaxis, multiple trauma, septicaemia, serious infection.

Dermatology

Examples: Bites and stings, burns, infections, lumps, moles and pigmented lesions (including malignant melanoma), nail and/or hair problems, pruritis, rashes, ulcers.

Women's health

Examples: Bleeding in pregnancy, breast lump and/or pain, contraception, irregular periods, normal pregnancy and care, pain and abnormal vaginal bleeding, pelvic mass, pelvic pain, problems in pregnancy (including ectopic, pre-eclampsia and eclampsia, hyperemesis), vaginal discharge.

Disorders specific to childhood

Examples: Congenital abnormalities, developmental delay and failure to thrive (including non-accidental injury and child sexual abuse).

12. How to prepare

The examination is testing your ability to apply knowledge to the care of patients rather than how well you can remember and recite facts.

All the questions relate to current best practice, and you should answer them in relation to published evidence and not according to your local arrangements.

Names of drugs are those contained in the most recent edition of the British National Formulary (BNF).

Remember that you are being tested at the level of a doctor who has qualified and completed one year of clinical practice.

Websites

Please use the GMC's own website. We update it regularly and it is a reliable source of information. We strongly recommend that you study with care Good Medical Practice and the supporting guidance.

Textbooks and handbooks

We cannot recommend specific textbooks and handbooks, but suggest you consult those that are internationally recognised. Journals can also be a useful way of keeping up-to-date.

We do not authorise or endorse any books specifically about passing the PLAB test.

Courses

We are unable to monitor the quality of courses and, therefore, do not endorse any. If you decide a course would be a useful preparation, we recommend that you research its quality before you enrol.

Equipment

You should be aware of the range of equipment routinely available in UK hospitals.

13. How to approach the examination

You will have two answer sheets on the day – a purple one for questions 1-100 and a pink one for questions 101-200. Instructions on how to complete the answer sheet are at the top of the first sheet.

Extended matching questions

Extended matching questions are grouped into themes. Each theme has a heading that tells you what the questions are about.

Within each theme there are several numbered items, usually between three and six. These are the questions and the problems you have to solve. There are examples in the next section.

We recommend that you begin by reading carefully the instruction that precedes the numbered items. The instruction is very similar throughout the paper and typically reads ‘For each patient described below, choose the SINGLE most discriminating investigation from the above list of options. Each option may be used once, more than once or not at all.'

We recommend that you consider each of the numbered items and decide what you think the answer is. You should then look for that answer in the list of options above the items (each of which is identified by a letter of the alphabet). If you cannot find the answer you have thought of, you should look for the option which, in your opinion, is the best answer to the problem posed.

For each numbered item, you must choose ONE, and only one, of the options. You may feel that there are several possible answers to an item, but you must choose the best one from the option list. If you enter more than one answer on the answer sheet you will gain no mark for the question even though you may have given the right answer along with one or more wrong ones.

In each theme there are more options than items, so not all the options will be used as answers. This is why the instruction says that some options may not be used at all.

Alternatively a given option may provide the answer to more than one item. For example, for two different patients the most likely diagnosis could be the same. In this case the option would be used more than once. 

Single best answer questions

We recommend that you consider each of the questions and decide what you think the answer is to the question given at the end of each scenario, which typically reads ‘What is the SINGLE most likely diagnosis?'. You should then look for that answer in the list of options below (each of which is identified by a letter of the alphabet). If you cannot find the answer you have thought of, you should look for the option which, in your opinion, is the best answer to the problem posed.

For each question, you must choose ONE, and only one, of the options. You may feel that there are several possible answers, but you must choose the best one from the option list. If you enter more than one answer on the answer sheet you will gain no mark for the question even though you may have given the right answer along with one or more wrong ones.

14. Marking scheme

You will be awarded one mark for each correct answer. Marks are not deducted for incorrect answers nor for failure to answer. The total score on the paper is the number of correct answers given. You should, therefore, attempt all items. 

15. Sample extended matching questions

Joint pain

Options

1. Ankylosing spondylitis
2. Erythema nodosum
3. Gout
4. Hyperparathyroidism
5. Joint sepsis
6. Medial cartilage tear
7. Osteoarthritis
8. Psoriatic arthropathy
9. Pyrophosphate arthropathy
10. Reactive arthritis
11. Rheumatoid arthritis

Instructions

For each patient described below, choose the SINGLE most likely diagnosis from the above list of options. Each option may be used once, more than once, or not at all.

1. A 70 year old previously healthy man presents with pain on weight-bearing and restricted movements of the right hip.
2. A 73 year old woman with rheumatoid arthritis on immuno-suppressive drugs presents with systemic malaise and fever. She has red, hot, swollen wrists.
3. A 66 year old woman started furosemide (frusemide) two weeks ago and now presents with a red, hot, swollen metatarso-phalangeal joint. 
4. A 22 year old male soldier presents with a two week history of a swollen right knee, conjunctivitis and urethritis.
5. A 30 year old man presents with a 10 year history of back pain, worse in the morning, and one episode of iritis.

Investigation of confusion

Options

1. Blood cultures
2. Chest x-ray
3. Computed tomography (CT) scan of the head
4. Electrocardiogram (ECG)
5. Full blood count (FBC)
6. Mid-stream urine (MSU) culture
7. Plasma glucose concentration
8. Serum urea and electrolytes concentration
9. Stool culture
10. Thyroid function tests
11. Ultrasound scan of the abdomen

Instructions

For each patient described below, choose the SINGLE most discriminating investigation from the above list of options. Each option may be used once, more than once, or not at all.

1. An 84 year old woman in a nursing home has been constipated for a week. Over the past few days she has become increasingly confused and incontinent of urine.
2. A previously well 78 year old woman has been noticed by her daughter to be increasingly slow and forgetful over several months. She has gained weight and tends to stay indoors with the heating on, even in warm weather.
3. A 64 year old man has recently been given tablets by his general practitioner. He is brought to the Accident and Emergency Department by his wife with sudden onset of aggressive behaviour and confusion. Before starting the tablets he was losing weight and complaining of thirst. 
4. A frail 85 year old woman presents with poor mobility and a recent history of falls. She has deteriorated generally over the past two weeks with fluctuating confusion. She has a mild right hemiparesis.
5. A 75 year old man with mild Alzheimer's disease became suddenly more confused yesterday. When seen in the Accident and Emergency Department, his blood pressure is 90/60 mmHg and his pulse rate is 40 beats/minute and regular. 

Causes of pneumonia

Options

1. Bacteroides fragilis
2. Coxiella burnetii
3. Escherichia coli
4. Haemophilus influenzae
5. Legionella pneumophila
6. Mixed growth of organisms
7. Mycobacterium tuberculosis
8. Mycoplasma pneumoniae
9. Pneumocystis carinii
10. Staphylococcus aureus
11. Streptococcus pneumoniae

Instructions

For each patient described below, choose the SINGLE most likely causative organism from the above list of options. Each option may be used once, more than once, or not at all.

1. A 25 year old man has a three day history of shivering, general malaise and productive cough. His chest x-ray shows right lower lobe consolidation.
2. A 26 year old man presents with severe shortness of breath and a dry cough which he has had for 24 hours. He is very distressed. He has formerly taken intravenous drugs. His chest x-ray shows bilateral peri-hilar hazy shadowing.
3. A 35 year old previously healthy man returned from holiday five days ago. He smokes 10 cigarettes a day. He presents with mild confusion, a dry cough and marked pyrexia. His chest examination is normal. His chest x-ray shows widespread upper zone shadowing.
4. A 20 year old previously healthy woman presents with general malaise, severe cough and breathlessness which has not improved with a seven day course of amoxicillin. Physical examination is normal. Her chest x-ray shows patchy shadowing throughout the lung fields. The blood film shows clumping of red cells and cold agglutinins are present.
5. A 55 year old farmer presents with a five day history of fever, malaise, muscle pains and headache. He has an irritating but non-productive cough.

Answers

Joint Pain

1. G
2. E
3. C
4. J
5. A

Investigation of confusion

1. F
2. J
3. G
4. C
5. D

Causes of pneumonia

1. K
2. I
3. E
4. H
5. B
   

16. Sample single best answer questions

1. A 17 year boy attends the Accident and Emergency Department having been taken ill whilst playing football. He gives a history of sudden onset of left-sided chest pain followed by severe and persistent breathlessness.
   
   What is the SINGLE investigation most likely to provide a definitive diagnosis ?
   
   A Blood gases
   B Chest x-ray
   C Echocardiogram
   D Electrocardiogram (ECG)
   E Pulmonary function tests
   
   
2. An 85 year old man who weighs 80 kg is admitted as an emergency with fever and delirium. He gives a history of dysuria and frequency. His blood pressure (BP) is 70/50 mmHg and temperature 38.6^oC. His serum creatinine is 620 µmol/l and his serum urea is 46 mmol/l. The microbiologist recommends the prescription of gentamicin.
   
   What is the SINGLE most appropriate dose of gentamicin ?
   
   A 40 mg single dose
   B 40 mg once daily
   C 80 mg 8 hourly
   D 80 mg 12 hourly
   E 160 mg single dose
   
   
3. A 55 year old man presents having recently noticed a lump in his right groin. He smokes heavily, has a persistent cough and has previously had an appendicectomy.
   
   What is the SINGLE most likely diagnosis?
   
   A Epigastric hernia
   B Femoral hernia
   C Incisional hernia
   D Inguinal hernia
   E Spigelian hernia
   
   
4. A 58 year old post-menopausal woman presents with a one week history of vaginal bleeding. Digital vaginal examination is normal.
   
   What is the SINGLE most appropriate diagnostic test?
   
   A Cervical smear
   B Endometrial aspiration
   C Plasma oestrogen
   D Serum FSH/LH levels
   E Transvaginal ultrasound scan
   
   
5. A two year old boy is brought to the Accident and Emergency Department by his mother. He has been unable to bear weight since a fall from a chair last night. He is tender over the mid-tibia but there is no obvious limb deformity.
   
   What is the SINGLE most likely radiographic appearance of the fracture?
   
   A Angulated fracture
   B Compound fracture
   C Epiphyseal fracture
   D No fracture likely
   E Spiral fracture
   
   
6. An 83 year old woman admitted with a chest infection becomes confused with poor concentration. She is restless and frightened. She is verbally abusive and has perceptual abnormalities. There is no significant previous psychiatric history.
   
   What is the SINGLE most likely diagnosis?
   
   A Acute confusional state
   B Drug induced psychosis
   C Lewy body dementia
   D Multi-infarct dementia
   E Psychotic depression
   
   
7. A 32 year old woman was painting her bathroom when she experienced a sudden, severe headache, vomited and collapsed hitting her head. She has been brought to the Accident and Emergency Department. She now has a Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score of 15, a temperature of 37.7o C, a blood pressure of 145/85 mmHg and a pulse rate of 70 beats/minute. Her physical examination is normal apart from an abrasion over her right temple.
   
   What is the SINGLE most appropriate initial management?
   
   A Admit for head injury observation
   B Carboxyhaemoglobin level
   C Computed tomography (CT) scan of the brain
   D Lumbar puncture
   E Skull x-ray

Answers

1. B
2. E
3. D
4. E
5. E
6. A
7. C
   

On the day

17. Arrival

You must make your own arrangements for travel and accommodation. You must be sure you are not prevented from attending the examination by events you could have foreseen, for example, not being able to take time off from your job, transport problems, or problems with visa or immigration formalities. You should check all these are in order before you book. If you have to cancel a place you have already booked, you will have to pay a cancellation fee.

If you are taking the examination in the UK and need accommodation, one source of information is the British Tourist Authority website. Please do not contact the people at the venues where the examination is taking place, as they will not be able to help.

The invigilator's instructions will take about 30 minutes. The examination will last three hours and collecting the examination materials will take a further 30 minutes. You must, therefore, expect to be at the examination centre for at least four hours.

We expect all examinations to start on time. Traffic and public transport can cause delays, so allow plenty of time for your journey.

When your place is confirmed you will be told what time to arrive at the examination centre. It is important to arrive on time because if you arrive more than half an hour late, you will not be allowed to enter the examination hall. You will not be allowed to leave the hall in the first or last half hour of the examination. You must remain in your seat until the chief invigilator says you can leave the examination hall.

18. Documents you must bring with you

We will check your identity at the examination. The following are the only forms of identification we will accept. Whichever you choose, it must be original, current and bear your photograph.

• Your passport 
• Your UK Immigration and Nationality Department identification document 
• Your Home Office travel document 
• Your UK driving licence
• Your EU identity card

You must also bring the booking confirmation that includes your GMC reference number.

If the name on your identification document is different from that on the confirmation from the GMC or British Council offering you a place in the examination, you must provide original evidence that you are the person named in that letter. We will accept

• Your marriage certificate or
• A declaration from the awarding body which granted your primary medical qualification, stating that both names relate to you.

If examination staff are in any doubt about your identity or the authenticity of your documents, the chief invigilator will take a photograph of you and ask you to sign and date it on the back to verify its authenticity. The identity documents provided will also be photocopied and you will be asked to sign and date them on the back to verify their authenticity. If you refuse to do this, you will not be allowed to take the examination. An investigation will take place. If it is decided that the person who sat the examination is not the person who is entitled to do so, the attempt will be invalid and the matter will be reported to the Registrar of the GMC.

If you do not bring one of the documents listed above, or if the document does not bear your photograph, you will be required to bring the correct form of identification document or evidence of change of name to the Head of Enquiries and PLAB (or her nominee) at the GMC, Regent's Place, 350 Euston Road, London NW1 3JN, or the examinations manager at the British Council where you took the examination. If it is decided that the person who sat the examination is not the person who is entitled to do so, the attempt will be invalid and the matter will be reported to the Registrar of the GMC.

19. Cheating and misconduct

You will be provided with all the materials you need during the examination. You must not use or refer to any other materials or try to communicate with other candidates during the examination. You must not take the examination paper or any part of it out of the hall and you must not write down details of questions to take out of the examination hall.

If you do any of these things you will be reported to the Professional and Linguistic Assessments (PLA) Board. If you are found to have given or received help your examination attempt may be declared invalid and your name reported to the Registrar of the GMC. Please refer to the Examination Regulations for further information.

 

After the examination

20. Marking

The examination will be marked in the UK by computer.

21. Standard setting

The pass mark for each exam i s set using the Angoff method, in which a panel of trained and experienced clinicians decide what percentage of minimally competent doctors at the appropriate stage of training would answer each question correctly. The Angoff method of standard setting is internationally recognised and it ensures that exams are of a consistent standard over time.

22. Results

The results will normally appear in the My PLAB section of MyGMC about four weeks after you take the examination and you will need your candidate number, MyGMC PIN and password to access them. A letter will be posted to you about a week after that. You will be told your final score, the average mark achieved by all candidates at your examination and the pass mark. You will not get a detailed breakdown of your results. To ensure your results remain confidential we will not give them out over the telephone, by email, by fax or at the GMC's reception.

23. Checking results

If you want your final mark to be checked you must request this in writing. Please note that a clerical check does not mean your examination will be remarked; it is a check to ensure that your marks have been transcribed correctly. If you would like us to undertake a clerical check, contact the PLAB Test Section of the GMC, 350 Euston Road, London NW1 3JN within 28 days of the results being posted. You must enclose a cheque for £40 made out to the General Medical Council, and we will respond within 10 working days of receiving your request.

24. Appeals and complaints

If you want to complain about the examination you should send a detailed written report to registrationhelp@gmc-uk.org or to the GMC, Registration and Education Directorate, St James's Buildings, 79 Oxford Street, Manchester M1 6FQ within 28 days of the date of the examination. Give your name, address, telephone number, email address and GMC reference number. We will investigate and aim to respond within 10 working days.

25. Next steps

If you pass you can immediately apply online to take Part 2 of the test. If you fail, you can book another Part 1 Place provided you still meet all the requirements. You may not apply for Part 2 or re-apply for Part 1 before the results have been issued.

You must pass Part 2 of the test within three years of the date you passed Part 1.