Understanding your results

When you receive your exam results, you will also get two types of feedback: quantitative feedback and qualitative feedback.

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Quantitative feedback

We will tell you the marks you were awarded in each of the three marking domains for each station, together with a total for each domain across all the stations in the exam. Each domain carries the same marks, so you will be able to see in which domains you were stronger.

We will also tell you the score you achieved:

in each station and the score required to pass the station
overall and the score required to pass the exam.

Example of the quantitative feedback you will receive

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PLAB quantitative feedback

An example of the quantitative feedback you'll get.

Qualitative feedback

When you have finished each station, the examiner will be able to indicate which of 10 pre-set feedback statements they consider apply most to you. The examiners must do this if their overall judgement is that you were Unsatisfactory, but they will also be able to do so if they judged your performance as Borderline, Satisfactory or Good. You will be told which feedback statements were indicated as applying to you in each station.

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PLAB qualitative feedback

An example of the qualitative feedback you'll get.

The feedback statements

The ten feedback statements are listed below.

Descriptions of the feedback statements you’ll receive for each station and what they mean
Feedback statement	Description
Consultation	Disorganised / unstructured consultation. Includes illogical and disordered approach to questioning. You did not demonstrate sufficiently the ability to follow a logical structure in your consultation. For example, your history taking may have appeared disjointed, with your line of questioning erratic and not following reasoned thinking. You may have undertaken practical tasks or examination in an illogical order that suggested you did not have a full grasp of the reason for completing them or a plan for the consultation.
Issues	Does not recognise the issues or priorities in the consultation (for example, the patient’s key problem or the immediate management of an acutely ill patient). You did not recognise the key element of importance in the station. For example, giving health and lifestyle advice to an acutely ill patient.
Time	Shows poor time management. You showed poor time management, probably taking too long over some elements of the encounter at the expense of other, perhaps more important areas.
Findings	Does not identify abnormal findings or results or fails to recognise their implications. You did not identify or recognise significant findings in the history, examination or data interpretation.
Examination	Does not undertake physical examination competently, or use instruments proficiently.
Diagnosis	Does not make the correct working diagnosis or identify an appropriate range of differential possibilities.
Management	Does not develop a management plan reflecting current best practice, including follow up and safety netting.
Rapport	Does not appear to develop rapport or show sensitivity for the patient’s feelings and concerns, including use of stock phrases. You did not demonstrate sufficiently the ability to conduct a patient centred consultation. Perhaps you did not show appropriate empathy or sympathy, or understanding of the patient’s concerns. You may have used stock phrases that show that you were not sensitive to the patient as an individual, or failed to seek agreement to your management plan.
Listening	Does not make adequate use of verbal & non-verbal cues. Poor active listening skills. You did not demonstrate sufficiently that you were paying full attention to the patient’s agenda, beliefs and preferences. For example, you may have asked a series of questions but not listened to the answers and acted on them.
Language	Does not use language or explanations that are relevant and understandable to the patient, including not checking understanding. The examiner may have felt, for example, that you used medical jargon, or spoke too quickly for the patient to take in what you were saying.

How do examiners mark the exam?

Each station will be assessed based on your performance against the three marking domains in it:

Data gathering, technical and assessment skills
Clinical management skills
Interpersonal skills.

Is there a fixed pass mark for each section?

No, each station has a pass mark which uses the borderline regression scoring method. This means the pass mark varies with the difficulty of the station and for each exam.

Does the examiner know the station pass mark?

No, the examiner does not know the pass mark when assessing candidates.

Is the pass mark the same across both centres?

No, each test centre operates independently, with a different set of scenarios. The results from each centre will be generated separately, and with distinct passing criteria.

This means that candidates taking the test on the same day but at different venues will see differences in the passing criteria for that day.

How do we work out if candidates meet the required standard of the exam?

We add up the pass mark for each of the stations in the exam. We then add one standard error of measurement. This creates the total score for the exam. You must meet or exceed the total score and pass a minimum of 10 stations to achieve an overall pass.

We may change our standard setting procedures from time to time without notice. As a part of our quality assurance procedures we may also exclude individual stations from your results. When we do this, we will reduce the pass mark and the minimum number of stations needed to pass accordingly to ensure that you are not disadvantaged.

For example, if one station is excluded, results will be calculated from 15 stations only. Therefore, 9 stations would be required to pass the examination as well as meeting the pass mark.

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