IDEAL TIMELINE FOR PLAB

IDEAL TIMELINE FOR PLAB PATHWAY

One can take PLAB at any time after graduation, in this post, however, I am going to devise an ideal timeline for kemcolians based on experience of mine, my colleagues and my seniors. The sole purpose is to make things simpler for my juniors and make sure that they don’t make the mistakes that we had made during our road to UK. So, pay full attention, if you don’t read carefully, you’ll miss things, important things. 

(NOTE: This post throws light on most appropriate timeline for PLAB pathway. Details regarding preparation of IELTS/OET, PLAB 1 & 2, MRCP Part 1, VISA process and GMC registration are discussed in separate posts)

FINAL YEAR 

     If you haven’t already taken your BSc English exam, take it now! Having an extra degree has nothing to do with PLAB, but it carries extra points when you are applying for a specialty training post. Strictly speaking, you don’t have to do anything special in final year, but do try to study studiously and refine your clinical knowledge, specially Medicine. This will serve two benefits. Firstly, it’ll make your background knowledge strong which will help you greatly in the upcoming exams. Secondly, getting high marks in final year will help you take rotations of your choice in House Job (HJ) which is going to be very handy for your PLAB 1 preparation. Bear with me, I will explain how.

IELTS/OET

     In KE, final year exams are usually concluded in 2nd or 3rd week of February. That leaves you 2 months before your House Job commences in May and this is the ideal time to take your IELTS/OET. 3-4 weeks preparation should suffice. If you clear it in the first attempt, well and good, if you don’t, try again during your HJ. As soon as you clear it, make your GMC account and book your PLAB 1.

• FAQs: I have been asked this question multiple times by final year students, “Can we take our IELTS/OET in final year?” The answer is, yes, you can, but it’ll be a waste. Why? Because The results of IELTS/OET only stand only for 2 years. This means you will have to get your GMC registration done within this 2-year time frame and that is literally impossible, so you will have to retake ILETS/OET after 2 years. Feeling confused? Again, bear with me.

PLAB 1 

In Pakistan, PLAB 1 is conducted 4 times a year; March, June, September and November. Most ideal time to take PLAB 1 is November or March. If you have cleared IELTS/OET before HJ, book for November. If you have cleared it afterwards, book for March.

Ideal pattern of your HJ rotations should be:

1. Major Medicine (May-Jun-Jul)

2. Minor Medicine (Aug-Sep-Oct)

3. Major Surgery (Nov-Dec-Jan)

4. Minor Surgery (Feb-Mar-Apr)

This pattern is important because in this way November attempt will come just after the minor rotation and March attempt will come within your minor rotation, hence, it will be easy for you to prepare for PLAB 1. Two months preparation should suffice.

• FAQs: “Is House Job necessary for getting a job in UK?” To keep things simple, I would say yes it is necessary if you are not a UK citizen. In order to get into IMT (Internal Medicine Training) you should have done Foundation Year 1 & 2 (FY1 and FY2). The House Job that we do here is equivalent to FY1. After getting done with our PLAB 2, we do a non training for some time (at least 4-6 months) which is equivalent to FY2 and get our FY2 competencies (aka CREST form) signed by our consultant. Only then we can apply for IMT.

• FAQs: “Can I take rotations of my choice during HJ?” No, you cannot unless you have higher merit than your colleagues. The merit is based on your final year marks. Now you know why I asked you to give attention to final year in the first section!

• FAQs: “Is it possible to prepare for PLAB 1 during HJ easily? 100% positive. People have even cleared it during their hectic major rotation, however, just to be on safe side it’s better to do it during minor rotation.

PLAB 2 

There are two ways you can pursue this. I will explain both of these.

1. TAKING MRCP/MRCS PART 1 BEFORE PLAB 2 This is a novel trend. I will strongly recommend it as not only it will boost your clinical skills but also increase your chances to get a job ASAP. One of my colleagues underwent this route. After completion of his HJ in April 2019, he cleared MRCP part 1 in September 2019, followed by PLAB 2 in January 2020 and got a job in March 2020. Remember, usually it takes 5-6 months after your PLAB 2 to get your first Job in UK, but owing to his MRCP part 1, he got the job within 1 month. It takes around 6-8 months for its preparation, so, if you want to pursue this route, start preparing for it during your HJ.

2. TAKING PLAB 2 DIRECTLY AFTER PLAB 1 This is the most common route that doctors take here in KE. In this case, the ideal time to book for PLAB 2 would be August/September following completion of your HJ. You should start working on your VISA application 3 months before your expected date of departure.

• GMC REGISTRATION PLAB 2 results come after1 month. As soon as you pass PLAB 2, you should get yourself registered with GMC and start applying for jobs. 

SUMMARY

For the batch graduating in 2021, the ideal timeline should be:

1. IELTS/OET in April 2021. If not cleared, 2nd attempt during HJ.

2. PLAB 1 in November 2021 or March 2022.

3.  MRCP Part 1 (Important but not essential at this stage) in September 2022 and then PLAB 2 in December 2022. OR PLAB 2 in August/September 2022.

4. GMC registration as soon as you pass PLAB 2.

5. If everything goes according to plan, you will get your first Job in Spring of 2023, Insha'Allah.

• TIDBIT: Now you know the reason why there is no point in taking your IELTS/OET in final year, because in that situation, it will be expired before your GMC registration and you will have to retake it.

FINAL WORDS

This is the crux of my post. As I have been mentioning again and again that this is an “ideal timeline” and it’s natural that most of us won’t be able to keep up with this timeline. Personal reasons, family ties, relationships, failures all come into play in the equation and influence our pathway so it is perfectly normal having a couple of hiccups along the road. Just don’t lose heart and keep believing in God for He has destiny for every one of us. I would conclude by saying that keep your hopes high and expectations low because it’s always better to be surprised than to be disappointed.