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PLAB 2 is the second and final part of the PLAB (Professional and Linguistics Assessment Board) assessment run by the General Medical Council (GMC), UK – taken after successful completion of the PLAB 1 exam. PLAB needs to be cleared to enable a doctor to work in the UK.

PLAB 2 is an OSCE based exam, usually taken at the GMC building in Manchester. It can be taken at various times throughout the year.

– 18 stations in total.
– Each station lasts 8 minutes.
– 90 second break between each station.
– 2 rest stations included.
– Total 3 hours, 10 minutes exam time.

PLAB 2 marking has changed recently and I’ve examined both the old system and the new system. Currently each case is marked in three areas:

1) Data gathering, technical and assessment skills.
2) Clinical management skills.
3) Interpersonal skills.

Each case is scored out of 12 marks – 4 marks each for the 3 domains. The maximum that you can score for PLAB 2 is 216 marks. The pass mark varies for each day – to pass PLAB 2 you must achieve the pass mark for that day as well as pass at least 11 stations.

Domain 1 Data gathering, technical and assessment skills

This area assesses areas such as history taking, examination skills, your practical procedures and any investigations that you might think about – in essence how you gather data in order to try and work out what a potential diagnosis might be, or which issues arise in a certain situation.

History taking can include core medical requirements – for example drug history, past medical history and red flags, as well as other areas that link with a presentation such as psychosocial history and ICE (ideas, concerns and expectations).

Examination may be tested on real-life actors, using anatomical models or as part of an electronic simulated mannequin. Areas tested include common everyday examinations (for example cardiovascular, respiratory, abdomen, various joints) and model examinations (such as breast examination, eye examination, rectal examination).

Practical procedures that may be tested are things that you might come across in a typical ward in the UK – measuring blood pressure, taking blood, urinary catheterisation, inserting cannulas, suturing, calculating common drug doses etc.

Domain 2 Clinical Managment

This area assesses how you manage the situation, both clinically and non clinically. For example if you’ve come up with the correct diagnosis, how do you now explain that to the patient? How do you involve the patient in a correct, safe, appropriate management plan?

Are you using UK current best practice when handling the situation? In essence, now that you’ve gathered the data in the first half, how are you now managing it, and is it appropriate for working as a UK junior doctor?

Domain 3 Interpersonal skills

This area assesses your ability to effectively tie together data gathering and clinical management in a patient-centered way.

For example, are you involving the patient regularly? What is the rapport like between you and the patient? Are you effectively using open and closed questions?

Are you thinking about ethics? It may include your ability to handle challenging situations such as breaking bad news, capacity and consent.

It can assess how you manage that situation from a patient’s point of view or perhaps a relative’s point of view, and if you handle the situation in a professional manner or not.

Materials used

History taking for Medical finals
Complete OSCE skills for Medical and Surgical finals
OSCE Staions for Medical Finals
Macloeod's Clinical Examination with Video

About me:
I'm a 2nd year Medical student doing an MD Phd programme with 20 years teaching experience both offline and online in multiple disciplines.

I look forward to preparing you for your OSCE PLAB 2 finals and helping you to become a doctor in the UK.