Professional and Linguistic Assessment Board test
Encyclopedia
The Professional and Linguistic Assessment Board test (PLAB) is the assessment procedure conducted by the General Medical Council
of the United Kingdom
that is required for overseas doctors outside the European Union
before they can practice medicine in the UK.
The PLAB test has 2 parts:
General Medical Council
The General Medical Council registers and regulates doctors practising in the United Kingdom. It has the power to revoke or restrict a doctor's registration if it deems them unfit to practise...
of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
that is required for overseas doctors outside the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
before they can practice medicine in the UK.
The PLAB test has 2 parts:
- Has EMQs (extended matching questions) and SBAs (Single Best Answer questions), This part is conducted in a number of countries including Egypt (Cairo), India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh.
- Part 2 : Consists of an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE). This Part is available only in United Kingdom. It consists of 14 clinical stations, a pilot station and a rest station. The pilot station is usually unannounced and mixed with the clinical stations. The marks for the pilot station do not count towards the final score. All the stations are of five minutes duration. The level of difficulty of the clinical part of the PLAB exam is set at the level of competence of a senior house officer (SHO) in a first appointment in a UK hospital. The skills assessed in this exam are: clinical examination, practical skills, communication skills, and history taking.