What should the last two weeks before PLAB 1 look like?

Two weeks out, the job changes. You are no longer trying to cover the syllabus; you are trying to show what you already know, at speed, for three hours. The advice below is general guidance, not an official plan.

The goal of these two weeks

Consolidate what you know, close the last few gaps, and walk in rested and familiar with the format. New topics at this stage tend to crowd out what you already know, so leave them.

Days 14 to 8: practise like the real thing

• Sit one or two full mocks. PLAB 1 is 180 single best answer questions in three hours. Do your mocks timed, in one sitting, with no pausing.
• Choose the same time of day as your exam, so your body clock has practised too.
• Spend as long reviewing as you did testing. Sort your mistakes into groups: things you did not know, questions you misread, answers you rushed and answers you changed for the worse. Each group has a different fix.
• Revisit your weakest areas in short, focused sessions, not marathons.

Days 7 to 3: tighten

• Go back over where UK practice differs from what you do now. The GMC says answers follow current UK best practice and published evidence, not local arrangements, so these are marks worth protecting. Our free study guides collect the main ones.
• Do short question sets each day to stay warm, and stop while you are still alert.
• Do not start new resources. Stay with the ones you trust.
• Sort the logistics. Check your venue and your journey, and read your booking details and the GMC's guidance again for what to bring and when to arrive.

The last two days

• Light revision only, such as your own summary notes.
• Do not sit a full mock the day before. Tired and anxious is the wrong way to arrive.
• Pack your bag and your identification, plan your route and go to bed early.

On the day

• Pace yourself. 180 questions in three hours is a minute a question. Check your pace at the end of each hour rather than every few questions.
• Answer every question. Each correct answer is worth one mark, and your score is the number you get right, so a blank can never help you.
• Read the last line first on long scenarios, so you know what you are looking for before you read the detail.
• Leave each question behind. A hard question tells you nothing about how you are doing. Choose your best answer and move on.

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