Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, we believe our questions are reflective of the PLAB part 1 questions. A reliable reference source for sample questions can be found on the GMC website: http://www.gmc-uk.org/doctors/plab/23451.asp

Our questions are reviewed by practising doctors who have sat and passed the PLAB exam. Our answers include accurate explanations which are taken from up to date UK guidelines. We aim to continuously update our answers according to the latest guidelines.

The answers we provide on PLABABLE are evidence-based and our explanations are based on various reliable sources such as the NICE Clinical Knowledge Summaries (CKS), and current NICE guidelines. Oxford handbooks are made based on these guidelines and given that textbooks are not printed regularly, they can be out-of-date if the guidelines have recently changed. As such, the latest guidelines have always had preference over any textbook.

Yes, we write them based on our clinical experience and based on the questions that you ask. We derive topics, learning points and formulate them into questions and explanations to help you understand. We use current guidelines from NICE, BASHH, RCOG, SIGN, BNF and many more to ensure our materials are up to date. 

Yes, our images which include ECG, dermatology and radiology images are our own taken from patients with their consent. Of course, we ensure that we remove any identifiable patient information. We do not use images protected by the copyright of others of which we are not entitled to use. We also have our own medical artist who creates illustrations and images to further help your understanding of certain topics.

Yes, we are continuously adding questions to our question bank. Users who subscribe also have the option to create and submit their own questions for discussion with other users.

We aim to only provide correct and accurate information. However, if you do notice any errors, we do apologise and appreciate if you let us know. We will rectify any possible errors as soon as possible.

We frequently add new questions and update existing ones to reflect the most up to date guidelines and practice. As long as you have an active subscription with us, your questions will automatically update to reflect the latest changes we make.

Questions are checked regularly to ensure reliability. Questions which are found to have suboptimal stems or explanations are automatically updated or made obsolete. Very occasionally current guidance may have changed since the practice mock has been set, or a new question may not have performed as expected. In these circumstances, questions are removed.

Starting from the academic year 2024-25, it will be mandatory for all medical students graduating from UK universities to successfully complete the MLA (Medical Licensing Assessment) as a requirement for their degree. Our question bank is specifically designed to cater to this exam. In 2024, the PLAB exam and MLA will share the same MLA content map. Consequently, our question bank is an excellent resource for UK medical students as the questions in the MLA Applied Knowledge Test (AKT) will bear a striking resemblance to those in the PLAB exam.

We accept all debit and credit cards, as well as Apple, Google pay and PayPal. If your card payment has been declined, please contact your bank at first instance to find out the reason for the decline or use an alternative payment method as above. Unfortunately, we do not accept payments by any other method.

VAT is Value Added Tax. It is charged by VAT registered companies on the value of the goods or services supplied to the customer. The VAT amount is then paid over to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), the government's tax-collecting authority in the UK.

The VAT amount is charged at 20%, and this will be displayed on the payment page before each transaction is complete.

There is a price difference when purchasing a subscription directly through our website and via the App store because of the bundles offered. It makes more sense to purchase a subscription directly from our website which allows you to choose which resource suits your revision needs best. If you purchase on the website, you will be able to access all the content on the mobile app.

No, we do not auto-renew subscriptions. This is to prevent users who may have forgotten to cancel their subscription and having to pay continuously. Hence, payment for subscription is a one time charge only.

When your subscription has ended, you will be given the option to extend your subscription when you log in. You can extend your subscription at any time by logging into your account on the website or mobile browser.

If you choose the option “DO NOT RESET”, your flagged questions, answers and comments will still be available. Nothing will be deleted. You’ll continue from exactly where you left off.

If you choose the option “Please RESET”, your answers will be lost and the question order will be randomised. Your flagged questions in the “Practice by Question” will remain but the flagged questions in the “Mock” will be lost. Your comments will remain and will be visible to you once you have answered.

If you wish to reset your questions, you can do so only by paying for an extension. Please note that your question and answer history will be deleted and the order of your questions will be randomised once you reset your account and this is not reversible. Once reset, all questions on your account will be unanswered for you to reattempt them. Unfortunately, we do not provide an option to reset your account without an extension however you may wish to attempt our MOCK tests as they have similar questions found in the “Practice by Category” section.

If you have purchased a BIG MOCK, it will not be deleted.

Unlike other question banks, we have built a very different platform where universities use our question banks to assess their students. We have taken steps to ensure that universities can view their student’s progress and restricted free account resets to avoid students from reattempting the assessment.

Reducing the amount that a candidate attempts a question also allows for a more reliable data set (percentages of a candidate answering an option). We would introduce more bias if a candidate was allowed to reset easily and reattempt the question with the correct answer in mind.

In addition, our mission has always been to create an affordable platform for all to use, however, there have been cases where users have taken advantage of this by sharing their accounts. We try to limit this by allowing users to only answer the questions once. In fact, our mocks are built upon the same questions in the practice by category section so essentially, users are given two attempts on all questions within one subscription. We do not expect candidates to be answering the same question for the third time, but for those who do, we have given them the option to reset for a fee although we strongly discourage this as we feel that you should utilise other PLAB resources once you have answered the same question twice (ie. once in our “practice by categories” section and once more on our “timed mocks”).

To reset all your flagged questions at once, please click here.

To access our question bank on the go, you would need to download our mobile app. This has added security features which are currently not available on mobile or iPad browsers. The security feature prevents stealing and unlawful distribution of our material on social media. We believe in protecting our materials and offering a fair service to our paid users such as yourselves.

Systems are in place to detect multiple logins from different devices. You can only access the question bank from one device at a time to prevent account sharing. Accounts are personal to the subscriber. Passwords and other login details must not be passed to others. 

Your account will be blocked if you have attempted to take print screens of our material. As stated in our Terms and Conditions, print screens of the
website or mobile app content are strictly not allowed. Systems are in place to detect unauthorised print screens which would result in account blockage for a period of 5 minutes without access to the question bank. Repeated unauthorised print screens will result in a permanent account block.

To permanently delete your account and your personal data, please click here and our team will be in touch with you to confirm this request.

We have our own PLAB 1 course which is online. Our course is currently the fastest growing PLAB 1 course in the UK. You can find out more here: https://plabable.com/Course

We believe our fees are appropriate to the amount of time our team takes to create materials and plan the best way to present these effectively on our courses and webinars. It is the most affordable course costing only £130 for FOUR days (that’s only £32.50 per full day!) with teachers consisting of registrars and a consultant GP. All our teachers have at least 5 years of experience in the NHS, completed their post graduate qualifications and are still working in the NHS.

Yes, we offer a range of webinars which are usually about 2 hours. More details can be found here: https://plabable.com/Webinar

Coming to the UK for our courses or the PLAB exam? Stay connected by pre-ordering your FREE SIM card and get FREE £5 credit! To qualify for this offer, order your sim here https://www.giffgaff.com/orders/affiliate/plabable

Yes, it is a one-off purchase but you would need a valid active subscription for the question bank to access Gems.

If you do not have an account with Plabable yet, you need to register for an account and you can add on Gems.

Once you have purchased Gems, you can access it via Question Bank.

Yes, we have just launched Gems on our iOS and Android apps. Do try them out today!

Yes, we have built OSCE stations to prepare you for PLAB part 2. You can find them in the Gem section. You would need an active question bank subscription and access to Gems.

BIG MOCKS are meticulously curated to enhance your time management capabilities. They feature a diverse set of topics, some of which you might be familiar with, while others could be new to you. This diversity mirrors the unpredictability of the real exam, where being thrown a curveball topic is expected. In contrast, timed mocks, often simply referred to as "mocks," are derived from questions in the 'Practice by Category' section. If you have previously answered all the questions in this segment, it is natural to score higher on the timed mocks upon a second encounter. This can create a false sense of confidence, as it may inflate your perceived readiness.

Yes, it is a one off-purchase for lifetime access. You do NOT need an active subscription to access Plabable PodsForDocs. You will have access to new updates and new podcasts in future with no extra charge. You can get your copy for PodsForDocs here: https://awesound.com/plabable/podcast/plabable-podcast

Yes, we believe many have helped the PLAB community in different ways. We have no affiliation with any of them but we would be happy to recommend Dr. Naseer Khan's blog titled “Naseer’s Journey” which guides medical students and international doctors who wish to work in the UK.

www.nice.org.uk

• Helpful
  guidelines and clinical knowledge summaries

www.bnf.nice.org.uk

• Helpful to look search for side
  effects, interactions and contraindications of medications

www.gmc-uk.org

• Helpful for understanding ethical
  issues

www.sign.ac.uk

• Helpful guidelines for an array of
  diseases

www.resus.org.uk/resuscitation-guidelines

• Helpful guidelines for basic and
  advanced life support

www.bad.org.uk/healthcare-professionals/clinical-standards/clinical-guidelines

• Helpful guidelines for dermatology

www.fsrh.org

• Helpful guidelines on
  contraceptive use and sexual health

www.rcog.org.uk

• Helpful guidelines for obstetrics
  and gynaecology

www.bsg.org.uk

• Helpful
  guidelines for gastroenterology and hepatology

www.bashh.org

• Helpful
  guidelines for genito-urinary medicine guidelines including HIV

www.rheumatology.org.uk/Knowledge/Excellence/Guidelines

• Helpful
  guidelines on Rheumatology

www.cancerscreening.nhs.uk

• Information on
  cancer screenings

www.fpa.org.uk

• Information on
  contraception and abortion

www.bhiva.org

• Helpful guidance
  on HIV

www.gov.uk/driving-medical-conditions 

• Helpful guidance
  on medical conditions and driving

https://www.baus.org.uk/

• Helpful
  guidelines for urology

We are in partnership with Plabable Aspire who runs PLAB 2 courses. You can find out more here: https://plabable.com/Course/Plab2. If you are not able to attend our PLAB 2 course, here are some other courses recommended by our practising doctors that you may consider attending for your PLAB Part 2 exam preparation:

LONDON
Samson
PLAB academy

• 15 days “Samson classical” course
  with 4 full mock tests (18 stations) plus a PLAB 2 book
• Price: £600*
• Provides £100 discount from the
  course fee if you come in a group of 5 doctors
• PLAB 2 weekend course (7 weekends)
• Price £600*
• Location: SamsonPLAB Academy Ltd,
  Bow House Business Centre, 153-159 Bow Road, London, E3 2SE
• Email: info@samsonplab.co.uk

Common Stations by Dr Hamed Salehi

• Provides a 15-day PLAB part 2
  course, which is held once a month. Places need to be booked far in
  advance as are often fully booked
• Includes a complete and detailed
  training in all the examination, SimMan and mannequin stations
• Provides a 2-day Review Course
  which will be held before each set of the GMC PLAB part 2 exam
• The course includes two sets of
  full mock exams (18 stations)
• Price: £595*
• Location: Radial House, 3rd Floor,
  3-5 Ripple Road, Barking, London, IG11 7NF
• Email: commonstations@gmail.com

MANCHESTER
Swamy Course

• 12 days PLAB 2 course with 4 mock
  tests
• Mannequins are also available for
  practice
• Uses separate mannequins for
  practice, teaching and mock tests so that the mannequins are always
  available to practice
• Price: £600*
• Provides £100 discount from the
  course fee if you come in a group of 5 doctors
• PLAB 2 classes can also be taken
  live online within or outside the UK
• Location: Building number 308, Moseley
  Road, Levenshulme, Manchester, United Kingdom, M19 2 LH
• Email: swamyplab@gmail.com

BIRMINGHAM
PLAB coach

• Provides a 5-day intense training
  programme
• 4 lecture days + 2 full 18
  stations simulated mock exams
• Price: £350*
• New venue for PLAB training
  London: Holiday Inn Camden Lock, Central London, 30 Jamestown Rd, London
  NW1 7BY
• Location: Radio House, Aston Road
  North, Birmingham, B6 4DA, United Kingdom
• Email: plabcoach@gmail.com

*Prices and addresses are correct as of June 2018 and may change.

It has come to our attention that there are commercial companies/infringers who have copied and reproduced our questions, explanations, mnemonics, drawings and work (collectively known as “Plabable’s Copyrighted Materials”), in whole or in part, without our authorisation and/or consent. We have also been made aware that these companies/infringers are commercially exploiting Plabable’s Copyrighted Materials illegally claiming such infringing materials as their original work. 

We monitor these identified companies/infringers on a regular basis and compare their suspected infringing materials and ours both from a qualitative and quantitative perspective to establish the act of copying or substantial copying. We have issued several cease and desist letters to these identified
companies/infringers in an attempt to stop these infringing acts. All Plabable’s Copyrighted Materials are systematically documented to reflect the relevant date and timestamp of creation and properly preserved as evidence of the date of creation. 

Copyright theft or copyright infringement is wrong and unethical. We support and welcome healthy competitions but we do not tolerate the act of copying or profiting from the work of others illegally. Where we have been made aware of potential copyright infringement, as part of our efforts to protect our copyright work and the interest of our paid subscribers, we have sought legal advice and taken appropriate legal actions and measures accordingly. 

Yes, we run our business ethically and we respect our competitors’ IP and as an industry, we look out for each other. When we come across instances where we identified materials from other companies being copied and reproduced on other platforms, we will alert/notify them so that they can take appropriate actions at their end. Vice versa, these companies also do reciprocate by notifying us if they find any of Plabable’s Copyrighted Materials being reproduced on other platforms. The few reputable companies that we have worked together in an effort to curb piracy of our copyrighted materials are companies such as Passmedicine, DermNet NZ and Radiopaedia.

We work hard to create original contents to help on the PLAB community, but more importantly, we regularly review, revise and improve our questions, explanations and medical drawings so that our paid subscribers are engaged with the most up-to-date materials in helping them to pass the exam. As such, we are concerned that materials copied and reproduced by these identified companies/infringers may be outdated and may not be able to give the best benefit to their subscribers.

We respect Dr Khalid’s work very much and we want to reassure you that none of our material is based on his work. We believe he is a true inspiration to many of us including many members of our team. The topics that we write have similarities because it is based on similar topics that our users have asked us to write about but they are in no way related or the same to the explanations which Dr Khalid has written himself. We are in good terms with Dr Khalid and we can reassure you that he has not, at any point, asked for any of our material to be removed because of copyright infringement.

No, we have never been accused of any copyright infringement by any individual or company although we have sent several cease and desist letters to companies and individuals who have infringed on our intellectual property and copyrighted material.

Yes, we do make a profit but we heavily invest these back into creating a platform that contributes back to the PLAB community. Our team of 30 people work hard on developing a functional platform for you. Most of our profits go back into IT development to improve our website and mobile app and create more innovative functions and features. We heavily invest in clinical materials which take a considerable amount of time to write, review and proofread.