What is PLAB?

The General Medical Council (GMC) is the statutory body responsible for the regulation and standards of the medical profession in the United Kingdom. In order to carry out any sort of medical work or training, a doctor must first obtain registration with the GMC.

Overseas doctors who are seeking limited registration must first pass, or be exempted from the Professional and Linguistic Assessment Board (PLAB) test conducted by the GMC.

PLAB is set in two parts. Part 1 is conducted in the UK as well as in some other countries (currently Australia, Bulgaria, Dubai, Egypt, India, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, South Africa, Sri Lanka and West Indies) and consists of 200 questions in Extended Matching Question (EMQ) and Single Best Answer (SBA) format.

Part 2 is only available in the UK and takes the form of Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE), which includes an assessment of clinical and communication skills.

To be eligible to take the PLAB test, a doctor must hold an acceptable primary medical qualification and normally have satisfactorily completed (overseas) an acceptable internship of 12 months duration, or other experience regarded by the GMC as equivalent.

The GMC also require doctors to pass an English test known as International English Language Testing System (IELTS) in order to be eligible to sit for the PLAB test. Doctors must achieve an overall IELTS score of 7.0, with a minimum of 6.0 in each of the Listening, Academic Reading, Academic Writing sections and 7.0 in the SPEAKING section.

Doctors who hold qualifications recognised by the GMC for full and provisional registration are not required to take the PLAB test. European Economic Area (EEA) doctors may sometimes be asked by their prospective employer to take an English language test, as a condition of being offered a post.

Doctors who are sponsored by the British Council, or other official sponsoring bodies, or who are on Overseas Doctors Training Scheme (ODTS), do not have to take the PLAB test and must not do so before or during the period of their sponsorship. If they take the PLAB test and fail, they will no longer be eligible for sponsorship.

1. How can I register if I am a doctor who has qualified in India?
If you qualify in India you will need to pass a test set by the Professional and Linguistics Assessment Board (PLAB) in order to demonstrate your knowledge of English and your medical expertise before you can register with the General Medical Council or the General Dental Council.

2. Is PLAB conducted in India?
Plab is in two parts. Part 1 is conducted in India at the four British Council Offices situated in Mumbai, Chennai, Calcutta and Delhi.

3. How long can I stay in the UK to pass the PLAB test?
You may be given permission to stay for up to 12 months in the United Kingdom in order to pass
the PLAB test provided you are able to support yourself with no recourse to public funds.

4. Can I take PLAB Part 2 outside the UK?
No. This is held only in the UK.

5. How many times may I take Part1/Part2
There is no limit to the number of times that you may take Part1, but you must have a valid IELTS report form dated not more than two years before each attempt. You may have four attempts at Part2, which must be within two years of your Part 1 pass. If you do not pass at your fourth attempt, you must re-take IELTS and Part 1. There are no exceptions to this rule.

6. What level is the PLAB test set at?
The PLAB test is set at the level of an SHO in a first appointment in a UK hospital. The emphasis of this examination is on clinical management and science as applied to clinical problems. It is confined to core knowledge, skills and attitudes relating to conditions commonly seen by SHOs, the generic management of life-threatening situations and rarer, but important, problems.

7. Can I undertake postgraduate training in the United Kingdom?
Yes if you're a doctor or dentist who has qualified either in the United Kingdom or abroad but you
must register with the General Medical Council or the General Dental Council before you can
undertake postgraduate training.

8. How do I qualify to come to the United Kingdom for postgraduate training?
You must be able to show that: .. you are a doctor or dentist; and
.. you are registered or eligible for registration with the General Medical Council or General Dental Council; and
.. you intend to undertake postgraduate training in a hospital; and
.. you have not already spent a total of four years in postgraduate training in the United Kingdom (this does not include 12 months in preregistration house officer employment); and
.. you intend to leave the United Kingdom on completion of your training.

9. How long can I stay for postgraduate training?
You will be given permission to stay in the United Kingdom for a period of 12 months in the first instance. You can apply to stay for up to a maximum period of four years as long as you have a postgraduate training job in a hospital and you remain registered with the General Medical Council or the General Dental Council and you intend to leave the United Kingdom on completion of your training. Extensions of stay will be granted for periods of 12 months.

10. Can I take employment other than a training post?
If you are coming to the United Kingdom to take employment other than in a training post you will need a work permit. Applications for work permit employment can only be made by the employer in the United Kingdom to the Department for Education and Employment.

11. How do I apply under the ODTS (Overseas Doctors Training Scheme)?
There have been some primary changes in the ODTS. It would be best to write to the Royal College concerned, to find out whether the scheme is running and how one could apply.

12. Does the British Council UK sponsor doctors (medical) for limited registration with the GMC?
.. The Health Team at the British Council in Manchester provides services for doctors intending to come to the UK for clinical training.