PLAB2 Top Tips

1. You need to be able to gather information from a patient about their medical history to make a diagnosis or to establish if they understand treatment so it’s important that you practice on your verbal communication skills. 

2. You won’t gain marks for telling the patient all you know about a specific symptom or illness. Instead, you should concentrate on showing the examiners how you interact with patients. 

3. You need to become familiar with the correct protocols in emergency management situations. This is necessary to pass the stations and to apply them effectively 

4. Don’t invade the role player’s personal space; you need to remember that you should sit at an appropriate distance from the role player and to be aware of their body language 

5. You shouldn’t ask irrelevant questions; this is because they could offend patients. You should keep your questions focused and to the point as you will not gain credit simply for asking lots of questions. 

6. You need to always seek out consent from the patient before you carry out a procedure. Candidates who are unsuccessful commonly fail to do this. 

7. During the assessment, a common mistake was that candidates did not check radial pulse and respiration rate safely and correctly for a full two minutes (one full minute for each). 

8. Documents you make (including clinical records) to formally record your work must be clear, accurate and legible. You should make records at the same time as the events you are recording or as soon as possible afterwards. You must keep records that contain personal information about patients, colleagues or others securely, and in line with any data protection law requirements.