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- Exam hub · PLAB 1PLAB 1: format, fees and how to pass
- Guide · PLAB 1Before You Can Book PLAB 1: GMC Verification Explained
- Fees & dates · PLAB 1Booking PLAB 1 in GMC Online: Fees, Sittings and Centres
- Exam day · PLAB 1PLAB 1 on the Day: ID, Pencils, Rules and a 180-Minute Pacing Plan
- High-yield topics · PLAB 1High-Yield PLAB 1 Topics: Where Revision Hours Earn Most Marks
- Scoring · PLAB 1What Score Passes PLAB 1? How the GMC Sets the Standard
- Study plan · PLAB 1PLAB 1 Study Plan: 8, 12 and 16-Week Schedules by Domain
- Syllabus · PLAB 1The PLAB 1 Syllabus: 24 Clinical Areas Mapped to 12 Revision Domains
- Guide · PLAB 1After PLAB 1: Planning the Two-Year Run to PLAB 2
- Guidelines · PLAB 1UK Rules That Change the Answer: Screening, Vaccines, MHA and DVLA
- Guide · PLAB 1UKMLA or PLAB? Two Routes to the Same Content Map
- Licensing guideHow licensing works in United Kingdom
Topic guides by domain
- Topic guide · PLAB 1Acute, Emergency, Critical Care and Perioperative Medicine for PLAB 1
- Topic guide · PLAB 1Cardiovascular Medicine and Vascular Disease: What PLAB 1 Asks
- Topic guide · PLAB 1Paediatrics for PLAB 1: The Febrile Child, Neonates and the UK Vaccine Schedule
- Topic guide · PLAB 1Diabetes, Thyroid, Kidney and Urology: The PLAB 1 Domain Explained
- Topic guide · PLAB 1Gastroenterology, Liver Disease and General Surgery for PLAB 1
- Topic guide · PLAB 1Infection, Oncology and End of Life Care: A PLAB 1 Revision Map
- Topic guide · PLAB 1Psychiatry for PLAB 1: Risk, Drugs and the Mental Health Act
- Topic guide · PLAB 1Fractures, Joints, Skin Cancer and Anaemia: Musculoskeletal, Dermatology and Haematology
- Topic guide · PLAB 1Neurosciences, ENT and Ophthalmology: Stroke, Seizures and the Red Eye
- Topic guide · PLAB 1Pregnancy, Gynaecology and Sexual Health: What PLAB 1 Tests
- Topic guide · PLAB 1Ethics, Law, Primary Care and Prescribing: The Biggest PLAB 1 Domain
- Topic guide · PLAB 1Respiratory Medicine for PLAB 1: Breathless Patients and Pleural Disease
Sample questions
Original questions in the exam's style. Choose an answer, then check it.
A 67-year-old man with severe COPD and signs of cor pulmonale is reviewed in clinic. On two occasions three weeks apart when clinically stable his PaO2 on air was 7.1 kPa. He is a current smoker of 15 cigarettes daily and lives with his wife. He asks to be started on long-term oxygen therapy. What is the most important issue to address before prescribing?
Answer: A. LTOT improves survival in COPD with chronic hypoxaemia (PaO2 below 7.3 kPa, or 7.3-8 kPa with cor pulmonale, polycythaemia or nocturnal hypoxaemia). It is not offered to people who continue to smoke because of fire risk and reduced benefit, and carers are warned about naked flames. Patients receive a structured home oxygen assessment. Based on: NICE NG115 COPD in over 16s (2018, updated 2019); BTS Guidelines for home oxygen use in adults (2015)
A 45-year-old woman with no previous psychiatric contact has had 3 weeks of persecutory delusions, insomnia and poor self-care. She refuses to attend voluntarily. Her husband is distressed. After assessment by an approved mental health professional and two doctors it is agreed she needs detention in hospital for assessment of a probable first episode of psychosis. Which section is most appropriate?
Answer: B. Section 2 is the admission for assessment (and treatment) for up to 28 days, based on an application by an AMHP or nearest relative with two medical recommendations, one from an approved doctor. Section 3 is used when the diagnosis and treatment needs are known and lasts up to six months, renewable. Based on: Mental Health Act 1983 sections 2 and 3; NHS: Mental Health Act
A 46-year-old professional pianist is listed for elective carpal tunnel decompression. The surgeon knows the operation carries about a 1 in 100 risk of persistent fingertip numbness from nerve injury and rarely mentions risks below 1 in 20 in routine day-case surgery. At the pre-operative consultation the pianist asks only 'Is it a straightforward operation?'. Which approach best reflects the legal standard for consent?
Answer: E. Montgomery v Lanarkshire Health Board [2015] UKSC 11 moved consent from a doctor-centred to a patient-centred standard. A risk is material if a reasonable person in the patient's position would be likely to attach significance to it, or the doctor is or should be aware that this patient would. Reasonable alternatives, including no treatment, must also be discussed. Based on: Montgomery v Lanarkshire Health Board [2015] UKSC 11; GMC Decision making and consent (2020)
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