Get the paperwork out of the way early so it never steals time from practice.

• Confirm you have passed PLAB 1 and your result is validYou must sit PLAB 2 within two years of passing PLAB 1.
• Check your GMC Online account details are up to date
• Confirm the current PLAB 2 exam fee on the GMC websiteFees change — always confirm directly with the GMC.
• Understand the ID and documents you must bring on the day
• Check your visa / travel arrangements to the UK if you are overseas

PLAB 2 is held at the GMC Clinical Assessment Centre in Manchester.

• Book your PLAB 2 date as early as possiblePopular dates fill up months ahead.
• Book accommodation near the GMC centre in Manchester
• Plan travel to arrive at least a day before, not on the morning
• Do a dry run of the route to the assessment centre
• Give yourself a realistic prep runway before the date you book

You cannot prepare for a station type you do not understand. Learn the shape of the day first.

• Understand the 16-station OSCE circuit and per-station timing
• Learn how the reading time before each station works
• Understand the three marking domainsData Gathering, Clinical Management, Interpersonal Skills.
• Know what a global "pass" across stations actually requires
• Read the GMC blueprint and example station descriptions

PLAB 2 samples across nine communication and clinical skill types — do not neglect the ones you find awkward.

• History taking — focused, safe, hypothesis-driven
• Clinical explanation — diagnoses and plans without jargon
• Communication with relatives
• Communication with colleagues — handover & escalation
• Teaching a student or junior
• Breaking bad news
• Consent for a procedure
• Handling complaints
• Ethical dilemmas — capacity, confidentiality, competing duties

The frameworks examiners reward are learnable. Drill them until they are automatic under pressure.

• Open every consultation and elicit ICE (Ideas, Concerns, Expectations)
• Use a structure like Calgary–Cambridge to organise the consultation
• Practise SPIKES for breaking bad news
• Always safety-net and summarise before you close
• Rehearse plain-English explanations of common conditions
• Practise picking up cues and responding to emotion
• Time yourself — finishing within the station is a skill in itself

Small things you can settle now so exam day is about performance, not panic.

• Pack your ID and required GMC documents the night before
• Lay out professional, comfortable clothing
• Plan food, water and travel timing for the morning
• Have a simple reset routine for a station that goes badlyEach station is marked independently — one wobble is recoverable.
• Get a proper night’s sleep before the exam