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My experience at PLAB Part 2 Examination

October 14th, 2009

Here I shall share my experience at PLAB Part 2 or OSCE.

Station 1: I had to examine a lady with some gynecological problem. I forgot to use the lubricant KY jelly. Examiner was not happy. As palpation of the fornices was difficult, I was thinking she was having a retroverted uterus.

Station 2: next station was a lady delivered a healthy baby 4 weeks back. She was having postpartum depression and some suicidal tendency. I recommend hospitalization for both of the mother and the baby.

Station 3: I had to take history from a nurse and make out some differential diagnosis. As I never practiced this part well, I was a little confused. The patient was having pain abdomen. In my opinion, this was due to the side effect of long standing use of analgesics as he was suffering from fracture neck femur.

Station 4: I faced an anxious mother of a febrile baby with history of convulsion. I explained her that febrile convulsion is common this part of life and there is not much to be worried.

Station 5: I was discussing about pain management with the daughter of a lady suffering from carcinoma breast.

Station 6: I was given some prolene suture and needle holder and was expected to make a knot. I did not do well here as the needle holder was not working properly. Later I managed to make the knot with mu hand.

Station 7: I had to discuss the beneficial aspect of MMR vaccine to a father of a 1 year old child. He was talking continuously and all I had to do was to fill up the gaps between our conversations.

Station 8: my next station was difficult. It was a lady patient with ectopic pregnancy. She was thinking to go out from the hospital and somehow I managed to convince her to stay back at the hospital.

Station 9: next patient was suffering from pain in the shoulder and my diagnosis was painful arc syndrome. He was having great difficulty in moving his shoulder.

Station 10: next patient was suffering from COPD. I forgot to examine his neck due to lack of time and absentmindedness. Somehow, I managed to take 2 PEFR readings before the bell.

Station 11: next patient was a female at her twenties. She was giving a history of pain shifting from loin to groin. My diagnosis was urinary tract infection. This was the easiest of the lot.

Station 12: I had to demonstrate adult CPR to the examiner. Here also I did well.

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Let us discuss in Short about PLAB Examination

October 12th, 2009

The standard of medical education in the United Kingdom is quite high. Pursuing higher studies in UK is like dream come true for medical graduates in most of the countries. But GMC (General Medical Council), an institution which accredits medical schools throughout the UK set a standard for the overseas medical graduates for practicing medicine in UK. This examination is called PLAB (Professional and Linguistic Assessment Board) test. As per GMC, any medical graduate who has completed his or her training outside UK, European Union or Switzerland must pass PLAB before they can join as SHO (Senior House Officer) in any kind of health services in UK.

PLAB consists of two parts – Part 1 and Part 2 or OSCE.

In PLAB Part 1, you have to answer EMQs and some single best answers. EMQs can be chosen from any of the subjects usually trained during the schooling days. The subjects include – Anatomy, biochemistry, physiology, pharmacology, pathology, microbiology, internal medicine, surgery, gynecology and obstetrics, psychiatry, ophthalmology and ENT. The question is set by GMC and from a question bank maintained and updated by the organization. Detailed guideline can be found on the website of GMC.

In PLAB part 2, your clinical skill and knowledge about common diseases occurring in the UK are being tested. It is also known as OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Examination). Part 2 is formulated to check the ability of a foreign medical graduate to practice medicine securely in any hospital in the UK. The standard is fixed and the aptitude from a candidate is expected at the end of first Foundation year (F1).

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Let us discuss in Short about USMLE

October 10th, 2009

The United States is one of the hot favorite destinations for the overseas doctors in pursuing higher studies, if not the most favored one. Each year, thousands of medical graduates fly to US to sit for the licensing examination. As you have already accustomed, for an overseas medical graduate to get a license to practice medicine in the US, he has to clear the USMLE.

USMLE, an acronym for United States Medical Licensing Examination, is the only gateway for a doctor who have obtained the medical degree outside the US or Canada. The examination is funded and conducted by the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) together with the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME). Even for the US medical graduates, if they want to practice medicine independently, they have to take the exam.

USMLE is divided into three parts – Step 1, Step 2 and Step 3. In the Step 1, one has to answer 336 EMQs (Extended Matching Questions). Subjects covered in Step 1 are – human anatomy, physiology, biochemistry including genetics, pathology and microbiology, pharmacology, nutrition including geriatrics and behavioral sciences. This is an eight hour online computer based examination. Maximum score is 300 and the pass mark is 185.

Step 2 is further divided into two parts – Step 2 CK and Step 2 CS. Step 2 CK (Clinical Knowledge) is again an EMQ based exam and it covers internal medicine, surgery, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pediatrics and Psychiatry. There are some centers outside US opened recently where overseas doctors can take Step 2 CK. But for Step 2 CS (Clinical Skill), one has to come to the US. The candidate has to take history and state the differential diagnosis with initial investigations for 12 standardized patients.

The USMLE Step 3 is taken to assess the compatibility for a foreign medical graduate to work independently in the US atmosphere. Emphasis is also given to ambulatory patient care setup.

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Let us discuss about Medical Licensing Exam

October 7th, 2009

A medical graduate can obtain a medical degree from any country. But he may not be able to practice medicine in other countries. This is simply because the local culture and languages are different from country to country. There is also disparity between the curriculums of different countries. Therefore, it is necessary to obtain a license to practice medicines for the overseas doctors. Generally, this license is given after the candidate passes a medical licensing exam.

In the United States, this exam is called USMLE (United States Medical Licensing Examination). In the UK, it is named as PLAB (Professional and Linguistic Assessment Board). In Australia, an overseas medical graduate has to pass the exam set by the AMC (Australian Medical Council).

This medical licensing exam is a tough one and it requires a lot of grueling hours to prepare for it. Questions are usually MCQ (Multiple Choice Questions) or EMQ (Extended Matching Questions). Questions are picked from every subject like anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, pathology, microbiology, internal medicine, surgery, psychiatry, obstetrics & gynecology, preventive medicine and genetics. The division of subjects may vary depending upon the exams.

USMLE is divided into three parts – Step I, Step II and Step III. There are some overseas countries where a medical graduate can take the exam. In Step I, there is an exam of EMQ. Step II is again divided into 2 part – Step II CK (Clinical Knowledge) and Step II CS (Clinical Skills). One has to pass these two steps to gain a medical license to practice medicine in the US. Step II has to be taken in the US only. Step III is for the students who want to engage in a job which is independently awarded.

The PLAB has two parts – Part 1 and Part 2 or OSCE. Part 1 can be taken in outside UK but one has to come to the country to take the Part 2.

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What do you mean by Accredited Medical Schools?

October 5th, 2009

The curriculum of medical education program in a particular country depends upon several factors. Although the basic structure of a syllabus remains the same, there are changes in the curriculum in different countries. Even different curricula can be seen in different boards of a single country. Therefore, the level of medical degree programs has to be standardized. The accredited medical schools are meant by those medical institutions, degrees from which are recognized by an outside medical board or university.

Not only the curriculum, but the evaluation methods adopted by different medical schools are also different. The subjects focused by different countries, diseases and treatments are also different. All these make the whole format of medical schooling a very complex procedure. Therefore, accreditation of medical degrees is ascertained in most of the countries.

In the US, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) is the sole authority of accreditation of medical degrees. There are 130 accredited medical degree granting medical schools present in the US. They have also accredited 17 Canadian medical schools for their degrees. AAMC does not accredit medical degrees obtained outside from these 147 medical schools. Overseas medical graduates have to pass the stipulated licensing program before he or she is eligible to practice medicine in the US. The examination is called USMLE.

Similarly, in the UK, the accredited medical schools are governed by the General Medical Council (GMC). GMC supervise the curriculum, lay down and monitor the standards in basic medical education. Any medical degree obtained from these medical schools is recognized by GMC and the doctor gets the license to practice medicine in the UK.

Not all medical degrees from outside the US, UK and many other countries are accredited by the governing council of these countries. One has to pass the licensing examination before he or she can pursue higher education there.

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