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180 single best answers · 3 hours · the UK route

The UK ward, one bay at a time. That is PLAB 1.

PLAB 1 — on the board in full, the Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board test, part 1, now meeting the requirements for the Medical Licensing Assessment (MLA) Applied Knowledge Test — does not ask what you memorised. It asks what you would do next for this patient, in this system, right now — 180 single-best-answer questions in three hours, built on the GMC's MLA content map. Myndaq walks that content map with you like a round: bay by bay, decision by decision.

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20 chapters · 42 modules — every area of the content map, mapped, and every bay on the round open today
The round

Four bays: what PLAB 1 is, and what it is for

Bay 01

The exam itself

PLAB 1 is a written multiple-choice examination of 180 single-best-answer questions, answered within three hours. Each question opens with a short clinical scenario and asks for one best next step — the choice a safe Foundation-level doctor would make.

180 questions 3 hours single best answer
Bay 02

Applied knowledge, not recited knowledge

The GMC is explicit about what the paper tests: your ability to apply your knowledge to the care of patients, rather than how well you can remember and recite facts. That is why a stem gives you a person and a situation, and why the correct option is a decision rather than a definition.

clinical scenarios best next step UK practice
Bay 03

The MLA content map is the syllabus

PLAB 1 questions are based on the MLA content map, and the paper meets the requirements for the Medical Licensing Assessment's Applied Knowledge Test. Myndaq's course is laid out against that same map — 20 chapters and 42 modules — so no area of it is the one you never got to.

20 chapters 42 modules MLA-aligned
Bay 04

Where PLAB 1 sits on the route

PLAB is the GMC's route for international medical graduates. Evidence of your knowledge of English — most commonly IELTS or OET — comes first; PLAB 1 is the written paper; PLAB 2 is the objective structured clinical examination; GMC registration follows. Check the current requirements with the GMC before you book anything.

IELTS or OET first PLAB 2 is an OSCE GMC registration
Pathway board
route to GMC registration

Four things to tick, in order

Evidence of your knowledge of English

Most doctors show this with IELTS or the medicine version of OET before the GMC allows them to sit PLAB. Myndaq has full courses for both.

PLAB 1 — the applied knowledge test

180 single-best-answer questions in three hours, based on the MLA content map. This is the paper this course is built for.

PLAB 2 — the clinical examination

An objective structured clinical examination taken in the UK, where the same decisions are made face to face.

GMC registration with a licence to practise

The end of the route — and the start of the job. Timing rules and evidence windows are set by the GMC, so confirm them there.

Bedside · practice

Questions that behave like the paper

A short scenario, five options, one best next step — and an explanation that names the decision rule, not just the letter. You commit, you find out, and you learn the boundary between the option you chose and the one the GMC would expect.

Scenario stems written for UK practice
An explanation on every item, including why the near-miss fails
Sessions short enough for a break between shifts
Bedside · the tutor

A senior on the round with you

The Myndaq AI Tutor sees the exact scenario on your screen. Ask why one investigation comes before another, what the UK pathway expects here, or how the safest option differs from the most thorough one. It asks you the next question rather than handing over the answer — which is how the reasoning sticks past the exam.

The obs chart

Your own numbers, tracked like obs

Accuracy right now
how consistently you pick the safest next step across recent sessions
Days to your exam
the map planned backwards from your PLAB 1 date
Weakest areas, ranked
which parts of the content map are costing you most
Your next move
one concrete recommendation, recalculated as you practise

Why Myndaq for PLAB 1

🧠
A tutor on every scenario

Ask about the exact stem you are on — the pathway, the priority, the option you nearly picked.

🎯
The real task format

Single-best-answer scenarios written for UK practice — the shape of the paper, not a fact quiz.

📈
Weakness-first analytics

The map areas you avoid become the practice you get — quietly, without you building a plan.

📱
Study anywhere

Browser-based on any device, in whatever time zone you are preparing from.

Three steps, every round

01
Start free in 30 seconds

Sign in with Google — no card, no setup, the whole content map in front of you.

02
Do a bay a day

Short scenario sets in the real format, with the tutor whenever a decision does not sit right.

03
Clear the weak bays

Let the analytics choose tomorrow's round, and keep going until no area of the map is cold.

Handover notes

The six questions every PLAB 1 candidate asks first.

Note 01 · the paper

How many questions is PLAB 1?

180 multiple-choice questions, all single best answer, to be answered within three hours. That is about a minute a question, which is why pace is part of the preparation.

Note 02 · the MLA

Is PLAB 1 the same as the UKMLA Applied Knowledge Test?

PLAB 1 meets the requirements for the Medical Licensing Assessment's Applied Knowledge Test, and its questions are based on the MLA content map. In practice, preparing for the AKT and preparing for PLAB 1 is the same work.

Note 03 · English

Do I need IELTS or OET before PLAB?

Evidence of your knowledge of English is part of the route, and most doctors provide it with IELTS or the medicine version of OET before sitting PLAB. The GMC sets the accepted evidence and the scores — confirm the current rules there. Myndaq has full IELTS and OET courses if you need them.

Note 04 · the route

What comes after PLAB 1?

PLAB 2, an objective structured clinical examination taken in the UK, and then GMC registration with a licence to practise. PLAB 1 is the written half of a two-part test.

Note 05 · the style

What kind of knowledge does it test?

Applied knowledge: your ability to apply what you know to the care of patients, rather than how well you can remember and recite facts. Expect a scenario and a decision, not a definition.

Note 06 · the course

What does the Myndaq PLAB 1 course cover?

20 chapters and 42 modules laid out against the MLA content map, each module a focused practice surface with the AI tutor attached and your weakest areas feeding the next session. The whole round is walkable today — no bay is still being made up.

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180 decisions. Start making them today.

The content map, the real question shape, and a tutor on the round with you.

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