Choose 8 weeks only if you can study most of each day, 12 weeks for a balanced load, and 16 weeks if you work full time. All three plans take the 12 revision domains in order of weight and weakness, use question blocks as the main learning tool, and finish with two timed 180-question mocks. Weights are editorial estimates, because the GMC publishes no percentages.
Start with the constraints, not the calendar
Three facts shape every PLAB 1 plan. The paper has 180 questions in three hours, so you have about one minute per item. Answers must follow current UK best practice, so anything you learned from another system has to be checked, not assumed. Calculators and watches are banned, so arithmetic must be quick and by hand. A good plan trains all three at once, in the same sessions, instead of leaving speed and UK practice to the final week.
The plan also needs to match the blueprint. The GMC bases PLAB 1 on its MLA content map, which spans 24 areas of clinical practice, 13 areas of professional knowledge, about 221 presentations and about 428 conditions. We group those into twelve revision domains and estimate their weights (see the hub). The professional and therapeutics domain carries about 15%, roughly 27 questions. It is the single largest block, and it is the one most candidates schedule last.
Which length fits you
| Plan | Study time | Best for | Main risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 weeks | 5 to 6 hours a day, 6 days a week | Recent graduates or doctors in current practice who can study full time | No slack: one lost week breaks the schedule |
| 12 weeks | 3 to 4 hours a day, 6 days a week | Most candidates, including part-time clinicians | Drifting in the middle weeks |
| 16 weeks | 2 hours on weekdays, 5 to 6 hours at weekends | Doctors working full time or returning after a break | Forgetting early domains before the exam |
These hours are editorial guidance, not GMC figures. If you are unsure, choose the longer plan and compress it later. Expanding a plan that has failed is harder than shortening one that is going well.
The daily and weekly rhythm
Every plan uses the same rhythm so that you do not have to redesign your week. In a study day, do a block of 20 to 40 questions on the current domain in tutor mode, review every explanation, then spend the second half of the session on active recall: write the first-line management and escalation for the topics you missed. Add a short set of 10 mixed questions from earlier domains to keep them alive.
- Days 1 to 4: domain work. Topic blocks of 20 to 40 questions, then notes on the errors only.
- Day 5: mixed timed block. Forty questions in 40 minutes, covering the current and two previous domains.
- Day 6: professional and prescribing day. Thirty questions on Good medical practice, consent, capacity, confidentiality, safeguarding and BNF-style prescribing, because this material appears across every domain.
- Day 7: rest, or a light review of the error log. Do not skip rest weeks if you are working.
The 12-week plan
This is the reference version. The 8-week plan merges weeks in pairs, and the 16-week plan adds a consolidation week after every third domain.
| Weeks | Focus | Target |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baseline 60-question untimed set across all domains; read the content map; set up the error log | Know your three weakest domains |
| 2 | Professional practice, ethics, therapeutics (part 1): Good medical practice, consent, capacity, confidentiality, candour | 150 questions |
| 3 | Acute and emergency with cardiovascular | 200 questions |
| 4 | Respiratory with infection, cancer and palliative care | 200 questions |
| 5 | Gastroenterology and surgery; endocrine and renal | 200 questions |
| 6 | Obstetrics, gynaecology and sexual health; child health | 200 questions; first mixed timed set of 60 |
| 7 | Neurosciences, ENT, eyes; mental health | 200 questions |
| 8 | Musculoskeletal, skin and blood; professional domain part 2 (screening, immunisation, DVLA, population health) | 200 questions |
| 9 | Consolidation: weakest three domains, re-sat in mixed blocks | 250 questions |
| 10 | First full 180-question mock in 3 hours, then a two-day review | Score and error log analysis |
| 11 | Targeted repair from the mock; timed blocks of 60 at 60 minutes | 300 questions |
| 12 | Second full mock early in the week; light review and rest in the last 48 hours | Stable timing, no new topics |
Question counts are targets for a candidate studying about 3 to 4 hours a day. Adjust them to your pace, but keep the order: professional practice early, because it threads through every other domain, then high-weight clinical domains, then the lighter ones.
The 8-week version
Run two domains per week from week 1 and cut each review session shorter, not the question volume. Sit the baseline in the first two days. Put the first full mock at the end of week 6, repair in week 7 and run the second mock on day 1 of week 8, leaving six days to finish. Do not shorten the mocks themselves. A 120-question practice paper does not teach you to hold concentration for a full three hours.
If your first timed mixed block falls well short of the pace you need after week 3 of an 8-week plan, move to 12 weeks. Adding a month is better than sitting underprepared. The GMC counts every sitting as an attempt, and you have four.
The 16-week version
Use the 12-week table, but spend two weeks on each of the weekday-heavy domains and add a consolidation week after weeks 5, 8 and 11. The consolidation week is for interleaving: 40 mixed questions a day from all domains studied so far, with no new topic reading. Two long weekend sessions (4 to 5 hours each) carry most of the timed mixed blocks. Keep weekday sessions to 60 to 90 minutes so that you do not burn out across four months of shift work.
How to run a full mock
Treat the mock as a rehearsal of the day. Sit it at the same time of day as your booked slot. Use no phone, no calculator, no watch you can reach and no breaks beyond the ones you would have. Use a sheet and a pencil if you can, because the GMC guide refers to a double-sided answer sheet, and transferring answers takes time. After the mock, divide your errors into four groups.
- Knowledge gap: you did not know the fact. Add it to the next week's targeted set.
- UK practice gap: you knew a protocol, but not the UK one. Write the UK version beside the one you know.
- Reading error: you answered a different question from the one asked, often missing "next", "initial" or "most appropriate".
- Time error: you rushed or guessed because of the clock. Note which question numbers.
Review time should be about twice the mock time. A mock that you only score is a missed lesson.
Sit a timed PLAB 1 mock exam
Blueprint-weighted questions under exam timing, then a breakdown of your result by domain.
The error log
Keep one running document with four columns: the topic, why you were wrong, the correct rule in one line, and the date you last got it right. Look at it every day. Retest each entry after 3, 10 and 30 days. This is the tool that turns practice questions into retained knowledge. By week 9 of the 12-week plan you should see the same errors repeating in only a few places. Those are your final-week priorities.
The final week
Do not learn new topics. Reread the error log, drill the professional domain, and revisit the verified UK facts that are easy to confuse: screening ages and intervals, the childhood immunisation schedule, Mental Health Act sections and DVLA rules (see UK guidelines you must know). Check your logistics: your booking confirmation with the GMC reference number, accepted photo ID, HB pencils, an eraser, a sharpener and a clear unlabelled water bottle. Read the exam-day guide the night before, sleep, and arrive early. The GMC advises planning at least four hours at the centre.
Common planning mistakes
- Reading before testing. Candidates who read for weeks and then start questions discover gaps too late. Begin questions in week one.
- Leaving the professional domain to the end. It is the largest estimated block and threads through other domains, so start it early and revisit it every week.
- Only doing tutor-mode questions. Tutor mode teaches content but not pace. Add timed mixed blocks from week 5 onward.
- Using home protocols. Write the UK version beside each management step you learned elsewhere, and check it against NICE, the BNF or GMC guidance.
- Skipping rest. A plan with no rest day produces a tired candidate on exam day. Keep one lighter day a week.
- Studying from recalled questions. The GMC warns against courses that claim to supply live exam content, and using such material risks misconduct.
Adjusting the plan when life intervenes
If you lose a week to illness or work, do not try to double up. Drop the lowest-weight domain from that week, keep the mixed timed block and the error-log review, and recover the dropped domain in a consolidation week. If you lose more than two weeks in total, move to the next longer plan and rebook your sitting before the deadline passes, remembering that the GMC charges a cancellation fee. For shift workers, put the timed block on a post-night day only if you will sit the real exam in similar conditions. Otherwise schedule it for a rested morning.
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Frequently asked questions
How many weeks do I need to prepare for PLAB 1?
Twelve weeks suits most doctors who work part time or study full time with recent clinical practice. Eight weeks works only if you can study most of every day and your knowledge is current. Sixteen weeks suits doctors who work full time or have been out of clinical practice.
How many practice questions should I do before PLAB 1?
There is no GMC figure. A practical target is 2,000 to 3,000 questions with full review, split between topic blocks and timed mixed blocks. The quality of review matters more than the total.
Should I read textbooks for PLAB 1?
Use them sparingly. The exam tests UK guideline-based decisions, so read the GMC content map, Good medical practice and the guidance behind each topic, and learn through questions rather than reading cover to cover.
When should I sit my first full mock?
Sit a first untimed baseline in week one to find weak domains, then your first full 180-question timed mock about three to four weeks before the exam. Sit a second one in the final fortnight.
Can I study for PLAB 1 while working full time?
Yes, but choose the 16-week plan, protect two long weekend blocks and keep weekday sessions to short question sets. Do not compress the plan into eight weeks and expect the same coverage.