Greetings, Medical Students and Fellow Doctors. I am Dr. Abhishek Mathukia, an international medical graduate from Odessa National Medical University in Ukraine. I am from Bhavnagar, India. I recently got registered with GMC after successfully passing all of the exams needed for registration. I want to talk about my experience and how I managed to persevere during the mentally taxing and protracted process to GMC registration in this blog. The little benefit that my site can provide to other IMGs is my goal.
Journey to GMC Registration
There are several methods to register with the GMC, but if you're a recent medical graduate with no clinical experience, the PLAB pathway is the best place to begin your career as a physician in the UK. This is a long journey considering the current trend of many foreign doctors choosing this route. Getting exam seats, waiting to take the exam after scheduling it, and travelling to the UK for PLAB 2 are all mentally taxing in and of themselves, but perseverance comes from remembering why you started and staying motivated.
Staying Motivated throughout the journey
The most crucial thing is to create realistic goals and a schedule. The road is already lengthy enough to wear you out, so having a timeline is crucial. Staying organised, making sure you adhere to the schedule you've set, resisting the need to give up if your goals aren't met, and picking up where you left off. Reward yourself after passing every exam or even small mock test, and always look forward to improving by working on your weakness rather getting demoralised by some setbacks or failures.
Find a study partner who is on the same Timeline as you; this will be very beneficial as you will have someone who understands how you feel. You can keep each other motivated by talking about issues, exchanging study materials and advice, and continually praising each other for accomplishments.
Giving breaks & spending time with your loved ones, consistency is key, but giving breaks to yourself is very important even if it consists for an hour or a day, This will recharge you and help you function more effectively.
Maintaining your health and reducing stress: Pay close attention to your health, especially when a exam is approaching. Look for strategies to reduce your stress and carve out time from your schedule for them.
You only know why you started the journey and why it is vital for you to finish, thus the most important thing is to avoid individuals who try to demoralise you by listing the drawbacks of the route. Instead, always envision yourself achieving your goals, and you won't be affected by such people.
To avoid burning out, start studying for exams far in advance and continue steadily over time rather than trying to cover everything in a small amount of time.
How To Ace PLAB 2
Since fellow doctors have published a tonne of fantastic blogs on trewlink that go into great detail about passing PLAB 2, I will only summarise the key points to remember both in your preparation and on exam day.
As an IMG, this exam has several difficulties, including as cultural differences, language barriers, interpersonal skills, and different medical practice guidelines. However, these difficulties are completely manageable with the correct information and preparation.
Things to keep in Mind
Don't underestimate the exam and start preparing well in advance.
Plan your Trip such that you get enough time to settle in the Environment and prepare thoroughly.
Find different groups to Practice scenarios as you will get to know your mistakes and always learn new and better ways to approach cases.
One of the primary reasons applicants fail the exam is that they present themselves in a Scripted manner. Instead, attempt to develop your own approach to handle scenarios.
Stick to your approach and avoid using multiple resources as exam is all about you being a natural and safe doctor.
Develop your interpersonal skills further because they are the most crucial benefit for passing this test.
Refer to the NICE guidelines to stay up to date on management guidelines, and practise with ethical ideals in mind.
Always Practice with consistency and build your vocabulary especially if you are a doctor from where English is not the first language.
Exam day: How you present yourself during the three hours of the exam will determine how well you do, regardless of how many months you have studied. Therefore, always manage your anxiousness, look Confident and natural, dress nicely, and give it your all without being overwhelmed.
Need More Help?
I hope this blog was helpful in any way possible to the fellow colleagues, I wish all the good luck for your future endeavours, stay motivated and never look back. If you need any support or advice, you can find me as an ambassador and follow my profile - Abhishek Mathukia on trewlink.com.
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