The steps to be a registered and licensed doctor in the UK are three: 1- Pass the English Test 2- Sit the PLAB 1 exam 3- Sit PLAB 2 exam After you've passed all these tests, you will become eligible to apply for GMC registration. Passing the English Test: 4 weeks to 12 weeks There two English proficiency exams accepted by the GMC, the OET test or the IELTS test. OET exam is relatively an exam that most doctors pass at their first attempt. It basically is a test that assess your proficiency in English while in a medical setting. Meaning that the whole exam is around your ability to understand and communicate in English in your work, such as writing referral letters (writing section of the test), or seeing a patient (the speaking section). The other exam is the IELTS exam and it is a pure English test, not specialized in any field like the OET. The preparation time of both exams will depend on your English abilities. If you're fluent, then both exams will not take more than 4 weeks of preparation. However, if you need to prepare more, the OET exam can be studied for 6 weeks, and the IELTS exam can take up to three months of preparation. So far OET seems a better option, nonetheless, its only downside is that it is more expensive than the IELTS exam, at prices ~400 American dollars for OET and ~ 180 dollars for IELTS. OET scores appear after 3 weeks of the exam, and IELTS scores after 2 weeks. Passing PLAB 1 exam: 4 to 8 weeks PLAB is relatively an easy exam, in comparison to the USMLE exam. The reason is, it is a Pass/Fail exam, and the score doesn't really matter while you're applying for jobs. So basically, as discussed in this post, rarely do we need a course, and we should only rely on online question banks and the explanations of questions. Check this post to get a study plan and know how to pass PLAB 1 from the first attempt. Results of PLAB 1 show up after 5 to 6 weeks, and you can't book PLAB 2 unless you have passed PLAB 1. If you passed PLAB 1 exam, you will have to book a PLAB 2 exam that is at least 2 months away. That is to make sure you get your visa to the UK which takes on average 3 to 6 weeks to be issued. Preparing for PLAB 2 exam: 4 to 8 weeks Most have agreed that to pass PLAB 2 exam from the first attempt, we must attend a course at an academy, however, it is also agreed that it is doable without a course. If you can't stay long in the UK to attend a course or you don't have enough budget for it there are many alternatives. Let us first discuss how long of preparation do we need if we attended a course. The course's duration ranges from 10 to 14 days, depending on the academy you're attending. And then you need 2 to 3 weeks practicing and studying after the course. The alternative is, attending an online course, which can be done over a week or two, and studying after that for another three to four weeks. However, there are somethings that might make you need more time to prepare is that if you haven't practiced medicine for long in the past period. Additionally, a third of your mark in PLAB 2 exam depends on your interpersonal skills with the patient, i.e. communication skills. So if you have been working in a medical setting where you haven’t got trained for that, you might as well need more time to prepare. Finally, if your English command is average, you'll need more practice to learn phrases and words that should be used in certain situations. In that case, PLAB 2 exam will need a preparation of total 8-12 weeks. The PLAB 2 exam results show up after almost a month, after which you should apply for GMC registration, which could take 4 to 6 weeks. So in average, you will need almost 36 weeks or 9 months to become a licensed doctor in the UK. Check this post to know how much does this road costs in total.
