PLAB 2 vs MRCP PACES: what's the difference?
PLAB 2 is the GMC's OSCE for international medical graduates seeking UK registration, focused on safe day-to-day practice and communication. MRCP PACES is a higher postgraduate clinical exam for physicians in training, testing clinical examination, reasoning and communication at a more advanced level. Both are spoken, station-based exams — so both reward rehearsing out loud — but PACES sits later and is more clinically demanding.
Purpose & stage
PLAB 2 is an entry-point assessment for IMGs to demonstrate they can practise safely in the UK. PACES is taken by doctors progressing in internal medicine and assesses higher-level clinical competence.
Format
PLAB 2 is an OSCE of short scenario stations (consultations, counselling, breaking bad news, ethics, teaching). PACES is a clinical exam with stations covering clinical examination, history, communication and clinical reasoning, often with real or simulated patients.
How to prepare for both
The common thread is spoken rehearsal under time pressure. Practising stations out loud — taking histories, explaining, breaking bad news, handling emotion — against a realistic partner builds the fluency both exams reward.
Frequently asked questions
Is PLAB 2 harder than PACES?
They test different things at different stages. PLAB 2 focuses on safe foundation-level practice and communication; PACES is a more advanced clinical exam for physicians in training, so it's generally considered the more clinically demanding of the two.
Do you take both PLAB 2 and PACES?
Not necessarily as a sequence — PLAB is one route to GMC registration for IMGs, while PACES is part of MRCP for those pursuing physician training. Many doctors take one but not the other depending on their pathway.
Practise this in a real station
Rehearse these skills out loud with MedMock's AI patient and examiner in the exams this matters for: