Common

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Stations

The best way to get in touch with someone from the academy is to send an email to the address provided (commonstations@gmail.com), with your query and contact details. 

Dr Hamed will then contact you personally to address all your queries.

To apply for our Common Stations course, please send us a request to commonstations@gmail.com.

We will then send you an application form to fill in.

You need to complete it and send it back to us.

Once we receive your completed application form, Dr Hamed will personally contact you to answer all your questions and will guide you on how you can proceed with your enrolment.

We are honoured by our wonderful colleagues as the most recommended PLAB2 course. When we have such amazing support, unlike other academies, we do not need to pay Google to advertise our website. That's why you see an "Ad" (stands for "advert") sign next to their website link on the Google listing.

We save such expenses to improve the quality of our course.

Word of mouth speaks for itself.

It is important to have adequate time for self-study and practice after the online course and physical training.

Therefore, we advise our candidates to take their online course at least 3-4 months before their PLAB2 exam.

Furthermore, we highly recommend our candidates to attend the academy to participate in physical training at least 4 weeks before their exam.

The application form is usually sent on the same day, however sometimes due to the large volume of emails, it may take up to three working days.

Once your application has been received, it will be passed to Dr Hamed, who will call you himself. Our aim is to call you within three working days. However, it may take longer if we need to find a slot for you.

For payments from within the UK, it takes up to three working days to send you a confirmation letter.

For overseas payments, it may take longer as these payments take some days to clear through banking channels. This can be influenced by factors such as your bank, procedural delays and holidays. We regularly receive updates from our bank and will inform you as soon as your payment has been received.

Generally, for overseas payments it takes up to seven working days to send you a confirmation letter.

As soon as you have sent us the receipt of your payment, your seat will be secured, therefore you should not be worried about this matter.

No, two full mocks of 16 stations each are included in your full educational package, and you do not need to pay any additional fees for these mocks.

Those who enrol in our full educational package, do not need to pay additional fees to attend our physical training.

No, you can do Self-practice in the academy absolutely free of charge until your exam.

Yes, we provide you with printed materials covering all the subjects including history, counselling, ethical, prescriptions, telephone consultation, teaching, manikin, examination and SimMan. 

No, those who have enrolled in our full educational package and need to repeat their PLAB2 exam are able to have access to our full educational package and do Self-practice in our academy, free of charge, until their exam date.

During your online course and physical training, Dr Hamed will assess your individual strengths and weaknesses and will advise you accordingly to improve your performance. 

Your full mocks will be held within 2 weeks’ time prior to your exam date.

Teaching the subjects by one person ensures the consistency of input, which is essential to maintaining quality.

Dr Hamed has a unique teaching style, which adds more value to the course. Since he runs the course by himself, he is able to structure the course in a way that students are not overburdened with scattered information.

His classes are interactive and thought-provoking, which can prepare you in the best possible way for the exam ahead.

He knows all his students by name. Being with students on a daily basis for 10-12 hours for about two weeks, asking them questions and analysing them, gives him a great deal of knowledge about their weaknesses and strengths. He tells them how to improve their weaknesses and build on their strengths to get the best possible result in the exam, which is crucial to passing PLAB2.

As a rule, in Common Stations PLAB Academy, you are not going to deal with a "middleman". Once you have sent your application form, Dr Hamed will contact you personally to give you essential support and advice before you start your course.

Not only he will take the course by himself, but also, he will answer all your queries and questions during and after the course and will support and guide you till your exam.

He teaches you how to deal with different patients and situations in the exam.

In this way you will learn the right approach, tools, and skills.

This is as opposed to the wrong way of teaching PLAB2 exam which is making the candidates to memorise the so-called scripts.

At Common Stations PLAB Academy we will go through thick and thin with you to make your PLAB2 journey as smooth and easy as possible. However, this help and support does not stop there and goes beyond the PLAB2 exam.

Even after the exam, Dr Hamed is available to you and can provide advice and guidance whether it is about GMC registration, job applications or interviews.

Even though getting a high score in your PLAB2 exam may not seem to be an important factor since your PLAB2 score does not count when you are applying for GMC Registration or jobs, we prepare our candidates in a way that they achieve high scores, simply because:

1.We want our candidates to pass their PLAB2 exam comfortably and safely. Aiming for a high score enables our candidates to have less stress, have peace of mind and subsequently be more confident in their exam. If you don't aim for a high score and only think about passing the exam with a borderline score, you are indeed putting yourself at risk of failing the exam altogether. Historically those who fail the exam are those who aim for a borderline score.

2.The way we train our candidates not only helps them pass their PLAB2 exam but also trains them to deal with different OSCE exams in the future. We are sure most of you are planning to apply for training posts in different specialities in the future and you will face OSCE exams and interviews when you apply for these posts.

We are proud to say that most of our candidates have been successful in their job interviews and other OSCE exams and achieved their desired career goals after attending our course.

We are honoured by our wonderful colleagues as the most recommended PLAB2/UKMLA course.

You may read your colleagues reviews on our Testimonials Page.

Absolutely yes;

1. Our course is an entire package that includes online and printed study materials, online course (interactive sessions and recorded lectures) as well as physical training sessions, supervised SimMan session, unlimited practice facilities, and full mock exams.  

2. What makes Common Stations course so unique is that we are the only PLAB2 course, which is run by the actual course leader, Dr Hamed himself, and not those who have passed their PLAB2 exam recently.

This is to maintain the highest quality of training provided to our colleagues.

3. We are the only PLAB2 specialist academy. We are the only major academy which does not offer a PLAB1 course as we believe that one does not need to attend a course to pass PLAB1.

Our main focus is on PLAB2 solely and we put all our energy and efforts on PLAB2 to maintain and improve the quality of our course. This is unlike other academies in which running PLAB1 courses will subsequently affect the quality of their PLAB2 courses.

Most of our colleagues are from countries with a weak currency compared to pounds so why should we put a heavy burden on their shoulders by encouraging them to take a PLAB1 course when it is not even necessary?

We believe that PLAB1 exam can be easily cleared with a high score without attending any courses.

4. We provide individual support to our candidates as we believe this is an essential factor not only to pass PLAB2 but also to help our colleagues work in a new environment. This includes both educational and emotional support.

We understand that travelling to a foreign county, studying for PLAB2 and working in a new environment could be a stressful process for international medical graduates.

Each candidate is a different person with different characteristics who requires different ways of support. We aim to build a friendly relationship with our colleagues, so we can support them emotionally, work on the issues if there are any and boost their confidence.

We do everything in our power to provide a stress-free, calm and friendly environment for them to practise and study.

We assess each and every candidate during the course and focus on their weaknesses and strengths, and we support and guide them accordingly.

5. We are honoured by our wonderful colleagues as the most recommended PLAB2 course.

6. Have you ever thought about how much it is going to cost you if you need to retake PLAB2 exam?

Spending for the exam fee, accommodation and plane fare again will be a couple of thousand pounds. As you probably know, once you start working in the NHS, you will earn a couple of thousand pounds every month. A simple calculation shows that, you will eventually lose several thousand pounds if you fail your exam.

By choosing Common Stations PLAB2 course, you can be confident enough that you will need to bear these expenses just once, save yourself the hassle and cost of appearing in the exam a second time and more importantly start your job in the NHS as quickly as possible.

Simply speaking, at Common Stations PLAB Academy, you are paying for quality.

7. At Common Stations PLAB Academy we will go through thick and thin with you to make your PLAB2 journey as smooth and easy as possible. However, this help and support does not stop there and goes beyond the PLAB2 exam.

Even after the exam, Dr Hamed is available to you and can provide advice and guidance whether it is about GMC registration, job applications or interviews.

Common Stations academy receives a large number of applications for each course, usually a few months in advance.

Slots are given on a first-come, first-served basis to applicants. We do not want to risk affecting the quality of the course by offering group discounts and attempting to increase the number of students.

This is to ensure that the quality of teaching is maintained.

We believe that one does not need to attend a course to pass PLAB1.

Most of our colleagues are from countries with a weak currency compared to pounds so why should we put a heavy burden on their shoulders by encouraging them to take a PLAB1 course when it is not even necessary?

We believe that PLAB1 exam can be easily cleared with a high score without attending any courses.

The answer is NO.

Living expenses such as food, groceries, toiletries etc is the same in all the major supermarkets in the entire UK.

A larger part of your living costs will probably be your accommodation.

Even though our coaching centre is in London, we offer a very reasonable and affordable price for our accommodation.

Our accommodation buildings are located at a walking distance from the academy.

Even though there are many options in our area including hotels, hostels, or shared accommodations, most of our candidates prefer to stay in our academy's accommodation simply because:

1. The price is very reasonable and affordable.

2. There are separate buildings for male and female doctors.

3. Our accommodation is safe and secure.

4. Our accommodation is located at a walking distance from the academy.

5. All the utility bills are included in the rent.

6. All tenants will be our trainees.

7. You will have access to free internet.

8. There will be a regular cleaning service.

There are many reasonably priced options serving different cuisines from all over the world, including Halal options, around the academy. Grocery stores like Tesco and Lidl are also within walking distance from the academy.

Full Hybrid course is a combination of online course (interactive sessions and recorded lectures) combined with physical training sessions. 

You can attend the online course remotely. 

Our candidates will attend our online course, prior attending their physical training course.

After completion of your online course and once you have come to the academy, you can attend our physical training sessions.

During our physical training, the content of the online course will be reviewed in a more advanced level.

Moreover, you will be having Manikin and Examination classes as well as supervised SimMan sessions.

In these sessions, Dr Hamed will review what you have learnt during your online course, and you can implement the knowledge and the techniques you have been taught previously.

He will assess your performance closely and provide you with feedback so you can improve your consultation skills.

We advise you to attend your online course at least 3-4 months before your exam.

The answer is ‘Of course you can!’, in fact the earlier the better.

The earlier you start your online course, the more time you will have to study and practice before attending your physical training sessions.

The answer is ‘No’ because after completion of your online course, you will implement what you learnt on your practice in your free time.

We should also tell you that if you attend your online course with satisfactory attendance, we will allow you to retake your course closer to your exam if you wish to.

The answer is ‘Practice!'. 

After attending your online course, practising is the key to pass the PLAB2 exam.

By attending your online course in advance, you can utilise your time in a more efficient way by starting to practice with your colleagues a few months before your exam. 

One of the most important parts of preparation is to find the right study partners who have been trained in the same way as you and practise with them after completion of your online course.

During the roleplay sessions of the interactive online course, the candidates will come to know each other, and they can start practising together before they come to the academy.

Of course, those who are in the UK, can come to the academy in-person to practice with their colleagues.

Since you will receive the recorded version of the lectures of your online course, if you have any restrictions to take leave, you need to save that to attend your physical training in the academy as you need to be in the academy at least 4 weeks prior to your exam.

We advise you to be in the academy at least a month prior to your exam to attend your physical training and complete your preparation comfortably.

One of the common questions we receive is that: ‘What if I cannot be in the academy for 4 weeks, is it possible?’

It is possible.

However, we advise you to discuss this with Dr Hamed himself when you apply for the course as he can have a better understanding of your situation and can advise you more precisely according to your educational and personal circumstances.

You will be completing your training by attending your physical training workshops.  

You will also attend your supervised SimMan session.

When you attend the academy in-person, you and your colleagues can practice on manikins, examination and roleplay scenarios on a daily basis from 09:00 am to 19:00 UK time without any limitation until your exam date.

The academy is open every day including weekends and bank holidays.

When you have practised enough and are prepared, you will be having your 2 full in-person mocks within 2 weeks’ time prior to your exam date.

You will receive your one-to-one individual feedback after each mock.

1.Preparaion Time:

The PLAB2/UKMLA exam has significantly changed during the past few years.

PLAB2/UKMLA exam is a very standard exam but has become more challenging and competitive.

Therefore, the amount of time needed to be fully prepared for it and pass it on first attempt is more than before.

Previously, having 3-6 weeks of practice after the completion of the full course was more than enough. However, we believe now adays, the candidates on average need at least 8-12 weeks of preparation after completion of their full course and this indeed is very difficult for most of the PLAB2 candidates to be in the academy 3-4 months before their exam.

For overseas doctors, it may not be possible to travel to the UK this early as many colleagues cannot afford to take such leave from their job, they may need to resign from their jobs which will put them under a lot of pressure.

More or less the same applies to the candidates living in the UK as they may have other commitments.

2. Expenses and visa:

Another challenge the overseas doctors face is their expenses.

Not only this is difficult to afford, but also, it is difficult to convince the visa officer for being in the UK for such period of time.

Working with the overseas doctors for a few years, we have witnessed that one of the issues they commonly face is delay in receiving their visa.

This is a very challenging and stressful process which can have an adverse effect on their preparation.

If you attend your course in a hybrid format, you will minimize the amount of time you need to spend in the UK.

You will save your hard-earned money as you do not need to spend a great deal of your time in the UK unnecessarily. There will be less pressure in case of any visa issues and interruptions in your travel plans.

Many candidates who live in the UK, have family commitments.

Being away from the family for 2 weeks need a lot of arrangements, for example arranging childcare, accommodation etc and many candidates cannot do that well before their exam. 

Attending the course in a hybrid format will tackle these issues and you can attend your course in advance.

What makes our interactive online course so unique is that, unlike what commonly happens, we are not just going to broadcast a live class when a few candidates are sitting in a class, and someone is teaching them.

In this way, those attending the course remotely can only observe the classes.

While, in our interactive online course, the candidates can see each other, Dr Hamed makes everyone involved in the interactive sessions and all candidates will actively participate in the roleplay sessions.  

In this way you get the feeling of being in the class with all your other colleagues and not only observing a live class.

You can send us an email to commonstations@gmail.com and Dr Hamed will personally contact you to address all your queries.

For further information, have a better understanding of our educational package and how we run our courses, you can watch our candidate guide video:

Common Stations PLAB Academy By Dr Hamed - Candidate Guide - YouTube