Free PLAB 2 practice OSCE cases
High-yield stations to run with a study partner. Every case has candidate instructions, an actor script, the generic mark sheet, a station-specific marking standard, examiner points of fact with guideline links, and a reflection form — and every case is tagged to the MLA content map.
Reviewed and kept current
Last editorial review: 19 September 2026 · Next scheduled refresh: March 2027.
Run every case the same way
Three roles
Candidate, actor, examiner. Two people? The actor also marks.
Candidate reads only the instructions
Everything else on a case page is folded away. The actor opens the script; the examiner opens the mark schemes. Candidates: do not unfold anything until you have finished.
Exam timing
1 min 30 s reading · start the clock · practice bell at 6:00 · stop at 8:00, mid-sentence if necessary. The GMC does not promise a two-minute warning in the real examination, so candidates should also practise some stations without the bell.
Mark, feed back, reflect
1–4 in each domain, any GMC feedback statements that applied, two minutes of feedback. Then the candidate completes the reflection form — a copy is emailed to them.
Cases published so far
| Case | Station | Station family | MLA areas of clinical practice | MLA presentations | Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P2-01 | Breaking bad news: abnormal chest X-ray | Explanation, counselling and breaking bad news | Cancer · Respiratory · General practice and primary healthcare | Cough · Haemoptysis · Weight loss | Face-to-face · simulated patient |
| P2-02 | Telephone consultation: head pain | History, diagnosis and management | Neurosciences · General practice and primary healthcare | Headache · Nausea · Vision change/ loss (acute and gradual) | Telephone · simulated patient |
| P2-03 | Low mood and suicidal thoughts | History, diagnosis and management | Mental health · General practice and primary healthcare | Altered mood · Suicidal thoughts · Self-harm · Sleep problems · Substance misuse | Face-to-face · simulated patient |
| P2-04 | ED follow-up: adult safeguarding and domestic abuse | Acute care, ethics and safeguarding | General practice and primary healthcare · Acute and emergency · Mental health | Domestic abuse · Bruising · Soft tissue injury · Child abuse and neglect | Face-to-face · simulated patient |
Case titles describe the presenting situation, not the diagnosis, wherever the real station would hide it.
Cases by MLA area of clinical practice
The MLA content map lists 24 areas of clinical practice. The library currently touches 6 of 24. A case is listed under every area it genuinely tests, so one station can appear more than once. Empty rows are where the next cases will go.
| Area of clinical practice (MLA content map, Domain 1) | Practice cases | Count |
|---|---|---|
| Acute and emergency | P2-04 | 1 |
| Cancer | P2-01 | 1 |
| Cardiovascular | No case yet | 0 |
| Child health | No case yet | 0 |
| Clinical haematology | No case yet | 0 |
| Clinical imaging | No case yet | 0 |
| Dermatology | No case yet | 0 |
| Ear, nose and throat | No case yet | 0 |
| Endocrine, diabetes and metabolic | No case yet | 0 |
| Gastrointestinal (GI) | No case yet | 0 |
| General practice and primary healthcare | P2-01 · P2-02 · P2-03 · P2-04 | 4 |
| Infection | No case yet | 0 |
| Medicine of the older adult | No case yet | 0 |
| Mental health | P2-03 · P2-04 | 2 |
| Musculoskeletal | No case yet | 0 |
| Neurosciences | P2-02 | 1 |
| Obstetrics and gynaecology | No case yet | 0 |
| Ophthalmology | No case yet | 0 |
| Palliative and end of life care | No case yet | 0 |
| Perioperative medicine and anaesthesia | No case yet | 0 |
| Renal and urology | No case yet | 0 |
| Respiratory | P2-01 | 1 |
| Sexual health | No case yet | 0 |
| Surgery | No case yet | 0 |
Cases by station family
The same library sorted by the five station families described on the exam structure page — useful if one style of station is your weak point.
| Station family | Practice cases | Count |
|---|---|---|
| History, diagnosis and management | P2-02 Telephone consultation: head pain · P2-03 Low mood and suicidal thoughts | 2 |
| Explanation, counselling and breaking bad news | P2-01 Breaking bad news: abnormal chest X-ray | 1 |
| Clinical examination | No case yet | 0 |
| Practical procedures and prescribing | No case yet | 0 |
| Acute care, ethics and safeguarding | P2-04 ED follow-up: adult safeguarding and domestic abuse | 1 |
The next cases
The library is growing towards twenty free cases, chosen to fill the empty rows above.
| Planned station | MLA areas it will fill |
|---|---|
| STI result and partner notification (gonorrhoea) | Sexual health · Infection |
| Telephone call from a parent: bruising in a 3-year-old | Child health · Acute and emergency |
| Headache and visual disturbance at 32 weeks (pre-eclampsia) | Obstetrics and gynaecology · Acute and emergency |
| The angry patient with abdominal pain | Gastrointestinal (GI) · General practice and primary healthcare |
| Explaining a new diagnosis of cirrhosis | Gastrointestinal (GI) |
| First seizure in an adult — driving and referral | Neurosciences |
| Low mood six weeks after childbirth | Mental health · Obstetrics and gynaecology |
| Exertional chest pain | Cardiovascular |
| Declining metformin — a counselling station | Endocrine, diabetes and metabolic |
Independence & scope. Independent, formative training material from MD Acumen Ltd. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or delivered on behalf of the General Medical Council. The GMC does not publish its station mark sheets: every mark scheme and descriptor on these pages is an Acumen training tool calibrated to the GMC's published marking domains, feedback statements and the MLA content map. Practice scores are not a prediction of examination performance. Clinical content reflects UK guidance at the date of editorial review — always check the current guideline. All patients are fictional.
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