AskMed
For PLAB 1 practice, AskMed Max gives you 500 single-best-answer questions across 15 topics, each with five options like the real exam, an explanation for every option and a UK source such as NICE. When a question raises something you don't know, ask AskMed and get a cited answer in the same app.
| Questions | 500 PLAB 1 questions (5,499 across 11 exams) |
|---|---|
| Format | Single best answer, 5 options, like PLAB 1 |
| Topics | 15, from cardiology to biostatistics and ethics |
| Explanations | One for every option |
| Sources | 1–3 per question: NICE, Merck Manuals, GOV.UK, RCOG, GMC |
| Modes | Practice, spaced-repetition review, timed mock (40 questions in 60 minutes) |
| Doses | Never |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Android, web |
The other options
| App | Type | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| PLABable | Question bank | A large bank built only for PLAB 1, with discussion under each question |
| Pastest | Question bank + course | A full package: questions, mock exams and notes |
| iatroX | Question bank + AI tutor | Adaptive UK practice plus guideline Q&A |
| MedRevisions | Question bank + AI study assistant | A big bank mapped to the MLA content map |
| ChatGPT | General AI chatbot | Talking a topic through. It has no PLAB question bank, so check its sources yourself |
What to look for in a PLAB 1 app
- Questions in the real format. PLAB 1 is 180 single-best-answer questions in three hours, each with five options. Practising with five-option questions makes the format feel normal on the day. All 500 of AskMed's PLAB questions have five options.
- An explanation for every option. In a single-best-answer paper, the hard part is ruling out the options that are almost right. An app that only explains the correct answer skips that. AskMed explains every option, so you learn why each wrong answer is wrong.
- UK sources. PLAB tests UK practice, so explanations should follow NICE and other UK guidance, not US guidelines. Across AskMed's PLAB bank, NICE guidance is cited 222 times, alongside GOV.UK, the RCOG, the GMC, the British Thoracic Society and the Resuscitation Council UK.
- Timed practice and review. The real paper allows about one minute per question. Timed mocks build that pace, and reviewing the questions you got wrong, spaced out over days, makes the lessons stick. AskMed has both: a 40-question, 60-minute mock and spaced-repetition review.
- A way to fill the gaps. A question bank shows what you don't know. AskMed also answers any medical question with citations to journals, guidelines and drug labels, so you can read up on a topic and go straight back to practice.
AskMed's PLAB bank by topic
500 questions across 15 topics: 142 easy, 255 medium and 103 hard. Practise one topic at a time, or mix all of them.
| Topic | Questions |
|---|---|
| Cardiology | 34 |
| Gastroenterology | 34 |
| Obstetrics and gynecology | 34 |
| Pediatrics | 34 |
| Surgery | 34 |
| Biostatistics and ethics | 33 |
| Endocrinology | 33 |
| Hematology and oncology | 33 |
| Infectious diseases | 33 |
| Microbiology | 33 |
| Nephrology | 33 |
| Neurology | 33 |
| Pharmacology | 33 |
| Psychiatry | 33 |
| Pulmonology | 33 |
See a question
A 52-year-old man of Black African family origin has a clinic blood pressure of 166/98 mmHg. Ambulatory monitoring confirms stage 2 hypertension. He does not have diabetes, and his renal function and urine dipstick are normal. Which is the most appropriate first-line drug treatment?
An ACE inhibitor is step 1 for people under 55 who are not of Black African or African–Caribbean family origin, or for anyone with type 2 diabetes. It is not first choice here.
Beta-blockers are not a routine step 1 treatment for hypertension in NICE guidance.
Correct. NICE recommends a calcium-channel blocker as step 1 for adults of Black African or African–Caribbean family origin without type 2 diabetes, at any age.
Alpha-blockers are a step 4 option for resistant hypertension (for example when potassium is above 4.5 mmol/L), not step 1.
Spironolactone is a step 4 option for resistant hypertension when potassium is low enough.
Tap an answer to see why each option is right or wrong.
Source: NICE NG136: Hypertension in adults: diagnosis and management
Questions
Is AskMed's PLAB bank written by AI on the spot?
No. Every question comes from a fixed, reviewed bank. A question reported by two or more people is held back until it is checked.
Does AskMed give drug doses?
No. Questions test the right choice of treatment, never doses.
Can I ask about something a question raised?
Yes. Ask AskMed any medical question and the answer cites the journals, guidelines or drug labels it comes from, so you can check the guideline behind a question you got wrong.
Which devices does it work on?
iPhone, iPad, Android and the web. One account works on all of them, so you can practise on your phone and review on a laptop.
Do I need a UK licence or a US NPI to use it?
No. AskMed works worldwide, and you don't need a medical licence or an NPI to sign up.
Which other exams are covered?
5,499 questions in all: USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 CK, PLAB, NEET-PG, ENARM, TUS, PLE, UKOMNAS, EDN, Ghana MDC and Israel MLE, each in the exam's own language.