Dear Friends,

Passing PLAB two was a remarkable step in my career. After I have passed the first part, I applied for my visa to enter the UK from the British Embassy in Egypt, because I was resident there.
You have to apply for a visitor visa for the purpose of Plab, which is valid for six months. When you get a job there, the Home Office there(equavalent to the Ministry of Interior) will change your visa from visitor to work permit visa.

I discovered that I should apply for this visa in the Visa centre in Amman, Jordan.

I travelled to Jordan on that basis, and after ill treatment in the aiport of Amman (like any other Iraqi), I was given three days transit to get my visa and leave the country.

I left Jordan exactly after three days and sweared never to go there again.

Landing in Heathrow Airport (London) was a moment that I will never forget. It was as if I have passed the door from Hell to Heaven.

Despite my English which is good, I could not understand anything from any one there. It is sttrange how you find such difficulty in communicating in English especially with British people. But most of them are ver nice and will try to speak slowly and clearly.

I managed to get the right train and reached Reading, the town where a relative lives there.

Reading is a beautiful and small town near London.

At night I took a walk to see the town with my relative, I was speechless about the beauty and calm of that city. I can not describe to you how a person from the third world(especially from Iraq) feels when he sees England. You have to try by yourselves to know how it is like.

I started preparing for my exam by enrolling in a privately run course in a town named Preston. These courses are run by overseas doctors (mostly Indian and Pakistanians) who have passed the Plab and are working in the British hospitals.

My colleagues in the course were unique group of doctors preaparing for the Plab. One from Iraq, one from Egypt, two from Lybia and two from India.

We had alot of fun in addition to our study and we became close friends.

In the course they taught us every trick in the book of the Plab exam. They started to teach us the basics (history taking and examination) and finished with practical procedures and the legal aspects of practicing medicine in the UK.

We usually start at 9 in the morning and end our sessions at 9 pm. There was a lot of food and free hot drinks and the place of the study was actually a small farm with a beautiful site.

And despite it was May, the rain never stopped there, because the town lies in the north of England which is generally more cold than the south.


I felt well prepared after my course which costed about 300 Pounds Sterling.

In the second part I will tell you about the day of my examination.

this topic is insatiable !!
i feel the pleasure and smiling all the way when i read the words describing how u reached there and all the good things ..

Ty doc for the interesting , so beautiful tale,
I could imagine myself in every word u said,
and still hoping to reach the day to tell my own tale,
TNX again

ty doc 4 these amazing words, we r waiting 4 the next.

thanx soooo much doctor for all ur topics they're soo amazing ..

waiting 2 hear more about ur success ..




..

NOor

A splendid experience, very inspirational..

You're way of writing is remarkably pleasant, I mean you try to mention the best part of every single step you have made..

p.s: I've been to England 3 times (London, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Middlesborough and Belfast) that was in 1999, 2005 and this summer...
I'm wondering why I didn't find as astonishing as you have desribed it

I mean regarding it as a piece of heaven and such descriptions

Take Care

Dear friends,

Thank you very much for your posting back your replies. I really appreciate this. I feel really among friends although we didnt meet before.