Free PLAB 2 breaking bad news stations
Breaking bad news stations are among the most demanding in PLAB 2. They test whether you can deliver difficult news with honesty and compassion, support the patient's emotional response, and still finish with a clear, professional plan.
What PLAB 2 breaking bad news stations are
Breaking bad news stations are among the most demanding in PLAB 2. They test whether you can deliver difficult news with honesty and compassion, support the patient's emotional response, and still finish with a clear, professional plan.
Topics you can practise in these stations include:
- Breaking bad news
- Post-operative bleeding after vascular bypass surgery
- Breaking bad news: child injured in a road accident
- Futile care after a second stroke
- Breaking the diagnosis of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia
How to approach breaking bad news in PLAB 2
Use the SPIKES framework: set up the conversation in a private setting, find out the patient's perception, get their invitation to share information, give the knowledge with a warning shot and plain language, respond to emotions with empathy, and finish with a clear strategy and summary.
For the full consultation structure and a study plan, see the free PLAB 2 preparation guide.
What examiners reward in breaking bad news stations
- Setting up privately and checking who the patient wants present
- Finding out what the patient already knows and suspects
- Giving a warning shot before the news
- Delivering the news clearly in plain language, then pausing
- Responding to emotion with empathy and silence, not more facts
- Agreeing a clear plan and follow-up before closing
All 9 free breaking bad news stations, by specialty
Every station below is free. Click one to sit it as an eight-minute spoken consultation, then get your mark-scheme breakdown.
Ethical / Communication 8
- Breaking bad news - Mr Hugh Pemberton, 63 (colon cancer)
- Breaking bad news - Mrs Frances Holloway, 53 (DCIS on breast biopsy)
- Breaking bad news - Maria Dewhurst (husband, terminal brain haemorrhage)
- Breaking bad news - post-operative stroke after brain tumour surgery - Steven Embleton (son of Georgina, 72)
- Post-operative bleeding after vascular bypass surgery - Gerald Fotheringham (husband of patient), 68
- Breaking bad news - Joshua Grimshaw, 9 (extradural haemorrhage after road traffic accident)
- Breaking bad news: child injured in a road accident - Ruth Hollis (mother of Joshua, 9)
- Futile care after a second stroke - Rosie Ulph (daughter of Ben Ulph, 63)
Haematology 1
Practise other PLAB 2 skills
- PLAB 2 history taking stations (279)
- PLAB 2 counselling stations (138)
- PLAB 2 risk assessment stations (12)
Or practise by specialty
- PLAB 2 Ethical / Communication stations (62)
- PLAB 2 Obstetrics & Gynaecology stations (52)
- PLAB 2 Paediatrics stations (42)
- PLAB 2 Neurology stations (34)
- PLAB 2 Psychiatry stations (31)
- PLAB 2 Cardiovascular stations (27)
- PLAB 2 Gastrointestinal stations (27)
- PLAB 2 Dermatology stations (25)
- PLAB 2 Endocrine stations (24)
- PLAB 2 Musculoskeletal stations (20)
- PLAB 2 Respiratory stations (20)
- PLAB 2 ENT stations (19)
- PLAB 2 Surgical stations (15)
- PLAB 2 Urology stations (15)
- PLAB 2 Medicine stations (14)
- PLAB 2 Genitourinary Medicine stations (12)
- PLAB 2 Infectious Diseases stations (11)
- PLAB 2 Haematology stations (9)
- PLAB 2 Ophthalmology stations (7)
- PLAB 2 Palliative / Pain Medicine stations (6)
- PLAB 2 Breast Surgery stations (2)
Frequently asked questions
What PLAB 2 breaking bad news stations come up?
Plabity's 9 free PLAB 2 breaking bad news stations span every specialty and include presentations such as breaking bad news, post-operative bleeding after vascular bypass surgery, breaking bad news: child injured in a road accident, futile care after a second stroke, breaking the diagnosis of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. Each runs as an eight-minute spoken consultation marked to the PLAB rubric.
Are these PLAB 2 breaking bad news stations free?
Yes. All 9 are free to practise. You sign up with an email address, with no card required.
How are the stations marked?
Each station is marked across the three PLAB domains: data gathering, clinical management and interpersonal skills. You get a breakdown of every criterion with quoted evidence from your own consultation, in seconds.
Practise breaking bad news stations free.
9 spoken cubicles, marked to the PLAB rubric. No card, no plan.
Start practising free