Free PLAB 2 counselling stations
Counselling stations test whether you can explain a diagnosis, medication, procedure or lifestyle change clearly and help the patient make an informed decision. They are less about data-gathering and more about explanation, empathy and shared decision-making.
What PLAB 2 counselling stations are
Counselling stations test whether you can explain a diagnosis, medication, procedure or lifestyle change clearly and help the patient make an informed decision. They are less about data-gathering and more about explanation, empathy and shared decision-making.
Topics you can practise in these stations include:
- Newly diagnosed Type 2 Diabetes
- First-trimester PV bleeding
- Coeliac disease test results
- Abnormal liver blood test
- Raised bilirubin on a health check
- Overactive thyroid blood results
- Weight gain and tiredness with abnormal thyroid results
- Overactive thyroid
- High calcium results
- Thyroid blood results and medication review
- B12 deficiency anaemia results
- Anaemia blood results
- Blood results review
- Worried about steroid side effects (polymyalgia rheumatica)
How to approach counselling in PLAB 2
Find out what the patient already knows and wants to know, then give information in small chunks in plain English, checking understanding as you go. Address their concerns directly, support an informed and shared decision rather than dictating one, and finish with written information, follow-up and clear safety-netting.
For the full consultation structure and a study plan, see the free PLAB 2 preparation guide.
What examiners reward in counselling stations
- Establishing the patient's baseline understanding first
- Chunking information and checking understanding (teach-back)
- Avoiding jargon and explaining in plain English
- Exploring and addressing ideas, concerns and expectations
- Supporting an informed, shared decision
- Offering written information, follow-up and safety-netting
All 138 free counselling 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.
Obstetrics & Gynaecology 27
- First-trimester PV bleeding - Mrs Eleanor Crossley, 31
- Planning a pregnancy on ramipril - Mrs Joanne Nuttall, 40
- Pre-pregnancy worry about cystic fibrosis - Bethany Cathcart, 39
- Repeat contraceptive pill and delaying a period - Ms Hannah Kitchener, 25
- Requesting the contraceptive pill - Hannah Vavasour, 15
- Lower abdominal pain in early pregnancy (suspected ectopic) - Sandra Entwistle, 18
- Early menopause blood results - Melody Gainsborough, 27
- Contraception advice with prior DVT - Mrs Sarah Hepworth, 28
- Planning a pregnancy with a same-sex partner - Cordelia Illingworth, 35
- Cervical screening query - Linda Jerningham, 25
- Pre-operative counselling for ovarian dermoid cyst removal - Sharon Knightley, 31
- Antenatal results and lifestyle counselling - Ms Ella Northcote, 28 (14 weeks pregnant)
- Chickenpox exposure in pregnancy - Ruth Oxenford, 33
- Gonorrhoea swab results - Hannah Padmore, 24
- Baby's eye infection - mother has chlamydia - Mrs Nadia Stainforth, 22
- Vaginal discharge test results (bacterial vaginosis) - Mrs Eleanor Uppingham, 30
- Cyclical breast pain - Mrs Amara Langley, 24
- Persistent bloating - Mrs Elizabeth Pemberton, 55
- Unplanned pregnancy - termination counselling - Leah Brennan, 22
- Breech presentation at 36 weeks - Beatrice Aldous, 31
- Abnormal smear result (high-grade dyskaryosis) - Bethan Pryce, 31
- HPV-positive smear result - Priya Maharaj, 32
- Down's syndrome screening counselling - Mrs Priya Nair, 34
- Genital herpes in pregnancy - Rosalind Achebe, 31 (34 weeks)
- HIV diagnosed on antenatal screening - Adaeze Okonkwo, 29
- Request for a mammogram - Priya Khatri, 36
- Low-lying placenta on the 20-week scan - Mrs Frieda Aldous, 31
Endocrine 14
- Newly diagnosed Type 2 Diabetes - Mr Vikram Joshi, 55
- Overactive thyroid blood results - Mrs Maureen Goddard, 34
- Weight gain and tiredness with abnormal thyroid results - Pauline Irvine, 35
- Overactive thyroid - explaining blood results - Mrs Eleanor Jephcott, 50
- High calcium results - Mrs Hazel Kingsley, 65 (primary hyperparathyroidism)
- Thyroid blood results and medication review - Mrs Nida Aslam, 70
- New diabetic ketoacidosis - Emily Allcott, 25 (wants to self-discharge)
- Poorly controlled diabetes with nerve, kidney and eye complications - Andrew Capstick, 56
- Recent hypo on insulin and fitness to drive - Gordon Dalrymple, 56
- Hypoglycaemic collapse with seizures, wants to self-discharge - Kenneth Edgeworth, 28
- Poorly controlled type 1 diabetes review - George Gledhill, 25
- Osteoporosis diagnosis after wrist fracture - Jennifer Padmore, 62
- Starting insulin - Mr Reuben Akpan, 58 (type 2 diabetes)
- Tiredness and aching with a low vitamin D result - Priya Solanki, 38
Paediatrics 14
- Childhood epilepsy counselling - Mrs Karen Kitchener (mother of Molly, 10)
- Mother requesting tonsil surgery for recurrent sore throats - Ruth Sinclair (mother of Harry, 9)
- MMR vaccine concerns - Elizabeth Kingsley (mother of Jenny, 12 months)
- Concerns about the children's flu vaccine - Mrs Hannah Latimer, 31 (mother of a 3-year-old)
- Newly diagnosed childhood autism - Jennifer Maddox, 34 (mother of a 3-year-old)
- Concerns about her baby's 8-week vaccinations - Mrs Hannah Naylor, 28
- Peanut allergy - teaching a parent to use an adrenaline auto-injector - Harry Birtwistle, 4
- Complaint about ward care - Mrs Ava Pickersgill, 33 (mother of premature baby)
- Father unhappy with his son's care - Mr William Ravenscroft, 48
- Mother refusing her child's IV antibiotics - Nancy Calderwood, 41 (mother of a 14-year-old with cerebral palsy)
- Poorly controlled childhood asthma and spacer technique - Mrs Maria Driscoll (mother of Jack, 4)
- Earache and ear discharge in a 3-year-old - Andy Vickers, 3 (mother Amber Vickers, 31)
- Concerns about a child's behaviour and attention - Mrs Carla Whitfield (mother of Leo, 7)
- Toddler temper tantrums - Mrs Bryony Halliwell (mother of Oscar, 2)
Cardiovascular 13
- Worried about having a stroke - Mr Donald Depp, 60
- High blood pressure review - stopped medication for swollen ankles - Mrs Eileen Micklethwaite, 60
- Blood-test review after starting a blood-pressure tablet - Kevin Ollerenshaw, 45
- Warfarin counselling before discharge - Mrs Jessica Ravenscroft, 35
- Warfarin review after a leg clot - Hazel Shackleton, 50
- High INR on warfarin after antibiotics - Gary Thirlwell, 52
- Vascular risk and smoking cessation before angioplasty - Mrs Gillian Winterbottom, 50
- Lifestyle after a heart attack - Mr Richard Oxenford, 53
- High cholesterol and starting a statin - Mrs Kate Risley, 65
- Angry after a heart attack - refusing to walk - Margaret Thirlwell, 68
- Refusing warfarin in atrial fibrillation - Mr Daniel Banister, 55
- Abdominal swelling - Mr Oliver Waylon, 58 (heart failure)
- Choosing a replacement heart valve - Mrs Alaric Aldous, 58
Gastrointestinal 9
- Coeliac disease test results - Eleanor Bellamy, 40
- Abnormal liver blood test - Angela Crowther, 47
- Raised bilirubin on a health check - Mr Brian Dunmore, 47
- Abnormal liver blood test - Mr Gerald Easton, 45
- Anaemia blood results - Mr Gordon Oakley, 58
- Explaining an endoscopy for suspected coeliac disease - Mrs Adriana Jerningham, 45
- Why do I need a colonoscopy after my sigmoidoscopy? - Margaret Knightley, 65
- Heartburn and biopsy results - Barbara Loxley, 45 (Barrett's oesophagus)
- Abdominal pain - Mr Martin Radcliffe, 65 (intestinal obstruction)
Neurology 8
- Mini-stroke (TIA) - explaining to Mr Graham Rishworth, husband of Sandra, 52
- Driving after repeated mini-strokes - Nigel Perkins, 45
- Epilepsy review after recent seizures - Mr Edward Inglewood, 38
- Epilepsy and planning pregnancy - Priya Nandakumar, 28
- Predictive testing counselling - Mr Adrian Whitlock, 34 (Huntington's disease family history)
- Starting riluzole for motor neurone disease - Mr Raymond Ackerley, 58
- Narcolepsy and driving - Mr Callum Fairweather, 34
- Sodium valproate and pregnancy risk - Ms Róisín Gallagher, 27
Ethical / Communication 8
- Needle-stick injury - Dana Allen, 25 (nurse colleague)
- Husband isolated with MRSA - explaining to his wife, Patricia Hepworth, 62
- Worried about meningitis after family contact - Mrs Ella Illingworth, 29
- DNACPR discussion - Juliet Vinall, 82 (end-stage multiple sclerosis)
- Wants to self-discharge on IV antibiotics - Karen Abberley, 27 (infective endocarditis)
- Complaint about delayed lung cancer diagnosis - Matthew Dodsworth, 40 (patient's son)
- Request for a PSA test - Mr Robert Ingram, 57
- Confusion in an elderly father - Ormerod family, daughter at the bedside
Surgical 7
- Wound infection after leg cyst removal - Miss Pauline Norbury, 29
- Worried about prostate cancer - Mr Gareth Tindall, 60 (PSA testing request)
- Pre-op assessment for ankle screw removal - Mr Trevor Underwood, 48
- Inguinal hernia repair - explanation and concerns - Mr Gerald Vickers, 45
- Post-operative care after hip replacement - Mrs Beatrice Wadsworth, 78
- Post-op management after knee replacement - Mrs Linda Yates, 65
- Ankle injury X-ray results - Margaret Ackroyd, 29
Psychiatry 7
- Mother with dementia, carer support - Samantha Winterbottom, 40 (daughter)
- Alcohol use assessment - Mrs Maureen Pennington, 50
- Opioid dependence - wanting to quit heroin - Kevin Fairfax, 35
- Depression review - CBT not helping - Gillian Hartley, 40
- Weight gain on antipsychotic medication - Marcus Adeyemi, 29
- Starting an antidepressant (citalopram) - Ms Rhiannon Tovey, 24
- Gender identity distress - Riley Ashworth, 15
Genitourinary Medicine 4
- Disclosing a positive HIV test - Mr Adrian Okafor, 26
- Positive syphilis blood test - Mr Marcus Threlfall, 24
- Emergency contraception request - Ms Carys Hollingworth, 24
- Cervical screening for a transgender man - Rowan Atherton, 32
Palliative / Pain Medicine 4
- Cancer pain control - Mrs Maureen Kershaw, 74 (metastatic breast cancer)
- Cancer pain control in metastatic prostate cancer - Mr Malcolm Langley, 66
- Buprenorphine pain patch counselling - Mrs Dorothy Aldington, 68
- Request for help to die - Mrs Eleanor Whitcombe, 64 (motor neurone disease)
Musculoskeletal 3
- Worried about steroid side effects (polymyalgia rheumatica) - Susan Warburton, 62
- Explaining new discharge medicines after a fall - Mr James Calderwood, 68
- Knee replacement deferred for weight loss - Mrs Pauline Ackroyd, 58
Respiratory 3
- COPD review and smoking cessation - Mr Trevor Yeardley, 65
- Asthma discharge and inhaler counselling - George Abberley, 22
- Demand for antibiotics with a viral cold - Mr Andrew Hartley, 27
Urology 3
- Worried about a testicular lump - James Ellison, 20
- Scrotal swelling - Mr Owen Fenwick, 36 (hydrocoele)
- Vasectomy counselling - Mr Declan Hartnett, 41
Infectious Diseases 3
- Requesting standby antibiotics for travel - Mr Owen Driscoll, 34
- Hepatitis B positive result - Mr Tobias Adeyemi, 34
- Recurrent cold sores - Priya Nandwani, 24
Haematology 2
- B12 deficiency anaemia results - Brenda Maddox, 31
- Sickle cell trait counselling - Ms Adaeze Okafor, 29
Medicine 2
- Blood results review - Mrs Diana Clarks, 40 (suspected myeloma)
- Worried about vascular dementia - Mrs Liza Blake, 58
Dermatology 2
- Acne and a request for Roaccutane - Janet Jardine, 18
- Starting isotretinoin for severe acne - Ms Quentin Aldous, 24
Breast Surgery 2
ENT 2
Ophthalmology 1
Practise other PLAB 2 skills
- PLAB 2 history taking stations (279)
- PLAB 2 breaking bad news stations (9)
- 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 counselling stations come up?
Plabity's 138 free PLAB 2 counselling stations span every specialty and include presentations such as newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes, first-trimester pv bleeding, coeliac disease test results, abnormal liver blood test, raised bilirubin on a health check, overactive thyroid blood results, weight gain and tiredness with abnormal thyroid results, overactive thyroid, high calcium results, thyroid blood results and medication review, b12 deficiency anaemia results, anaemia blood results, blood results review, worried about steroid side effects (polymyalgia rheumatica). Each runs as an eight-minute spoken consultation marked to the PLAB rubric.
Are these PLAB 2 counselling stations free?
Yes. All 138 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 counselling stations free.
138 spoken cubicles, marked to the PLAB rubric. No card, no plan.
Start practising free