This plan is for physician associates using PLABable for PAs on the Physician Associate Registration Assessment (PARA). It addresses the written Knowledge-Based Assessment (KBA) only — PLABable for PAs is a written question bank and does not prepare the OSCE. Its principal limitation is scope: it trains single-best-answer recall and reasoning well, but you must supply the blueprint discipline, the error-coded review and the unseen measurement yourself, or a rising completion figure will quietly outrun your actual readiness.
What PLABable for PAs offers for PARA right now
Last checked 20 July 2026; figures are vendor-reported and change, so verify on plabableforpa.com before you buy.
| Item | What we could confirm (20 July 2026; verify) |
|---|---|
| Type | A dedicated PA question bank from the PLABable team; single-best-answer items built to mimic the written KBA |
| PARA components covered | The written KBA only — no OSCE |
| Question count | Not published on the homepage at check — verify on plabableforpa.com |
| Price / access period | A free trial is offered; paid pricing was not published at check — verify |
| AI / adaptive features | None advertised — verify |
PLABable for PAs is a focused, straightforward KBA bank — a strength for candidates who want volume and clean single-best-answer practice without an ecosystem to navigate. The flip side is that a plain bank gives you no built-in blueprint audit and no unseen-measurement safeguard; those are your responsibility.
The PARA exam anchor
PARA is RCP-delivered and GMC-regulated (the GMC has regulated physician associates since December 2024). The written KBA is 200 single-best-answer questions across four papers of 50, one hour per paper. The June 2025 clinical-area weighting runs from Cardiovascular 8%, Acute and emergency care 7% and Gastrointestinal 7% at the top, through the 5–6% band, to 2% for the smallest areas (ophthalmology, palliative care, health promotion, healthcare service, research/statistics); the cognitive weighting is Clinical management 40%, Diagnosis by investigation 20%, Diagnosis by interpretation 20% and Biomedical knowledge 20%. The OSCE is separate. Treat every item as worth attempting and confirm the current marking scheme in the RCP regulations on rcp.ac.uk.
Build a blueprint inventory and protect an unseen pool
Before your first pass, build a simple blueprint inventory: list the clinical areas and their weightings, and plan to touch every one — including the 2% domains most candidates neglect. Then make a decision most people skip: reserve a protected pool of PLABable questions you will not touch during the first pass, so you have genuinely unseen items for timed mixed assessment later. If you drill the whole bank early, you will have nothing unseen left to measure yourself on. This is the practical core of the completion-is-not-coverage idea.
The first pass: mixed by default
Start mixed, not topic-filtered. Topic-filtered blocks tell you the subject in advance, which cues the answer and inflates your sense of readiness. Use topic filters only where your foundations in an area are genuinely weak and you need to build before you can test. Everywhere else, mixed practice from the outset trains the retrieval the KBA actually demands. Keep blocks timed from early on so pace becomes a habit rather than a last-minute panic.
Review every miss with an error code
The review is where marks are made, and it must be structured. For each miss, assign one error code and one corrective action — do not transcribe the whole explanation, which is passive and slow.
| Error code | Meaning | Corrective action |
|---|---|---|
| K | Knowledge gap | Short source read, then a fresh transfer question |
| R | Misread stem | Slow down; underline the lead-in |
| P | Premature closure | List the discriminating feature you skipped |
| G | Guideline/management error | Re-derive the first management step |
| C | Calculation error | Redo the working; bank the method |
| T | Time-pressure error | Note it; retest under timing |
The pattern in your codes is diagnostic: a wall of R and T codes is a pacing and reading problem, not a knowledge problem, and no amount of new content will fix it.
Transfer practice, not re-reading
When an item exposes a weak principle, do not re-read that item until you recognise it. Instead, answer a new item that tests the same principle — a transfer question — before you return to the original. Recognition of a specific question is worthless on exam day; the ability to apply the principle to an unfamiliar stem is the whole game. Transfer practice is what converts a corrected error into durable competence.
The switch to mixed timed blocks
Switch from topic-filtered to fully mixed timed blocks when your domain floors are met — that is, when every blueprint area has been practised to a baseline — even if your first pass through the bank is incomplete. Completing the bank is not a prerequisite for readiness; meeting your coverage floors and holding your pace is. Many candidates delay this switch because they want to "finish first", and arrive under-practised at exam conditions as a result.
Exit criteria
Exit is defined by measurable readiness, not by a 100% completion badge:
- Coverage: every blueprint domain practised, including the 2% areas.
- Unseen timed performance: stable first-attempt scores on your protected unseen pool.
- Pacing: around 60 seconds per question, sustained across a 50-item block.
- Retention: principles hold up after spaced intervals, not just immediately.
- Official-material calibration: the RCP sample sat once, unseen and timed, supports your readiness.
Seven-day worked example
One week using PLABable for PAs for KBA volume and iatroX for unseen transfer measurement. No proprietary-algorithm claims — you run the schedule.
| Day | PLABable for PAs job | iatroX job (unseen measurement) |
|---|---|---|
| Mon | Mixed timed block (40 items); error-code every miss | — |
| Tue | Transfer questions on Monday's weak principles | 15 fresh unseen items on the same principles |
| Wed | Topic-filtered block only in a weak-foundation area | — |
| Thu | Second mixed timed block (40 items) | 20 unseen mixed items, timed |
| Fri | Review error-code pattern; target the dominant code | — |
| Sat | Protected unseen pool: one timed mock-style block | — |
| Sun | Consolidate; plan next week's floors | 25 unseen mixed items as a readiness read |
Three mistakes this plan is designed to stop
First, drilling the whole bank early and leaving nothing unseen to measure yourself on. Second, reviewing by transcribing explanations rather than error-coding, so you never see that your real problem is pace or reading. Third, waiting to "finish the bank" before sitting mixed timed blocks, and meeting exam conditions for the first time too late. A completion percentage is not a pass prediction.
Decision checklist: continue, supplement, switch or stop
| Signal | Action |
|---|---|
| Unseen scores rising, coverage broadening | Continue |
| Recurrent gaps in specific domains despite review | Supplement with targeted reading and fresh items |
| Bank items feel familiar; little unseen volume left | Switch daily practice to a second unseen bank |
| Floors met, pace stable, unseen block holds up | Stop adding items; consolidate and rest |
Every move should follow a measured gap — a coverage hole, an error-code pattern, a pacing figure — not novelty or the sunk cost of a subscription.
Bottom line
PLABable for PAs is a strong, focused option for the PARA written exam. Because it is a plain bank, the discipline has to come from you: inventory the blueprint, protect an unseen pool, start mixed and timed, review by error code, practise transfer rather than recognition, and exit on measurable readiness. Use iatroX for the fresh unseen items that tell you whether the practice has actually transferred.
Frequently asked questions
Is PLABable for PAs enough for PARA on its own? For the written KBA it can be a solid primary bank if it offers enough unseen volume and you supply structured review, but "enough" is uncertain until you verify the question count on plabableforpa.com — a bank smaller than you assume will run out of fresh items before your exam. It is not enough for the OSCE, which it does not cover at all. Most candidates pair it with a second bank for unseen measurement and with separate OSCE preparation.
Which PARA component does PLABable for PAs not reproduce well? The OSCE — entirely. PLABable for PAs is a written single-best-answer bank for the knowledge component and does nothing for the 16-station clinical exam, its communication and procedural domains, or timed examiner-observed performance. Treat it strictly as KBA preparation and use OSCE-specific resources for the practical component; the same scope limit applies to iatroX and every other written bank.
How many PLABable for PAs questions should I complete per day for PARA? There is no official number; 40–60 questions a day with full error-coded review is a realistic target for most PAs as the exam approaches, scaled down if your review is thorough and up only if you can sustain quality. Protect a pool of unseen items rather than drilling everything, and prioritise transfer questions on your weak principles over sheer volume. Adjust to the weeks you have.
When should I stop using PLABable for PAs and move to mixed mocks? In practice you should be doing mixed timed blocks from early on, but shift the emphasis to full mocks once your domain floors are met and your pace is stable — not once you have "finished" the bank. If you are recognising items before reading the stem, that is the clearest signal the bank has given its value and your daily practice should move to fresh, unseen material while you keep the official sample for calibration.
How should I combine PLABable for PAs with iatroX without duplicating practice? Assign distinct roles: PLABable for PAs is your primary KBA volume and error-coding source; iatroX is your fresh, unseen written-measurement bank. Never re-answer the same item across both to inflate a percentage — that duplicates practice and corrupts the readiness signal. When a PLABable item exposes a weak principle, test the concept with a new iatroX item, following the two-Q-bank rule.
Editorial notes and references
Written by Dr Kolawole Tytler, NHS GP and founder of iatroX. Last checked 20 July 2026. PLABable for PAs' question count, pricing and access period are vendor-reported and were not published on the homepage at check; verify on plabableforpa.com before purchase. Disclosure: iatroX operates a competing UK question bank and covers the PARA written/SBA layer only — not the OSCE; this article confines iatroX's role to unseen written measurement alongside PLABable for PAs, not as a replacement for it. Corrections via the feedback route on iatrox.com.
References: RCP — PARA information for candidates and KBA blueprint (June 2025), rcp.ac.uk; GMC — PA registration assessment content map, gmc-uk.org; PLABable for PAs, plabableforpa.com (vendor-reported). Internal: completion is not coverage; Your Q-Bank Percentage Is Not Your Exam Score; the iatroX comparison hub.