PLAB 1 Ethics and Other Practice Questions
One of the ten areas in your GMC result · 70 practice questions with answers
180 questions across all ten areas in 3 hours, with a score for ethics and other so you know where you stand.
Free ethics and other drillA 76-year-old man dies on a respiratory ward from mesothelioma, diagnosed on biopsy 6 months ago. He worked as a shipyard labourer for 30 years. His death was expected and the cause is certain. What is the most appropriate action?
Ethics and Other on PLAB 1
Ethics and other brings together the professional and legal knowledge every UK doctor needs and the topics that cross body systems: Good medical practice, consent, capacity, confidentiality, end of life care, poisoning, prescribing safety, infection control and evidence-based medicine.
- In your GMC result
- Your percentage correct in ethics and other, next to the average for all candidates
- On our mock exam
- 14 of 180 questions, with your percentage for this area in the result
- Our drill
- 10 questions from 70 ethics and other questions, untimed, an explanation after every answer; one free attempt, unlimited with a pass
What ethics and other questions test
- Good medical practice (2024): professional behaviour, raising concerns, duty of candour and working with colleagues
- Consent and capacity: informed consent after Montgomery, the Mental Capacity Act 2005, best interests, advance decisions and lasting power of attorney
- Confidentiality: when you may or must disclose, including the DVLA, notifiable diseases and the public interest
- End of life care: DNACPR decisions, symptom control in the last days of life and anticipatory medicines
- Death certification: when to refer to the coroner or procurator fiscal, and the medical examiner system
- Poisoning, prescribing safety, infection control, screening programmes, and statistics such as sensitivity, specificity and number needed to treat
Sit the full 180 questions under the real clock
180 questions across all ten areas in 3 hours, with a score for ethics and other so you know where you stand.
Free ethics and other drillHow to revise it
- Read Good medical practice and the GMC guidance on consent, confidentiality and decision making at the end of life. Questions use their wording.
- Learn the steps of a capacity assessment and what follows when a patient lacks capacity.
- For poisoning, learn the paracetamol overdose treatment threshold and the antidotes for common overdoses.
- Practise statistics questions until the 2×2 table is routine.
Common questions
How are ethics questions answered on PLAB 1?
By the GMC’s own guidance and UK law. The best answer is the one a UK doctor following Good medical practice and the relevant GMC guidance would choose, not what is usual in another country.
Why is “other” in this area?
The GMC groups PLAB 1 feedback into ten areas, and the tenth is ethics and other. In our bank, “other” covers topics that cross body systems: poisoning, prescribing safety, palliative care, infection control, screening and evidence-based medicine.
180 questions across all ten areas in 3 hours, with a score for ethics and other so you know where you stand.
Free ethics and other drillThe other PLAB 1 areas
Sources
- GMC: What is the PLAB 1 exam? (180 questions, three hours, five options)
- GMC: PLAB 1 results (scoring, ten feedback areas, Angoff pass mark, exam and result dates)
- GMC: When and where can I take PLAB 1?
- GMC: Booking a PLAB 1 place (eligibility, attempt limit)
- GMC: Fees for doctors (PLAB fees from 1 April 2026)
- GMC: Additional PLAB 1 attempt
- GMC: Recent pass rates for PLAB 1 and PLAB 2
- GMC: MLA content map (September 2026)
- GMC: Changes to PLAB 1 in 2027
Original practice questions for exam preparation, written to the GMC’s MLA content map (September 2026) and current UK guidance. Independent practice, not affiliated with or endorsed by the General Medical Council (GMC). Follow current national and local guidance in clinical practice.