The likes of PLAB, AMC pales in comparison to the USMLE.
Simply put, while USMLE is a graduate exam which USA Medical Students sit for, it is really the hardest in terms of difficulty & stamina.
If I can summarize the how to do well for this exam; it would be consistency & a love for READING!
As an International Medical Graduate, one would need at least a year to complete the entire course of exam.
Allow me to break down as to why and what is at stake.
- For the international medical Graduate, which is anyone who has graduate outside of USA, irrespective of nationality, their Medical schools might have not have prepared them well to take this exam. Most medical schools train their students to work in their own system; hence, most students from Asia are not familiar with Western pathologies such as Cystic Fibrosis; Alpha 1 Antitrypsin; Ulcerative Colitis & the likes commonly found in Westerners. To align themselves to the Western train of thought takes time. Most IMGs would also have to relearn a lot of forgotten concepts of Basic Sciences.