UKMLA & Medical School Exams
What is the UKMLA?
The UK Medical Licensing Assessment (UKMLA) is a brand new exam that will test the knowledge, abilities and behaviours required to work as a doctor in the UK.
The exam will be split into two forms depending on your place of graduation – the MLA for International Medical Graduates, which will be made and delivered by the GMC, and the UKMLA which will be run by the Medical Schools Councils and delivered via local medical schools. Both exams, although very similar will be derived from separate question banks and will run in parallel with each other.
All UK medical students will be required to sit the exam before they graduate.
The UKMLA will enable the General Medical Council (GMC) to maintain high standards in medical education and will contribute to patient safety by ensuring that doctors have the information and skills necessary to practice safely.
What is the format of the UKMLA?
The UKMLA will be delivered in two parts - the Applied Knowledge Test (AKT) and the Clinical and Professional Skills Assessment (CPSA) - both of which assess a range of knowledge and competencies, outlined in the MLA learning outcomes.
Questions will focus on being able to make a diagnosis, formulate a management plan, and understand the underpinning science – almost all questions will have a clinical scenario, the language will be clear, not using more words than necessary, and no negative phrasings. Questions may have a history, examination findings, and investigation results.
The AKT will be composed of 150 to 200 single-best-answer (SBA) questions drawn from a central bank controlled by the GMC, and will be similar in content and difficulty level to Medical Finals exams. The CPSA is a practical exam that assesses clinical skills and professionalism, similar in format and marking to the UK medical school Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE).
Medical Student Revision
We have built the only medical school resource that incorporates everything you will need from your first day to graduation. Pastest Med Students provides all the revision material needed as well as introduces you to the format of the exam, exam timings, and question vignettes.
You can read more about how to best study for your medical school exams on our blog.