The fourth and final session of the PLAB workshop took place on 14^th April, 2022 and started off with a short recap given by the host of the previous three sessions so that the audience could be up-to-date. The recap was followed by the recitation of the Holy Quran and the first speaker, Dr. Narmeen Hassan, was called upon to start her presentation. This session of the workshop was mainly based on building the portfolio for training jobs after clearing PLAB.

Dr Narmeen Hassan explained in detail the do’s and don’ts of submitting the application for GMC registration. She then went on to list the important features to include in the portfolio e.g publications, achievements etc. that will help strengthen the portfolio. The different points allocated to each category of the speciality training application were highlighted and explained in great depth. She also iterated that over estimating on the application is a serious offense that can lead to the cancellation of the application so candidates should stick to the honesty-is-the-best policy.

The next speaker, Dr Hassan Naveed, centered his presentation around “Core Surgical Training”. He informed the students the concept of core training and the application process for it. He pointed out the importance of attending surgical courses, operative experiences and attending surgical conferences to score points for the core training application. In the end, he also briefly guided the participants about which fields to apply in for specialization.

The workshop came to an end with a Q&A session between the participants and the speakers followed by the certificate and shield distribution ceremony.