The Comfort of Big Numbers

Large question banks give a sense of control. When you finish another hundred items, you feel that you have moved forward. That feeling matters during a long preparation period.

Still, I have seen candidates complete well over a thousand questions and hesitate over basic escalation steps during mock tests. They recognised the topics. They remembered fragments of explanations. Their decisions lacked firmness.

PRES Level 2 tests how you process information when the clinical picture feels incomplete. It tests how you prioritise risk and choose safe next steps. If you move quickly through questions without pausing to examine your reasoning, you train recognition more than judgement.

Recognition alone will not carry you through a time bound exam.

Each practice question places you in a compressed clinical scenario. You scan the stem, absorb laboratory data, interpret symptoms, and decide on management within seconds. That sequence mirrors real ward work more than many candidates realise.

When you review a question properly, you replay your internal reasoning. You identify where you assumed something without checking it. You notice when a distractor attracted you because it looked familiar. That small self review builds discipline.

Most candidates rush this stage. They look at the correct answer, feel relief, and move ahead. The learning remains surface level. After a few weeks, the same mistake appears in a different form.

That repetition tells you something important.

In a structured eight to ten week preparation period, around 4,000 to 5,000  well reviewed questions usually provide sufficient exposure. That range allows you to encounter common acute presentations, prescribing pitfalls, and interpretation challenges in different formats.

Stopping at four or five hundred questions may leave you underexposed to variations in data interpretation style. Moving far beyond twelve hundred without a clear review plan often leads to fatigue and scattered revision.

The key lies in how you cycle through those questions. Your first exposure builds familiarity with format. Your second exposure strengthens decision speed. Your third exposure sharpens confidence in high risk scenarios.

The number supports the process. It does not replace it.

Many doctors keep searching for new question banks. They assume that fresh material signals progress. In practice, repeated engagement with a strong core set produces deeper improvement.

When you revisit difficult questions after two weeks, you notice your own growth or your own blind spots. If the same hesitation appears again, your understanding needs attention. If your reasoning feels steadier, the learning has settled.

I encourage candidates to repeat selected sets at least twice before the final exam week. The second and third rounds should feel calmer. That calmness reflects internal clarity.

Without repetition, confidence can remain fragile.

Ask yourself simple questions after each mock. 

• Did I identify the main issue early?
• Did I prioritise investigations logically?
• Did I give safety advice that sounds practical?

These questions refine performance more than another reading session.

Continue using selected PRES2 preparation resources during this week, though in a focused manner. Pick weak areas and repeat them in short cycles. Improvement often appears in small increments here. Accept that pace.

Self study suits disciplined candidates, yet many doctors benefit from structured academic discussion at defined points. A thoughtful PRES2 online course can clarify how Irish systems expect prescribing decisions, escalation steps, and documentation standards.

When you understand these expectations, your interpretation of questions changes. You read more carefully. You filter options through a safety lens. Your reasoning aligns more closely with local clinical practice.

Structured guidance should sharpen your thinking. It should not replace independent question work.

Untimed practice creates comfort. Timed practice exposes gaps. Under time limits, you skim slightly faster and skip internal checks that you would normally perform.

Many candidates experience a drop in mock scores once they begin full simulations. That drop does not mean you lack knowledge. It often means your reasoning needs to adapt to speed.

I suggest dividing preparation into phases. Start with accuracy focused blocks. Introduce moderate timing once your accuracy stabilises. Progress to full length timed mocks in the final stretch.

If your performance remains stable across several timed mocks, your preparation stands on firm ground. If it fluctuates widely, targeted revision of recurring weak areas will serve you better than adding new material.

No question bank can compensate for fragmented theoretical understanding. Your PRES 2 study materials should always cover prescribing principles, emergency presentations, laboratory interpretation, ECG basics and safe referral thresholds within Irish healthcare.

When your theoretical base feels organized, each question reinforces what you actually know. When your base feels scattered, questions create confusion that appears random.

I have seen candidates blame question banks for inconsistency, though the underlying issue lay in unclear foundations. Once they reorganised their core knowledge, their mock performance stabilised.

The base matters more than many admit.

There comes a stage in preparation where adding more questions creates noise. You reach that stage when your mock scores stabilise across multiple attempts and your error patterns become predictable.

At that point, heavy exposure to new scenarios can shake confidence. You start doubting themes that were previously clear. That late confusion rarely helps.

A focused review of previous mistakes, combined with selective repetition, often works better in the final week. You refine rather than expand.

That shift requires restraint, though it protects your mental clarity before exam day.

For many doctors, PRES Level 2 represents entry into structured clinical systems. The habits you form during preparation can shape your early years of practice.

If you treat each question as a rehearsal of safe decision making, you build disciplined thinking. You learn to pause before committing. You learn to justify each step internally. These habits carry forward into ward rounds & on call shifts.

You don’t really need an impressive question count to make you feel fully prepared. You need repeated exposure, honest review, and stable performance under time limits. At PLAB Coach, we believe that for most candidates, 4,000 to 5,000 carefully analysed questions provide adequate depth when combined with structured revision and timed simulations.

If you engage deeply with your material and monitor your patterns with honesty, your readiness will show itself. The exam will reflect the quality of your reasoning, not the size of your question log.