BOTH 3 Days Between USMLE & COMLEX

[D0cHopeful]

So with 3 days between USMLE & COMLEX (not including the day that I take the USMLE), I definitely want to focus on OPP, but what is the best method of attack in order to get the best bang for my buck within this short period of time? I've gone over OPP before (slightly less than one month ago) by reading Savarese and a few questions, but the concepts are not fresh by any means. Is the best thing to do just to hit all of the OPP questions in COMBANK? Are the tests in the back of Savarese worth doing? Is 3 days too short of a period of time to squeeze in a COMSAE, or is it not worth it at this point?

I don't know if I will have time to review "regular" science material, but figured it would mainly be fresh in my mind from the USMLE. I will probably just review high-yields the day before if anything. Any help would be great! Thanks!

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[Dharma]

Don't squeeze in a COMSAE (you don't run a half-marathon a few days before a full). The OPP on the exam is such a random crapshoot that there really is no high-yield way of going about it besides:

1. know your levels inside-out (especially sympathetics)… you can guarantee a lot of questions there
2. go over innervations- sensory and motor- but the basic stuff… nothing too crazy (even though there will be some weird stuff on there…)
3. review the topics that you struggle with, whether it's OPP in Savarese or basic science in FA, with the latter being a better use of time IMO.

But no, I wouldn't sweat doing too many questions at this point, if any at all. Maybe a few just to keep the gears greased up but that's it. The OPP was pretty straight forward on my COMLEX and I'm glad I didn't spend too much time with it and dedicated it to FA instead. That helped me a lot more on game day.

 

[Dharma]

Oh and be sure to find some downtime the day before the exam. But that should go without saying, even though I just said it.

 

[oingoboingo]

I think 3 days between exams is perfect. I had a week and it was way too much time, which meant I didn't end up even studying for comlex because I'd always think "I can do that tomorrow" If I were you, I would take the day after usmle off, then spend the next 2 days leisurely flipping through Savarese. I didn't think that the OMM on the exam was very tricky, you can (re)learn it in a couple days. That said, it's 11am and I think my comlex score is probably available, so maybe after I see my score I will re-think the advice I'm giving you right now...

 

[Jlaw]

Like the other folks said, focus on savarese- memorize chapter 10 and get a list of chapmans points off the internet and memorize those. Find one with descriptions (i.e. right 3rd ICS) rather than the diagrams because the questions will usually present them that way. Other than that take the day before the exam off or just do a quick run through whatever high yield and easily forgettable stuff you may want to brush up on i.e. leukemias, storage diseases or pharm/micro. And don't bother with a COMSAE, a good score may be a motivator but a bad score may kill your confidence and there is really no benefit to doing it since you can't review it anyway and you most likely aren't going to postpone the exam at this point.

 

[D0cHopeful]

Really appreciate the feedback everyone, thanks!