Computer COMLEX Step 2

[panabodian]

Alright guys the new version of the comlex is out there and someone must have taken it over these past 2 days. Help a brotha out, how was it? How much OMM? Heavy hit topics. Lots of pictures/EKGs. What books did you use? Anything would be helpful. My day is coming up soon and I'm freaking out.

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[scots71]

NBOME site now states scores are released until September 6, 2005, however my score not available yet online, anyone else know how to get the score before the mail? ...good luck to all.

 

[Heme/Onc]

I just checked for mine also.....I was all excited and nervous at the same time and then........NOTHING! All of that wasted adrenaline....

 

[OUsooner]

I tried calling my school to see if they had my score but, unfortunately, everybody in the registrar's office had left. I guess I'll spend the weekend wondering. And by wondering I mean worrying.

 

[labruy69]

I was so excited when I saw that scores were out, then I checked mine and nothing showed up! ugh, and of course it's 7 pm on Friday, so now we have to wait all weekend to call and find out what's up. this is driving me crazy, I just want to see "pass" right now, not that mocking "approved"! has anyone after august 10th test date gotten their score?

 

[scots71]

When did the scores get posted online from the first set? Anyone who got their results with the first set help out? I hope someone from the NBOME is putting these up over the weekend...or they have some program that will update the site tonight or this weekend.

 

[tool]

Scores should be updated online now .....my actual score is up for step2...didn't do as well as i thought...but who cares lol!!!

 

[scots71]

Thanks tool for the alert, got mine...passed better than step one so things are heading the right direction. Tomorrow its time to celebrate....heck why tomorrow when I still have tonight?

 

[labruy69]

got mine just now! I passed, thank goodness...did much better than step 1....since there is no percentile reporting, how do we know how we did compared to step 1? I mean I think I did much better than my step 1 score, but who know's without a percentile (i'm sure someone who's good at stats could make this make sense). What's the highest 2 digit score anyone has heard of from a friend or gotten themselves? the highest I heard was 93.

 

[Heme/Onc]

I did not do as good as I would have liked.....damn all of those OB/GYN questions! Does anyone have an idea about percentiles?

 

[NebelDO]

mine came in..pretty cool that they have them posted on the website.

722/98

pleased to say the least

 

[Idiopathic]

Great score Chris. What study aids did you use?

 

[NebelDO]

Great score Chris. What study aids did you use?

thanks man..

at nova we were enrolled in kaplan. i never watched the videos but i did read all the books and did all the qbank. i did not do the usmleworld that so many on this board seem to covet. i did read B&W and the first aid step2 like one time through. with 2 days before the test i read the Saverese for OMM. dont spend more than 1 day on OMM. i took comlex on aug 29 and then usmle 2 on aug 31.

as you know idio, you are studying for both tests at the same time. i spent some extra time on biostats and epi stuff just in case for the usmle.

if i know you, you will do as well as last year..

good luck

 

[Idiopathic]

Well, i am legitimately studying for about two weeks. Im gonna do 3K questions and read B&W and FA

 

[corpsmanUP]

724/98

 

[Idiopathic]

Great scores. Id love to hear some prep strategies. Im a little lost, although Im not relying on a Step II score for much.

 

[corpsmanUP]

Great scores. Id love to hear some prep strategies. Im a little lost, although Im not relying on a Step II score for much.

Quit jacking with people Idio. You scored a freaking 750+ on the COMLEX I so I somehow doubt you need any guidance at all. If you score less than a 700 without studying I would let you take your best shot at me from 500 yards with an M40A1 sniper rifle (if there is at least a 15 mph east to west wind!) You are already prepared and you don't need any of our advice.....as you know.

 

[Idiopathic]

Ohh-kay

Im really not dicking around here. I have hardly cracked a book for this test. I guess my question is: what is the best single review source that test-takers have found for Step II?

 

[goldenjims]

I did use the Kaplan notes. They were ok.
Best source in my mind, B&W and Qbank.
That's really all I used (although I did review some things in the NMS series of books)
But if I could choose 1 source to review, B&W. It is plenty helpful.
If 1 set of questions, Qbank. Liked it much better than UW.
You'll do fine.

 

[corpsmanUP]

Seriously Idio, you beat me on Level One by over 30 points on the 3 digit score, so that tells me a lot. The OMM on this exam is such a freebie that you need only study chapter 2 Neuro out of Simmons to do well on it. Its all about the levels and nothing about techniques...more theory than technicality. I did very well on Shelf exams so if you took NMBE shelf exams and were averaging above 95 on most of them, you can bet you will ACE both USMLE II and COMLEX II. I would if I were you try to concentrate on the buzzwords because that was the entire exam. Even if the buzzword was not given, a picture of the buzzword is painted in the vignette and you should know the answer. It was quite simply an easy freaking exam. You can finish COMLEX II easily in 5 hours total. So what are you going into now Idio? I had heard you were doing Neuro last time we talked. The reason you don't remember me is I am signed in on my wife's screenname because my screenname's password has been screwed up for months. I just use hers now and have basically kicked her out of the chair PM me if you want to know who I used to be. G-luck on the exam buddy.

 

[Idiopathic]

LOL. Thanks. Anesthesia-bound now, and dont realy want to sit for Step II yet but an interviewer told me ten days ago that I need to have a passing score before they will rank me ( ). So, here I am, not wanting to kill myself over the test, but still not wanting to underperform, just in case. I appreciate the study tips.

 

[Cowboy DO]

Along that line Idio, Ive got a question about when we should take the step II. Ive heard if youve done well on step I, which you obviously have, then you should schedule step II late becasue you can only hurt yourself.

I did alright 632/91 COMLEX, 235/95 USMLE but id like to do radiology so i'm debating if i should try to improve it by taking the USMLE step II, but now having heard what you just said maybe i'd better plan on...im totally confused now. Are you taking the USMLE CS also???

Thanks,
CB

 

[pink]

Maybe somebody already answered this....but I don't understand the scores. What percentage of the 400 questions do you have to get right to pass? I'm trying to figure out how my practice tests will correlate to the 3-digit and 2-digit scores.

 

[Idiopathic]

Along that line Idio, Ive got a question about when we should take the step II. Ive heard if youve done well on step I, which you obviously have, then you should schedule step II late becasue you can only hurt yourself.

I did alright 632/91 COMLEX, 235/95 USMLE but id like to do radiology so i'm debating if i should try to improve it by taking the USMLE step II, but now having heard what you just said maybe i'd better plan on...im totally confused now. Are you taking the USMLE CS also???

Thanks,
CB

My problem is I had a program indirectly tell me (through an interviewer) that they wouldnt rank anyone without a passing Step II score and that "this often hurts DO's" because the January COMLEX was often too late to have a score available by ROL time. Trust me, I dont want to take Step II yet, and I wont just arbitrarily release my scores, but I will call all progs I interview at, and clarify whether they want my score. Unless its 750+ again in which case they can all have it

I would bust ass and get a higher score, if I were you, just because I think its possible. Those are excellent scores, dont get me wrong, but still some possibility for improvement, especially when you are trying for allo rads.

 

[Idiopathic]

Test experience update.



I test fast, and today was no exception. I probably finished in about 4:15, with about 10 minutes of breaks. The test is really not that difficult, you either know it or you dont. I probably spent the most time on a question trying to decide whether it was rubella or rubeola (I think I got it wrong anyway).

LOTS of head trauma, maybe 20 questions re: epidural/subdural/subarachnoid bleed.

LOTS of cranial osteopathy, about 15 questions (way too much, if you ask me)

Two questions on Chapman's points, maybe 7-8 on viscerosomatic reflexes. One sacrum questions.

Heavy on pediatric infectious disease, and the obvious stuff (GYN, bleeding, diagnostic workup, etc.).

Surprising omissions: very few questions re: asthma, DM, straight HTN. The EKG's were awful (there were three of them = 6 or 7 questions). Psych was about 10 questions.



In short, very difficult to prepare for this test. I agree that paying attention as an MS3/MS4 is the best preparation. I studied about 5 hours total, in addition to doing about 1800 questions.

Did NBME test #1 before the test, scored 570 ~ 230. I guess that this would put me at about 550 on COMLEX, well below my Step I score.
1000 UW questions @62%
Finished Kaplan QBook @72% (scored 80% and 84% on last two IM tests)
Read a little from B&W, Simmons for osteo.

In hindsight, I would have delayed the test and studied longer if I wanted anything more than a pass from this. A lot of poorly worded questions and whatnot (the sort of things we expect from the NBOME).

 

[Plinko]

Agree with Idio. I had most of the same stuff. Agree that there was way too much Cranial Sacral. I would say at least twenty percent was OB/GYN, which is my weakest subject and has consequently made me a little nervous about my future score. Lots of peds too.

As you would of course expect from NBOME, many of the questions were poorly worded with a striking absence of much needed info (info that you would see on the USMLE). At least the pictures were better this time around.

All and all I felt the test was difficult, but for all the wrong reasons.

 

[DrMom]

My test was just like yours, Idio. I thought it was much better than Step I. I was surprised by how little internal medicine there was.

Did anyone else have a question that combined gonorrhea & OMT? I nearly laughed out loud in disgust.

 

[Idiopathic]

I did have a question that I used to validate my theory:

"If the specific phrase 'osteopathic manipulative treatment' is listed as an answer choice, it is always right"

I only saw it once, but I sure marked it down!

 

[Flea girl]

Ditto here. Pretty much agree with what everyone else was saying. I am glad to hear that I am not the only freak to finish in 4 hours. I have always been fast test taker. I did not have ANY sacrum. Which kinda sucks because I finally had it down . I had alot of peds, rectal bleeding, head trauma, and ob/gyn. Not sure on how well I did. Just do not want to take that B*tch again . Some weird presentations though. Just glad it is finally over.

 

[Flea girl]

My test was just like yours, Idio. I thought it was much better than Step I. I was surprised by how little internal medicine there was.

Did anyone else have a question that combined gonorrhea & OMT? I nearly laughed out loud in disgust.

I totally laughed out loud when I read that!

 

[Plinko]

Did anyone get the question on the immigrant lady with no money and no insurance with temporal arteritis? I hate those questions that ask you to compare what should be done versus what can be done. Another beut: the TTP one that asked what/where was the mechanism of the hemolysis: capillaries or arterioles? When I got home I looked it up in three different sources and they all said capillaries AND arterioles. The worst though had to be the kid with UC and what you were supposed to tell his parents regarding the "facts" of the disease. Two of the five answers choices: increased risk of cancer, and, disease will recurr after resection of the lesioned segment--the case did not involve fulminant colitis. Thanks, NBOME. The legal and crisis management questions also pissed me off; I suppose I was the only that didn't learn anything from Katrina. Looks as though I'm the only one upset about the quality of the test.

 

[Idiopathic]

Did anyone get the question on the immigrant lady with no money and no insurance with temporal arteritis? I hate those questions that ask you to compare what should be done versus what can be done. Another beut: the TTP one that asked what/where was the mechanism of the hemolysis: capillaries or arterioles? When I got home I looked it up in three different sources and they all said capillaries AND arterioles. The worst though had to be the kid with UC and what you were supposed to tell his parents regarding the "facts" of the disease. Two of the five answers choices: increased risk of cancer, and, disease will recurr after resection of the lesioned segment--the case did not involve fulminant colitis. Thanks, NBOME. The legal and crisis management questions also pissed me off; I suppose I was the only that didn't learn anything from Katrina. Looks as though I'm the only one upset about the quality of the test.

Actually, if you resect the entire large bowel, disease will not recur.

That TTP question was bull****. I put 'platelet problem'.

The immigrant lady was tricky. I cant remember what I picked, but it was likely wrong (the choices were ESR and steroids or steroids and biopsy in 2 weeks...ideally of course, you would do all three).

I certainly think I have expressed displeasure with the quality of the exam. However, I was often called out as a complainer when I made these points 15 months ago, and so I try and tone it down now

edit: sometimes I wonder if the truly poorly worded questions are really the 'practice' questions that we hear so much about...not really factored into your score. I hope so, at least.

 

[Plinko]

Actually, if you resect the entire large bowel, disease will not recur.

True, but the kid was ten and recently diagnosed with UC. I don't see any reason why in his particular case one would assume he had fulminant colitis.

I went with ESR and steroids for the old lady. In Harrison's it says to put on steroids while arranging for a temporal artery biopsy, which was another answer choice. But there was no way the lady could pay for it, unless you referred her to Canada. Who knows?

 

[hermione]

I don't remember a single one of those questions showing up on 10/7. Who knows?? I just want my stupid score and to be done and on with it already. Hopefully someday soon??? PLEASE??

 

[Plinko]

Does anyone know what the percent correct one needs to get to pass Step 2? I heard its something like 55%-60%. Also, what is the fail rate?

I never thought I'd worry about such things with a solid Step 1 and good shelf scores. But then again I never thought the last six items from a module on a medical licensing exam would be pediatric developmental milestones--what age for pincer grasp, copy a circle, hold hands while walking, etc.--along with three questions on what immunizations a kid gets at 2 months, 12 months, and two years on the module after that. Isn't that what the charts at the nurses station are for? Sh**, half the mothers in my building would have fared better on that thing they call a test.

 

[hippuppy]

October 3 scores are back. Now just waiting for COMLEX PE and then I can WALK!!!!!

Yes!

 

[Idiopathic]

Actually, if you resect the entire large bowel, disease will not recur.

True, but the kid was ten and recently diagnosed with UC. I don't see any reason why in his particular case one would assume he had fulminant colitis.

I went with ESR and steroids for the old lady. In Harrison's it says to put on steroids while arranging for a temporal artery biopsy, which was another answer choice. But there was no way the lady could pay for it, unless you referred her to Canada. Who knows?

I think thats what i chose also. Stupid question though.

 

[Idiopathic]

Does anyone know what the percent correct one needs to get to pass Step 2? I heard its something like 55%-60%. Also, what is the fail rate?

I never thought I'd worry about such things with a solid Step 1 and good shelf scores. But then again I never thought the last six items from a module on a medical licensing exam would be pediatric developmental milestones--what age for pincer grasp, copy a circle, hold hands while walking, etc.--along with three questions on what immunizations a kid gets at 2 months, 12 months, and two years on the module after that. Isn't that what the charts at the nurses station are for? Sh**, half the mothers in my building would have fared better on that thing they call a test.

Yeah, that was silly, but at least it wasnt too bad. (i.e. the age of 2, which always trips me up, wasnt an option)

As far as % correct for passing, id be surprised if it was well over 50%.

The fail rate was 8% for first time testers last year, 11% overall.

 

[Plinko]

Yeah, that was silly, but at least it wasnt too bad. (i.e. the age of 2, which always trips me up, wasnt an option)

As far as % correct for passing, id be surprised if it was well over 50%.

The fail rate was 8% for first time testers last year, 11% overall.

That's good to know. I felt confident with my answer choice about 45%-50% of the time. A little luck and the law of averages should kick in for the rest. I'm surprised no one else on this thread is too worried about it. I'm applying for Surgery and never had too much interest in Peds or OBGYN. Also, I felt my brief rotations in those subjects, over a year old now, were very weak. I hardly ever saw any pathology as my rotation sites were in rather affluent areas. I guess I get a little over paranoid, but while reading these threads I feel like I'm going to be taking the damn thing again because everyone else who took the test that day are aspiring Pediatricians and OBGYNs. If that is the case I have to be the only DO student in the US with an above average USMLE score who didn't pass the COMLEX.

Hey Idio, a couple more puzzles I have yet to solve....you ever figure out what kind of crystals those were in the urinary sediment? What'd you put for the IV drug user with abnormal breath sounds in the upper and middle right lobes, and who had hemoptysis? I went with lung abscess thinking S Aureus from hematagenous spread but am unsure. Lastly, the kid with tachypnea at 34 RR (who incidently was described as in "complacently sucking his thumb" in the exam room ) and had wheezing and stridor more prominent on the right. I'd like to see the writer of that question suck his thumb with a RR of 34. Anyway, I put foreign body inhalation.

 

[Idiopathic]

Hey Idio, a couple more puzzles I have yet to solve....you ever figure out what kind of crystals those were in the urinary sediment? What'd you put for the IV drug user with abnormal breath sounds in the upper and middle right lobes, and who had hemoptysis? I went with lung abscess thinking S Aureus from hematagenous spread but am unsure. Lastly, the kid with tachypnea at 34 RR (who incidently was described as in "complacently sucking his thumb" in the exam room ) and had wheezing and stridor more prominent on the right. I'd like to see the writer of that question suck his thumb with a RR of 34. Anyway, I put foreign body inhalation.

Those were classic calcium oxalate crystals from ethylene glycol use

The kid had a foreign body, because crying made it better, sort of a ball-valve deal, I think.

I guess I dont remember the specific case of the IVDA with hemoptysis...do you remember the choices? If there was an anaerobe, I likely chose it, but I dont think I would have missed the Staph Aureus/IVDA association if it was there.

 

[Idiopathic]

What did you tell the girl who looked as though she had shaving folliculitis under the arm?

 

[GCS]

October 3 scores are back. Now just waiting for COMLEX PE and then I can WALK!!!!!

Yes!

Did you receive a score report in the mail??? How do you know that the Oct 3 scores are back? thanks

 

[hermione]

Did you receive a score report in the mail??? How do you know that the Oct 3 scores are back? thanks

www.nbome.com

A site on my daily "obessively check ten times daily" list, with ERAS and SDN.

 

[Plinko]

What did you tell the girl who looked as though she had shaving folliculitis under the arm?

I vaguely remember that question. I'm sure I got it wrong. In retrospect I think shaving less, or with an electric razor would have been the right answer answer, but I'm not sure those were answer choices. I went with using talc powder, but I'm sure that is wrong. I don't remember all the choices for the IVDA. The choices were clinical diagnoses though. I'm sure pneumonia was one. I went with lung abscess because of the hemoptysis, IV drugs use, and the fact that he had wheezing and stridor was strictly located in the upper and middle right lobes. I can't think of what else would have that strict distribution of adventitious sounds that was an answer choice. I don't think TB was a choice.

I could go on and on about questions from that test but I guess I should stop lest I end up going nuts. The only other few worth mentioning: the 24 year old guy with extreme polyuria, nausea, vomiting, dry mucous membranes, and a 20 lb weight loss in the last two weeks. I think he was having an Addisonian crisis, but there were no electrolytes so I wasn't sure and went with what I thought was an undiagnosed case of Diabetes Mellitus, despite the guy being 24. I still don't know what they wanted. Wish I could have that one back. That one and the acute pancreatitis one where the guy had a Trig level of something like 1300, but also had elevated AST and ALT ( I don't remember the ratio) which should point towards gallstones. What was the etiology of the dz: alcohol. cholelithiasis or hypertriglyceridemia? I went with the increased trigs, but can't account the AST/ALT so they probably wanted something else. Thing is, there is no way to know for sure that the increased trigs were wrong so how do you know--you could have trigs causing pancreatitis and lilver enzymes elevated for another reason. That's what upsets me the most about the test: I know my answer is right, but how likely is it the most right is the most important question to ask? I never do well when that is the case. Another two part question, btw.