COMQUEST for COMLEX Step II?

[JStub]

Has anybody used COMQUEST specifically for the COMLEX Step 2 before? I think they're new but please PM me if you've used the questions. I saw a banner in one of the forums and contacted them through their site (www.comquestmed.com) today to see how many questions they have and if I could see their test software. I got the following response just now: "Our COMLEX Level 2-CE question bank currently has 877 questions and our Level 3 has about 860. While we will be adding more questions in the near future, we are focusing on quality control of our current questions and software...we prefer not to put demos." Sounds pretty good. Anybody? I think I will take the plunge.

Edit - my review posted below

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[Kuba]

I did comquest before combank, and so I finished it about 2 weeks before the actual exam if I recall correctly. Anyway, I think i finished around 68% and score 650 on the real thing.

 

[IdontTakeCall]

you scored 68% on combank and got a 650 or 68% on comquest and got a 650? You said you felt combank was much easier than comquest so I am assuming your % correct on Combank was greater. It says you need 63% to ensure passing. I scrored 64% first time through, just wondering if that means I am closer to your 650 @ 68% or closer to 400 @ 62.7%

 

[Kuba]

you scored 68% on combank and got a 650 or 68% on comquest and got a 650? You said you felt combank was much easier than comquest so I am assuming your % correct on Combank was greater. It says you need 63% to ensure passing. I scrored 64% first time through, just wondering if that means I am closer to your 650 @ 68% or closer to 400 @ 62.7%

No, 68% on Comquest, i think Combank was ~75%. I dont know how much stock you can put into these type of comparisons though.

 

[Doctor4Life1769]

I had a 68% on both ... and I did well.

 

[IdontTakeCall]

followup from earlier..
I scored 63.5% first time through COMBANK. Passed step II very comfortably in the 500s. So i think it matters as to when it was you scored the 62.7% they say u need to pass, the day before the test or a month before with subsequent studying to improve.

 

[Residentsomeday]

COMQUEST, in my opinion is a not worth the money (except for their ethics questions, which actually were very helpful)...USMLEWORLD is the standard, and I don't care what people say about how to study for either, USMLEWORLD is what you need- its the explanations which are incredible at teaching concepts.

 

[NickHome]

Just got my score back and I scored pretty close to my goal (640 vs 650). I disagree with Residentsomeday and it sounds like it helped you too. I think the reason I passed was, in large, because of COMQUEST. I read too many stories on SDN about people failing the COMLEX after doing only UWorld (just do a search) so I wasn’t going to take that risk. UW is not a good representation of the questions we get on the COMLEX, but has a great wealth of information that proved helpful on the test. After doing UW though, I think it is just as important (or more important) to do questions from Comquest. I learned a lot of new information on there, what to choose if the first line treatment is not an option, questions on medical ethics and OMT got me extra points, but most importantly… the question style was extremely similar. I also used Secrets and Savarese before doing any questions. I would recommend reading Secrets and Savarese, then doing UW, and finishing up with COMQUEST. You seem to have gotten a pretty decent score with similar preparation too so congratulations on that.

 

[Residentsomeday]

Just got my score back and I scored pretty close to my goal (640 vs 650). I disagree with Residentsomeday and it sounds like it helped you too. I think the reason I passed was, in large, because of COMQUEST. I read too many stories on SDN about people failing the COMLEX after doing only UWorld (just do a search) so I wasn't going to take that risk. UW is not a good representation of the questions we get on the COMLEX, but has a great wealth of information that proved helpful on the test. After doing UW though, I think it is just as important (or more important) to do questions from Comquest. I learned a lot of new information on there, what to choose if the first line treatment is not an option, questions on medical ethics and OMT got me extra points, but most importantly… the question style was extremely similar. I also used Secrets and Savarese before doing any questions. I would recommend reading Secrets and Savarese, then doing UW, and finishing up with COMQUEST. You seem to have gotten a pretty decent score with similar preparation too so congratulations on that.

I agree with you to some extent. I edited my post because I don't think COMQUEST was a waste of money, because your right, I definitly got some last minute questions from doing these questions. I too also bought it because I read those horror stories (which in hindsight cannot be 100% true) about those who failed only using UW.

Also, I think just doing questions was helpful and 800 more questions was all the more helpful. I was just disappointed because I bought it strictly for OMM and Ethics, and when I bought it, there were only like 77 OMM questions. I had a hard time swallowing another $75 for only 77 OMM questions.

Great job on the score increase, I always like to hear stories where hard work paid off.

 

[LEGO]

Any more score comparisons between COMQUEST score vs. actual scores? So far I'm at a 62% and it says the average is about 65% so I'm hoping I'm within passing range . The questions are great so far.

 

[oBMTo]

Does anyone feel that the percentages of people who answer a question correctly on Comquest is a bit off? I don't believe that >80% of the people answered some of these questions correctly. It's kind of depressing to get a question wrong that I thought was hard and turned out everyone else got it right!

 

[SasDOC]

Does anybody know what a good score is on comQUEST? I emailed them and they replied saying to aim for at least 65%. If anybody who has used this can share the correlation of their comQUEST score and the COMLEX, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[Kuba]

COMQUEST, in my opinion is a not worth the money (except for their ethics questions, which actually were very helpful)...USMLEWORLD is the standard, and I don't care what people say about how to study for either, USMLEWORLD is what you need- its the explanations which are incredible at teaching concepts.

For the record, totally disagree with this. You must study for the COMLEX specifically. UWorld is great to solidify basics initially, but crunch time Comquest/Combank is the best/most efficient way to go.

 

[HopefulDoc1984]

Does anybody know what a good score is on comQUEST? I emailed them and they replied saying to aim for at least 65%. If anybody who has used this can share the correlation of their comQUEST score and the COMLEX, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

I used uworld, combank, comquest and took the latest comsae.

Uworld 79%
Combank 80%
Comquest 81%
Comsae 777
COMLEX II?

I took the test almost 4 weeks ago so I will should be getting my score soon.

 

[PistolPete]

Very nice progression. Let us know how you end up doing!!!

 

[Slevin]

I used uworld, combank, comquest and took the latest comsae.

Uworld 79%
Combank 80%
Comquest 81%
Comsae 777
COMLEX II?

I took the test almost 4 weeks ago so I will should be getting my score soon.

Yeah, let us know how you did I'm curious to see how they compared

 

[HopefulDoc1984]

I used uworld, combank, comquest and took the latest comsae.

Uworld 79%
Combank 80%
Comquest 81%
Comsae 777
COMLEX II?

I took the test almost 4 weeks ago so I will should be getting my score soon.

update. got scores today: 785/99

 

[WDeagle]

How long does it usually take to get through COMQUEST? I basically have three weeks to read secrets, go through COMQUEST once, learn OMT, and maybe go through COMBANK. Can i pull off COMQUEST in a week doing about ~120 questions a day or so?

 

[Gpan]

For those who completed the COMQUEST and finished their COMLEX 2 already, are those answers on COMQUEST reliable ? I have seen a lot of conflicting info on their answers and FA. Should I trust them?

 

[TexasTriathlete]

For those who completed the COMQUEST and finished their COMLEX 2 already, are those answers on COMQUEST reliable ? I have seen a lot of conflicting info on their answers and FA. Should I trust them?

Well this is reassuring. COMLEX scares the crap out of me. Not that I'm worried about failing or anything, but I would like to do well on it, and...

1. Lack of proven, quality review materials
2. The fact that I can count on one hand the number of times I've done OMM during third year, except for on my attendings, and now it is going to be 20% of the test.

I am way more worried about COMLEX than I am USMLE, and I don't even have to take the USMLE. In fact, a big part of why I'm even taking USMLE is because I have such a sketchy feeling about COMLEX. At least with USMLE, you know pretty much what to expect.

 

[Gpan]

can anyone verify this for me?
:
Staphylococcus aureus and Haemophilus influenza are the most common pathogens causing respiratory disease in patients with cystic fibrosis under 16 years of age. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the most common etiologic organism causing respiratory disease in patients with cystic fibrosis after the age of 16.

This is straight out of COMQUEST info. There are many other info that's conflicting with what FA and Step Up have to say.

 

[sexyman]

^ Seems like a typical COMQUEST question. I find there questions to be full of semantics and just blatantly tricky. I guess thats how the COMLEX is? I dunoo

 

[abbottje]

I actually used the COMQUEST qbank and found it very helpful as a study adjunct with a wealth of information on there that I did not see in the board review books I was using. I found it comforting that they aren't just a qbank based on FA, since I don't know where that information comes from. Once you take the actual COMLEX, you will see how they ask random things. You will also be pleasantly surprised to see many questions you get right ONLY because you previously encountered something similar using COMQUEST. In response to your specific question, I think I even remember that question you're referring to and I'm pretty certain COMQUEST is right if you read throughly. P. aeruginosa is obviously more common in adults but not the case with children. I just did a search from work where we are connected to Up To Date and many other current resources and found this current published article that states something similar to what you are asking:
"[FONT=Arial,sans-serif]Lungs of CF patients are often colonized or infected in infancy and early childhood with organisms, such as.[FONT=Arial,sans-serif] .[FONT=Arial,sans-serif]Staphylococcus aureus.[FONT=Arial,sans-serif] .[FONT=Arial,sans-serif]and.[FONT=Arial,sans-serif] .[FONT=Arial,sans-serif]Haemophilus influenzae.[FONT=Arial,sans-serif], that may damage the epithelial surfaces, leading to increased attachment of, and eventual replacement by,.[FONT=Arial,sans-serif] .[FONT=Arial,sans-serif]P. aeruginosa.[FONT=Arial,sans-serif]." .
[FONT=Arial,sans-serif].http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC118069/

For what it matters, I used COMQUEST, CRUSH, FA, and USMLEWORLD and did very well on all step exams and currently resident in surgical subspecialty. U-WORLD is a great qbank for USMLE prep and COMQUEST is a great qbank for COMLEX prep. Both do a good job represented the real test respectively.

 

[TexasTriathlete]

COMQUEST just explained to me that a patient with DM and a LDL of 110 does not need to be on a statin, and that you don't use lipid-lowering medications in pts with CAD/equivalent until LDL is above 130. FML.

 

[EnDOct]

COMQUEST just explained to me that a patient with DM and a LDL of 110 does not need to be on a statin, and that you don't use lipid-lowering medications in pts with CAD/equivalent until LDL is above 130. FML.

Looks like they are correct, look at step 5 on the National Cholesterol Education Program's recommendations: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/cholesterol/atglance.htm The recommendation says to start with lifestyle changes for patients with CAD/equivalent between 100-129 (not statins) and drugs should be added if lifestyle changes are unsuccessful... so starting off a CAD patient with LDL of 110 on lifestyle change instead of a statin is right. It also says an update comes out next year so I assume the COMLEX will use the same guidelines that COMQUEST is using.

 

[TexasTriathlete]

Well I'll be a son of a bitch.

Step Up says otherwise.

 

[TexasTriathlete]

Through 170 questions on comquest, I'm hitting at 73.25 % or something like that. Goal is 650+, and would be thrilled with 700.

 

[ooitsamonkey]

averaging 76.5% first time through almost done with the qbank have 150 questions left. Anyone with any update on their performance on the comlex and their comquest averages? I will surely post after the exam, but just curious as to what people think of comquest vs. the real exam.

 

[Slevin]

First time Through was a 69ish% going through a 2nd time with 9 days left before the exam

 

[Gpan]

HOW BULL**** IS THIS ? from combank btw

A 25-year-old G1P0 HIV-positive woman at 8-weeks gestation presents for her first prenatal visit. She is on HAART treatment which includes zidovudine and her last CD4 count was 320/mm3 two months ago. She is positive for toxoplasmosis IgG.

Which of the following is the best advice?

(A) Abortion because HAART drugs are contrindicated in pregnancy (B) Abortion because her CD4 count is so low (C) Cesarean section when fetal lungs are mature (D) Toxoplasmosis prophylaxis (E) Vaginal delivery and no breast feeding

The current percentage of users that have answered this question correctly is 45%.
Question Explanation: The correct answer is E. The probability of vertical transmission of HIV is 25% and it is reduced by about 20% for patients taking zidovudine. On the other hand breast feeding is contraindicated for HIV-positive women. Abortion is not necessary for HIV-positive pregnant women (A and B). In general HAART drugs are not contraindicated in pregnancy and zidovudine is recommended to reduce the risk of vertical transmission. There is no added benefit to doing a Cesarean section (C). Pregnant women should be careful about primary infection with toxoplasmosis during gestation because this can be passed on to the fetus. Previous infections (as indicated in this case with IgG serology) are not a threat since the IgG can cross the placenta and protect the fetus. Prophylaxis in HIV-positive patients does begin until the CD4 count reaches below 100/mm3 (D).

Bottom line: Vaginal delivery and zidovudine prophylaxis are recommended for HIV-positive women. Breast feeding is contraindicated.

 

[danzman]

HOW BULL**** IS THIS ? from combank btw

A 25-year-old G1P0 HIV-positive woman at 8-weeks gestation presents for her first prenatal visit. She is on HAART treatment which includes zidovudine and her last CD4 count was 320/mm3 two months ago. She is positive for toxoplasmosis IgG.

Which of the following is the best advice?

(A) Abortion because HAART drugs are contrindicated in pregnancy (B) Abortion because her CD4 count is so low (C) Cesarean section when fetal lungs are mature (D) Toxoplasmosis prophylaxis (E) Vaginal delivery and no breast feeding

The current percentage of users that have answered this question correctly is 45%.
Question Explanation: The correct answer is E. The probability of vertical transmission of HIV is 25% and it is reduced by about 20% for patients taking zidovudine. On the other hand breast feeding is contraindicated for HIV-positive women. Abortion is not necessary for HIV-positive pregnant women (A and B). In general HAART drugs are not contraindicated in pregnancy and zidovudine is recommended to reduce the risk of vertical transmission. There is no added benefit to doing a Cesarean section (C). Pregnant women should be careful about primary infection with toxoplasmosis during gestation because this can be passed on to the fetus. Previous infections (as indicated in this case with IgG serology) are not a threat since the IgG can cross the placenta and protect the fetus. Prophylaxis in HIV-positive patients does begin until the CD4 count reaches below 100/mm3 (D).

Bottom line: Vaginal delivery and zidovudine prophylaxis are recommended for HIV-positive women. Breast feeding is contraindicated.

I guess I don't get it?

 

[Gpan]

I guess I don't get it?

i thought you are supposed to do C-section for these pts NO?

 

[danzman]

i thought you are supposed to do C-section for these pts NO?

Negative. Its a crappy question because its only 8wks out. Ill paraphrase Master the Boards infectious disease section.

If mom has high CD4(+350) and low viral load = start meds during 2nd trimester
Mom has low cd4 or high viral load = start meds now
Mom on meds = stay on meds (may have to switch around etc')

At time of delivery if Moms CD4 is above 350 and low viral load = vaginal delivery

At time of delivery if Moms CD4 is below 350 or if viral load is above 1000 = section.


I have also heard the cut-of should be CD4 of 250-300 by the high risk OB I was with.

My assumption is that if Mom was already on meds and last CD4 was two months ago, by 40wks her levels would be good enough for vaginal deliver. Either way its not the best question only because there is not a good answer.

 

[PistolPete]

Wow... just did that question like 5 minutes ago... yeah, I agree it's crappy, just like MANY more questions.... what can you do?

COMLEX Level II is just a crap shoot and you gotta deal the best you can.

 

[Gpan]

Negative. Its a crappy question because its only 8wks out. Ill paraphrase Master the Boards infectious disease section.

If mom has high CD4(+350) and low viral load = start meds during 2nd trimester
Mom has low cd4 or high viral load = start meds now
Mom on meds = stay on meds (may have to switch around etc')

At time of delivery if Moms CD4 is above 350 and low viral load = vaginal delivery

At time of delivery if Moms CD4 is below 350 or if viral load is above 1000 = section.


I have also heard the cut-of should be CD4 of 250-300 by the high risk OB I was with.

My assumption is that if Mom was already on meds and last CD4 was two months ago, by 40wks her levels would be good enough for vaginal deliver. Either way its not the best question only because there is not a good answer.

yep but the CD4 was below 350, and we don't know FOR SURE if it's gone up or down during the last 2 months. Ideally we should check her CD4 level now. So logically C-section is a better choice when we don't know her CD 4 level. Am I right?

 

[danzman]

yep but the CD4 was below 350, and we don't know FOR SURE if it's gone up or down during the last 2 months. Ideally we should check her CD4 level now. So logically C-section is a better choice when we don't know her CD 4 level. Am I right?

You are correct, its a crappy question, but my experience tells me that in the real world thats how it would go down.

 

[Gpan]

You are correct, its a crappy question, but my experience tells me that in the real world thats how it would go down.

thanks man. IF I see more than 10 questions like this on the real thing, I would flip the f out haha

 

[Soccer171983]

Hello SDN'ers!

I am an administrator for COMQUEST who was directed to this page today by one of our new customers. I have made sure that it is OK with SDN administration to address any concerns on their forums prior to posting here. First, I would like to explain that we had originally made arrangements with SDN so that they would place our banner on their forums starting August 1. After realizing that we are delayed in our server and software upgrade, we let them know that we will need some extra time to work out some bugs. Unfortunately, something slipped through the cracks and our banner was placed on August 1 per the contract date, which brings us here... rest assured though, we are on our way to implementing all of the feedback and advice received by our customers in addition to the bugs that we discovered.

Regarding server time: We are currently testing multiple servers to ensure that questions and answer choices are loaded quickly. The current server has too much variation ranging from very slow to lightning fast. We will be deciding on the best server for this case in approximately ten days.

Regarding timing out or losing internet service while taking an exam: The system times out or logs out after 60 minutes of idle time or if an account is logged on simultaneously from different locations. The current software that is being worked on will save the test if any of these issues occur. You will then be able to resume the next time you log-on. This is being worked on currently and will be available shortly.

Regarding unused questions: This bug was already reproduced by our technical support team and is currently being worked on.

Creating an exam: In some instances, the # of questions per exam must be changed to load up an exam. This is due to the cases at the end of the test that are made to coincide with the COMLEX. This is currently being worked on.

We have a comment button on the bottom of each question that our customers may also use to alert us regarding a possible problem. While we have received excellent feedback from our customers regarding our questions, we anticipate a very small number of questions that require correction and are actively going through the latest batch of questions.

In the meantime, the subscription gives you full access to our questions and explanations with the above considerations. The points that customers have mentioned here are all being ironed out and we hope to be at full capacity within a few weeks. We will update each point as it becomes ready. If you have further questions, the quickest way to reach us is by contacting us through our website's contact page.

We wish you good health and success on the COMLEX.

Thank you!
COMQUEST Osteopathic Specialists

Hello,

I was just wondering if comquest was down??? i just bought it yesterday and i can not go to the site. Every other site works but www.comquestmed.com does not.

thanks

 

[COMQUESTMED]

Thank you for the post. We are aware of the issue - there is a major power outage in Dallas where our servers are located. All of the servers (thousands) located in that data center have been affected, and our host company is working on getting power back there. Sorry for the inconvenience! Please feel free to email us at (info at comquestmed.com) for the quickest response. Thank you!

Edit: All is up and well. Thanks for your understanding! If you ever need a quick response, feel free to email us at the email in parenthesis above.

 

[Soccer171983]

This is an email i got from comquest! I hope this helps! Realize that this is not a 100% guarantee but a way to at least get a feel if you are near a desired goal!


Hi xxxx,

We're gathering more data, but a 62% is a pass and 69% is above average on the COMLEX with 90% certainty. Again, we're gathering data and will have more accurate numbers in the near future.

Thanks,
Sam
COMQUEST Osteopathic Specialists, LLC

 

[jengibre5224]

Did the power go out again? Why is the COMQUEST page in Japanese right now?

 

[COMQUESTMED]

Sorry about that - our servers had to be rebooted. We're up and running.

 

[quicksilver DO]

o

 

[COMQUESTMED]

Bought a 30 day script for comquest step 2 yesterday. Money posted to my account

Thanks for writing. I believe this has already been resolved by our customer support via email but we'll respond here too. It looks like you registered two accounts using two different email addresses (one ending with .org and the other with .edu). You're logging into the one that has no active subscription. Please make sure to log into the account that you purchased the subscription on (the .edu email). The system has no way of knowing your two email accounts are the same person's. Thanks and feel free to send an email if you have any questions or we can help out. Emails are typically answered within a few minutes. Thanks and good luck

 

[quicksilver DO]

So I just realized that and I deleted that snarky comment. I'm really sorry. Thanks for responding so quickly. That is actually quite impressive.

 

[COMQUESTMED]

So I just realized that and I deleted that snarky comment. I'm really sorry. Thanks for responding so quickly. That is actually quite impressive.

You're very welcome

 

[ljw8993]

There was a post from 6/13/2011 where Soccer171983 posted an email about scores on your qbank and how they relate to actual scores coming in. Can I expect roughly the same thing for this year's exam as well?

 

[COMQUESTMED]

There was a post from 6/13/2011 where Soccer171983 posted an email about scores on your qbank and how they relate to actual scores coming in. Can I expect roughly the same thing for this year's exam as well?

Thanks for your question! We're still gathering data for the most recent administrations, but preliminary reports show a bit of an increase in the average first time COMQUEST score reflecting a passing grade this year. You should be aiming for at least a 64%. We also recommend taking a COMSAE to most accurately predict your score. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us through our website for a quick response. By the way, we're undergoing a major, exciting upgrade to a huge server tonight. It is going to be much quicker and can handle extremely large demands without slowing down. The data should be completely migrated over by 3:00am PST and you'll enjoy even quicker speeds after that!

 

[quicksilver DO]

Your question bank and explanations rock. Some of your suggestions/mnemonics really helped me grasp some stuff I'd been having trouble with- like anything related to the sacrum. I really appreciate what you've got and i've been suggesting your q-bank to friends and new third years. Keep on keeping on!