failed comlex 1

[eyesontheprize90]

100% you'll still pass. What helped me get out of the funk you're in right now is to remember all the questions that you know you got right and to not let the few that you missed drag you down.

You’re right! Thx

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[Rekt]

Hey guys.
Still have a two week wait for my scores. I felt a lot better coming out this time but underestimated the amount of pharmacology that was going to be on the exam/got a lot of pharm questions on the few pharm topics I commited to memory (of course -___-). So I felt fine the first two weeks after the exam and now I’m in an “oh crap” mood since I’ve already remembered about 10 pharm questions I got wrong. I guess my question is if it’s possible to score below average on a section and still pass. I’m just so mad I feel like I improved on everything else and neglected pharm.

I couldn't even remember probably half the questions I had, but I remembered at least 20 I got wrong and got ~700. Don't dwell on it too much.

 

[eyesontheprize90]

Just updating you all. PASSED! Not the best pass but honestly I’m just thankful to God for anything above a 400. Worked my butt often and prayed even harder. Just ready to learn as much as I can and demolish level 2. . Thankful for this thread for getting me through as well

 

[eyesontheprize90]

Oh yea and for future test takers who are following this thread...how you feel afterwards has absolutely nothing to do with how well you actually did in most cases. So don’t dwell on negative thoughts too much. I Thought I bombed pharmacology this go round and that was my highest section this time. Sooooo weird.

 

[trs88]

Just updating you all. PASSED! Not the best pass but honestly I’m just thankful to God for anything above a 400. Worked my butt often and prayed even harder. Just ready to learn as much as I can and demolish level 2. . Thankful for this thread for getting me through as well

Congrats!!!!! I can't think of a more deserving person . Good luck when you start rotations, you're going to knock them out of the park.

 

[RNthenDoc]

This thread is a rollercoaster of emotions.

A triumph of the human spirit.

I need to take some time away from the internet now. XD

 

[astock1122]

Oh yea and for future test takers who are following this thread...how you feel afterwards has absolutely nothing to do with how well you actually did in most cases. So don’t dwell on negative thoughts too much. I Thought I bombed pharmacology this go round and that was my highest section this time. Sooooo weird.

I completely agree, I thought I bombed Step 1 because it was like 90% pathology images. Everyone had a headache and I had to pick which brain tumor they had . Anyway, thought I completely failed...turns out I did quite well.

 

[aspdr]

Hello! I had been a long-time lurker of this thread as I too had failed COMLEX I during my first attempt.I feel I did achieve my target score during my retake. If anyone reading this (for future references) happens to be in a similar boat, please feel free to PM to ask what I did to improve & kill this thing!

 

[MADD!!!]

dang what a good thread! @trs88 neurotic OMS-1 here! Just read 45 min. through this thread and one of the best threads I've seen on SDN so far. Going to be referring back to this later to see what recommendations have been mentioned for board prep. Also this thread is going to be very useful for others who may have failed but didn't have the courage to speak up about it. Keep up the good work and continue showing everyone that persistence wins .

 

[trs88]

dang what a good thread! @trs88 neurotic OMS-1 here! Just read 45 min. through this thread and one of the best threads I've seen on SDN so far. Going to be referring back to this later to see what recommendations have been mentioned for board prep. Also this thread is going to be very useful for others who may have failed but didn't have the courage to speak up about it. Keep up the good work and continue showing everyone that persistence wins .

Thank you for your kind words With everyone's help here, I'm doing what I can to show that the show isn't over even with a pretty big red flag.

 

[trs88]

Hello everyone, it's your lovable loser here with an update!

I had planned on waiting till almost september to give an update cause I would have board scores by then and would know what programs I would be applying to. But I have some new news! I failed the comlex PE of all things!

I failed the Biomedical/Biomechanical Domain: with lower performance in Data-Gathering, mid performance in SOAP Note and higher performance in OMT. Humanistic domain was higher performance.

So I've reached out to my dean to see if I should just drop out of school now or if it's still possible to match acgme. So we'll see.

 

[samac]

Oh sweetie. I’m so sorry. The PE is a weird test that really gets some people and I hate that JT got you.

 

[Mad Jack]

Hello everyone, it's your lovable loser here with an update!

I had planned on waiting till almost september to give an update cause I would have board scores by then and would know what programs I would be applying to. But I have some new news! I failed the comlex PE of all things!

I failed the Biomedical/Biomechanical Domain: with lower performance in Data-Gathering, mid performance in SOAP Note and higher performance in OMT. Humanistic domain was higher performance.

So I've reached out to my dean to see if I should just drop out of school now or if it's still possible to match acgme. So we'll see.

An ACGME match is possible, but you're looking at rural IM/FM at this point most likely, or low-tier pathology if you're willing to enter it and risk not getting a job.

 

[trs88]

An ACGME match is possible, but you're looking at rural IM/FM at this point most likely, or low-tier pathology if you're willing to enter it and risk not getting a job.

Any FM was the plan with the previous failure. After I took both level 2s, I was planning on literally going line by line in the acgme FM residency page and seeing who would allow board failures and then applying to around 200.

 

[Spectreman]

Any FM was the plan with the previous failure. After I took both level 2s, I was planning on literally going line by line in the acgme FM residency page and seeing who would allow board failures and then applying to around 200.

Praying for more miracles for someone who clearly deserves it. Best of luck to you. Things will work out.

 

[W19]

@trs88

FM is more forgiven than IM, you should have a shot as long as you apply broadly

 

[chizledfrmstone]

Hello everyone, it's your lovable loser here with an update!

I had planned on waiting till almost september to give an update cause I would have board scores by then and would know what programs I would be applying to. But I have some new news! I failed the comlex PE of all things!

I failed the Biomedical/Biomechanical Domain: with lower performance in Data-Gathering, mid performance in SOAP Note and higher performance in OMT. Humanistic domain was higher performance.

So I've reached out to my dean to see if I should just drop out of school now or if it's still possible to match acgme. So we'll see.

I’ve seen some really smart students fail that test. Don’t let it get to you if you really want to be a physician.

Did you use the Kaufman videos to study?

 

[trs88]

I’ve seen some really smart students fail that test. Don’t let it get to you if you really want to be a physician.

Did you use the Kaufman videos to study?

I read the book. All of the book until I got to the cases and it stopped giving examples of the written soap notes and I had already been using the usmle CS book to supplement. So I believe I was covered. My school did provide the Kaufman videos but I was talked out of watching them because the FM clinical chair person (that I also rotated with) hated them with a passion and said they would lead me to failure. Lol. They are the same individual that I am to report to (at least email wise) that I failed the PE and their associates.

Sad thing is, months before the PE, I actually went to my school, did several practice osce's. Got pulled and suggested that I take additional "training" while I was near the school for a rotation. I more than willingly chose to take the additional training since I knew being on rotations had gotten me out of the routine of osces. Met with the FM clinical chair person and their associates, got advice, got them to review me in action with a standardized patient, got advice, improved some more and got the green light that I was more than ready for the PE. So, I sent all the same individuals that I met with previously for osce training an email asking for what happens next since I already went through the school specific training.

 

[pre med 2014]

too early to give up but you seriously need to re-evaluate some things. Deep down inside you likely knew you did not practice enough for PE and just wanted to "get it out of the way". You have to get out of this mindset immediately of 'hoping I get lucky and pass'. You cannot fail anymore boards. I did the goldusmle live classroom weekend 2 weeks before my CS I think it could help you a lot if you don't know what to study because it's like a super intense weekend of practicing on standardized patients, I don't know much about PE but I assume it is essentially the same thing as CS (~12 patient encounters, take a history and physical exam and write a patient note with differentials and tests for each patient?? apart from format of the exam software I can't imagine it's any different in terms of what you actually need to demonstrate skills wise) Since you want ACGME residency you should look into if you can take CS, I know you can apply to programs w/ complex but am not sure what the rules would be around mix and matching the exams, i.e. if you have COMPLEX 1 and 2 but USMLE for clinical skills would that work? Or would you have to have either all of the COMPLEX or all USMLE for step 1and2?

Anyways, they are super strict at this gold review course, everyone has to put their phone in their lockers in the morning and they literally lock the door behind you once you enter the facility lol... and you are stuck there and there's no clock in the main boardroom area (because you should not be thinking about when you will get out of here) you literally wake up 8am and can go to as late as 1am, it is pretty brutal but at the end of it if they say you will pass, you will pass. I noticed you said something about videos and getting feedback on your performance with a standardized patient (as in singular?!?!) This is not an exam you can really prepare for by watching videos, you have to practice practice practice on live SPs and not on "nice" friends who say you're going to do great. The other thing about it is that they will change up the activities and sometimes will put up an SP on the front stage (they do this for like some routine cases and some difficult ones like a rape case) and you get criticized in front of like 25 people, it doesn't sound that bad but it's actually pretty intimidating, and it is certainly a lot more intimidating than the real exam which you will dominate because you already got grilled in front of a whole room of other students using SPs that don't go 'easy' on you. If you're gonna do the course make sure you review first aid cases beforehand, you want to be familiar with the basics and have some baseline because you don't want to be wasting time when you get there. I don't work on commission or anything lol I just really like how there's a boot camp for this sort of thing

 

[Dr.Jekyll75]

too early to give up but you seriously need to re-evaluate some things. Deep down inside you likely knew you did not practice enough for PE and just wanted to "get it out of the way". You have to get out of this mindset immediately of 'hoping I get lucky and pass'. You cannot fail anymore boards. I did the goldusmle live classroom weekend 2 weeks before my CS I think it could help you a lot if you don't know what to study because it's like a super intense weekend of practicing on standardized patients, I don't know much about PE but I assume it is essentially the same thing as CS (~12 patient encounters, take a history and physical exam and write a patient note with differentials and tests for each patient?? apart from format of the exam software I can't imagine it's any different in terms of what you actually need to demonstrate skills wise) Since you want ACGME residency you should look into if you can take CS, I know you can apply to programs w/ complex but am not sure what the rules would be around mix and matching the exams, i.e. if you have COMPLEX 1 and 2 but USMLE for clinical skills would that work? Or would you have to have either all of the COMPLEX or all USMLE for step 1and2?

Anyways, they are super strict at this gold review course, everyone has to put their phone in their lockers in the morning and they literally lock the door behind you once you enter the facility lol... and you are stuck there and there's no clock in the main boardroom area (because you should not be thinking about when you will get out of here) you literally wake up 8am and can go to as late as 1am, it is pretty brutal but at the end of it if they say you will pass, you will pass. I noticed you said something about videos and getting feedback on your performance with a standardized patient (as in singular?!?!) This is not an exam you can really prepare for by watching videos, you have to practice practice practice on live SPs and not on "nice" friends who say you're going to do great. The other thing about it is that they will change up the activities and sometimes will put up an SP on the front stage (they do this for like some routine cases and some difficult ones like a rape case) and you get criticized in front of like 25 people, it doesn't sound that bad but it's actually pretty intimidating, and it is certainly a lot more intimidating than the real exam which you will dominate because you already got grilled in front of a whole room of other students using SPs that don't go 'easy' on you. If you're gonna do the course make sure you review first aid cases beforehand, you want to be familiar with the basics and have some baseline because you don't want to be wasting time when you get there. I don't work on commission or anything lol I just really like how there's a boot camp for this sort of thing

Dudes giving a pretty viable option. Another question i have that may not have been addressed yet is the typing. Did you finish all the soap notes , did you document something you didnt do ?

 

[trs88]

too early to give up but you seriously need to re-evaluate some things. Deep down inside you likely knew you did not practice enough for PE and just wanted to "get it out of the way". You have to get out of this mindset immediately of 'hoping I get lucky and pass'. You cannot fail anymore boards. I did the goldusmle live classroom weekend 2 weeks before my CS I think it could help you a lot if you don't know what to study because it's like a super intense weekend of practicing on standardized patients, I don't know much about PE but I assume it is essentially the same thing as CS (~12 patient encounters, take a history and physical exam and write a patient note with differentials and tests for each patient?? apart from format of the exam software I can't imagine it's any different in terms of what you actually need to demonstrate skills wise) Since you want ACGME residency you should look into if you can take CS, I know you can apply to programs w/ complex but am not sure what the rules would be around mix and matching the exams, i.e. if you have COMPLEX 1 and 2 but USMLE for clinical skills would that work? Or would you have to have either all of the COMPLEX or all USMLE for step 1and2?

Anyways, they are super strict at this gold review course, everyone has to put their phone in their lockers in the morning and they literally lock the door behind you once you enter the facility lol... and you are stuck there and there's no clock in the main boardroom area (because you should not be thinking about when you will get out of here) you literally wake up 8am and can go to as late as 1am, it is pretty brutal but at the end of it if they say you will pass, you will pass. I noticed you said something about videos and getting feedback on your performance with a standardized patient (as in singular?!?!) This is not an exam you can really prepare for by watching videos, you have to practice practice practice on live SPs and not on "nice" friends who say you're going to do great. The other thing about it is that they will change up the activities and sometimes will put up an SP on the front stage (they do this for like some routine cases and some difficult ones like a rape case) and you get criticized in front of like 25 people, it doesn't sound that bad but it's actually pretty intimidating, and it is certainly a lot more intimidating than the real exam which you will dominate because you already got grilled in front of a whole room of other students using SPs that don't go 'easy' on you. If you're gonna do the course make sure you review first aid cases beforehand, you want to be familiar with the basics and have some baseline because you don't want to be wasting time when you get there. I don't work on commission or anything lol I just really like how there's a boot camp for this sort of thing

This is a really in-depth post and I appreciate it, but I feel like I should clarify a few things. Back January of this year, I returned to my school to participate in comlex PE prep. All students participating were with 4 different standardized patients, wrote soap notes and did everything exactly as you are supposed to do. One of my encounters gave me a poor performance and my Dean reached out to me and suggested that attend follow up training. I said no problem because I was at school for a rotation and knew my osce skills were poor due to being on rotations and being with real patients.

The preceptor I was rotating with is the individual in charge of ALL of our schools osce preparation and remediation. Had there been a red flag during my rotation he would of pulled me aside and told me. During my rotation, I was given one on one advice from the osce staff members at my school who assist with all students who failed the PE. They sat me down, handed me packets and packets of notes and walked me through several cases. Then, I did 3 encounters with a standardized patient and they watched my live encounter through a 1 way window. After each encounter, we would stop and they would give immediate feedback from the watching staff members and the standardized patient. Most of the mistakes I was making we simply out of osce practice, such as with a real patient:

"sir, do you have any medical conditions?"
"Nope"
"Okay, may I ask why you are taking metformin?
"Oh, that keeps my blood sugar down."
"Do you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes?"
"Neither, my blood sugar is fine now"

Where as with the standardize patient, there is no need to dig so deeply.
"Do you have any medical conditions?"
"Yes, I do." And names them.

After the 3rd encounter, the only thing they could give me advice on or even still improve on was my assessment and plan. The staff members at that time had said I was fine and should have zero problems passing and were more than happy to tell my preceptor that I didn't need extra training and that I was good to go.

That was back in January, meaning the PE has been on my mind the entire time. I can honestly say that I didn't push it off to the last minute and expected that as long as I was nice. That I would pass.

Dudes giving a pretty viable option. Another question i have that may not have been addressed yet is the typing. Did you finish all the soap notes , did you document something you didnt do ?

Correct, all soap notes were complete. Had all the relevant information. I worked my way up from A/P, to O, to S and then HPI last since the other categories were allegedly worth more points. I am 99% sure that I got most if not all of the diagnosis correct, always performed CV, pulm, some HEENT and the relevant other PE exams that were related to the patients concern. Didn't lie on my note because I already knew that that was an instant failure. Always asked permission before I did something and always washed my hands before shaking the patient's hand.

 

[Leggomyeggo128]

Trs88,


A few things to keep in mind as you approach the match:

1) Failing multiple board exams is a huge red flag. Residencies worry about applicants that are at high risk of failing Step/Level 3 and subsequently their specialty boards. Failing level 1 and part of level 2 suggests a pattern that will not play to your favor. Going forward, you need to be mindful of this and have a good answer for why you won’t be that problem resident. No one wants to take you into their program if you won’t be able to pass the tests necessary to become a BC doctor.

2) Away rotations will be a critical piece of the puzzle for you. You need to really crush it as a sub-I and prove to a program that despite your academic struggles you will be a great resident. Hopefully this will be reflected in the LOR they write for you.

3) It goes without saying...but absolutely kill Step 2/Level 2 CK/CE. Leave no doubt you have learned your lesson.

4) I read above that someone suggested the USMLE CS exam. DON’T TAKE THIS!!!! No one cares about this test (PE/CS) as long as you pass. Focus on getting through the PE and then crushing away rotations.

5) Finally. Allow time for a serious self reflection. Is this really what you want? Is the struggle/frustration/stress worth it? Is the expense worth it? Is doing residency at ANY program in the country worth it? Is doing primary care with only the faintest hope of subspecialty worth it? If the answer to these questions is...Yes.... stop reading now. And get to it.

Good luck!!!! Give it hell.

 

[bkzdragon]

Hello everyone, it's your lovable loser here with an update!

I had planned on waiting till almost september to give an update cause I would have board scores by then and would know what programs I would be applying to. But I have some new news! I failed the comlex PE of all things!

I failed the Biomedical/Biomechanical Domain: with lower performance in Data-Gathering, mid performance in SOAP Note and higher performance in OMT. Humanistic domain was higher performance.

So I've reached out to my dean to see if I should just drop out of school now or if it's still possible to match acgme. So we'll see.

Did you happen to use the usmle step2CS or kaufmann book during your studies? I think those would be your best assets in terms of improving your data gathering. Was time an issue at all during your pt encounters?

I also would definitely NOT recommend taking the usmleCS. Not only is it just as expensive as our comlexPE, but most programs are just looking for either a P/F. While some programs may screen you out cause of the first time failure, its an extremely subjective exam so why take double the risk?

IMO, the PE is a pretty flukey test and theres always a couple of unexpected victims so practice, practice, practice. Continue to be overly nice to the sim pts and don't give them absolutely any reason to give you a bad grade for the encounter. As for residencies, schedule your aways wisely and crush them. Best of luck and give em hell.

 

[BorntobeDO?]

Hello everyone, it's your lovable loser here with an update!

I had planned on waiting till almost september to give an update cause I would have board scores by then and would know what programs I would be applying to. But I have some new news! I failed the comlex PE of all things!

I failed the Biomedical/Biomechanical Domain: with lower performance in Data-Gathering, mid performance in SOAP Note and higher performance in OMT. Humanistic domain was higher performance.

So I've reached out to my dean to see if I should just drop out of school now or if it's still possible to match acgme. So we'll see.

I am sorry, you just can't catch a break.

I read the book. All of the book until I got to the cases and it stopped giving examples of the written soap notes and I had already been using the usmle CS book to supplement. So I believe I was covered. My school did provide the Kaufman videos but I was talked out of watching them because the FM clinical chair person (that I also rotated with) hated them with a passion and said they would lead me to failure. Lol. They are the same individual that I am to report to (at least email wise) that I failed the PE and their associates.

Sad thing is, months before the PE, I actually went to my school, did several practice osce's. Got pulled and suggested that I take additional "training" while I was near the school for a rotation. I more than willingly chose to take the additional training since I knew being on rotations had gotten me out of the routine of osces. Met with the FM clinical chair person and their associates, got advice, got them to review me in action with a standardized patient, got advice, improved some more and got the green light that I was more than ready for the PE. So, I sent all the same individuals that I met with previously for osce training an email asking for what happens next since I already went through the school specific training.

Sounds like a personal vendetta, I wouldn't listen to him anymore. Seems like something like this happened at LECOM-B a few years ago where the staff weren't teaching what the students actually needed for the test. I wish I had good advice for you (other than ignoring that FM chair).

Edit: Wait a second, maybe I do, I met a girl who was a fourth year at the time a year or two ago and she had failed the PE 3 times. She took some sort of in person step 2 CS course and it helped her to pass. I remember her saying how she needed to gather all the info in 2 minutes or less. I didn't catch the course name tho argh. She was stating how it was very different from what my school was doing at the time.

And now I read someone suggesting an in person course above, yep, thats my vote. Go to professionals, not the peanut gallery.

 

[UnoMas]

Correct, all soap notes were complete. Had all the relevant information. I worked my way up from A/P, to O, to S and then HPI last since the other categories were allegedly worth more points. I am 99% sure that I got most if not all of the diagnosis correct, always performed CV, pulm, some HEENT and the relevant other PE exams that were related to the patients concern. Didn't lie on my note because I already knew that that was an instant failure. Always asked permission before I did something and always washed my hands before shaking the patient's hand.

The Kaufman method works. I did not prepare for the PE at all besides brushing up on some common OMT techniques and it helped me pass. We are taught the Kaufman method at my school and it's the gold standard for the PE. Your FM chair is a dingus and knows nothing about the exam.

1. CODIERS SMASHFM FEDTACOS or just TACOS. You need to collect all that information. Hit every single point, expand on a few: Allergy (environmental, medication, seasonal), Surgery (Tonsil, appendix, cataract, wisdom teeth etc.). ROS: just shotgun it fever, chills, headache, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, CP, SOB, tingling or numbness anywhere, weakness anywhere. Hone in when they cue you with humanism stuff (my pet died, my parent died etc.) (I'm sorry to hear, how are you coping? Do you have a support system in place? We are here for you.) 4 sentences.
2. Before coming in, look at their BMI and BP. Make a note on the side. High BMI tell them to lose weight, High BP tell them to sit around to let it "cool down" and you'll come back to retake. Document it that in Plan.
3. Only wash hands before the exam and tell them "I am going to begin the physical exam now." Help them untie the gown, put the gown back, cover them up for modesty
4. Cardio and Pulm exam on everyone + 1 more test for the specific complaint. Don't do HEENT on everyone it's a waste of time. Do all exams on bare skin.
5. Manage your time well, you don't have to make small talks or be in the room longer than you need to. I finished all my encounters before the 2 minute mark. Make sure you do the wrap up. If it's a sick visit in the office, offer a work's note. If it's ED ask if they want you to call someone.
6. Shake hand, smile, thank them for being so pleasant.

I am sorry you didnt pass. This test is just dumb

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

Watch you take CK and CS and pass them. You'll confuse the **** out of the PDs that'll wonder why you can pass all the MD stuff but not the black magic

 

[chizledfrmstone]

I read the book. All of the book until I got to the cases and it stopped giving examples of the written soap notes and I had already been using the usmle CS book to supplement. So I believe I was covered. My school did provide the Kaufman videos but I was talked out of watching them because the FM clinical chair person (that I also rotated with) hated them with a passion and said they would lead me to failure. Lol. They are the same individual that I am to report to (at least email wise) that I failed the PE and their associates.

Some DO schools provide really stupid advice that is detrimental to students. The PE doesn't test you on what you would do in real life. It tests you on how well you can interact with standardized patients. That's why it's called a standardized exam. The Kaufman book and videos breakdown the requirements for the Level 2 PE and then teach you how to do what is necessary to meet those requirements.

Think about it like this, even the best practicing physician could potentially fail the PE if they don't know what the standardized patients want.

Unless your FM clinical chair knows the rubric like the back of their hand and can provide good reasoning for why the videos don't meet the requirements I would be VERY skeptical.

 

[hallowmann]

Some DO schools provide really stupid advice that is detrimental to students. The PE doesn't test you on what you would do in real life. It tests you on how well you can interact with standardized patients. That's why it's called a standardized exam. The Kaufman book and videos breakdown the requirements for the Level 2 PE and then teach you how to do what is necessary to meet those requirements.

Think about it like this, even the best practicing physician could potentially fail the PE if they don't know what the standardized patients want.

Unless your FM clinical chair knows the rubric like the back of their hand and can provide good reasoning for why the videos don't meet the requirements I would be VERY skeptical.

I agree, the test is a game. Many people that fail do so because they don't know how to play the game and struggle with the transition from real encounter vs staged one. Usually they fail the Humanistic domain though. Failing the bio one makes me think enough questions/ROS weren't asked or SOAPs were very inadequate (which seems unlikely given how barebones they are). If that's the case, I'd wonder if timing was an issue for you, like if you have enough time to ask appropriate ROS questions, if you did the whole CODIERS SMASH FM FEDTACOS thing, if you did relevant aspects of the physical exam, and if you explained the assessment/plan to the patient appropriately. Those would likely be things to focus on.

The Kaufman book and videos are literally THE source for the PE. You're getting info from a guy with a strong background in medical education and who tours the PE facilities with admin and faculty from other schools. On top of that he works with COMLEX test makers and people that prepare/create the standardized patients. You basically have to copy what he does and you should pass.

 

[flower4ever123]

Hello all!
I recently failed my COMLEX Level 1 too. I have the option to take 6 weeks off to study or just take a whole year off. I am wondering if it is possible to save my 347 score to passing or even to average score. My goal is to perform well on my second attempt so it will at least save my already terrible application. I am wondering what resources do you all use to study for COMLEX only. I know UWorld is good, but I really feel like the styles of question is so different from COMLEX that it throws me off. Would you recommend COMBANK or COMQUEST? My school provides COMBANK for free but I am unsure if I should do COMQUEST instead. I am also looking into PASS program. I really don't want to just aim for passing, I want to do well enough on my second attempt that I have more options for residency. I also think if I take 6 weeks off, my school will give me less time to study for Level 2 and thus delay my entire applications. Any advice would be very helpful. Thank you all so much for reading.

 

[flower4ever123]

So, I guess I'll be the first to make "the" thread. I failed comlex 1 today. 382. Close, but super bad. I've reached out to my dean to see what the next step is because I'm not exactly sure. As in, do I get pulled from rotations, do I do one rotation then get pulled, etc.

Comsae D was taken at the start of dedicated by the school and I got a 400 on that. I had no red flags in my classes, I passed them all. Grade wise, I'd say a B student, mostly Bs some As and some Cs. Then 2 weeks from comlex, I took comsae C and got a 500. No, no cheating, no looking things up, it was timed. So by all accounts, I should of passed, but I didn't.

I used uworld, FA, pathoma, BB, and combank for OPP questions, green book as well. Then after I took comlex, I bought physeo and kaplan qbank to brush up on some things for step 1 - that I took today and probably failed that as well.

Based on the score report, my bad subjects were: health promotion/disease prevention, history and physical, management, and anatomy. Other than anatomy, I have no clue how to even go about studying those. The next worst subjects were pathology and physiology.

I'm probably going to take the next few days off (I had been studying this whole time for step) to just rest. My number 1 goal was to just get back home, but now I'll be lucky to even get any residency.

If anyone has any advice or if they have old study notes that they would be willing to share, I'd appreciate it.

Hello!
I am wondering if you can share what resources you would recommend to use to study for COMLEX Level 1 retake. I recently failed mine and I have the option to study for 6 weeks. I used primarily FA, UWorld, Pathoma to study, but I found the question style are so different on COMLEX that UWorld does not help me, if anything it scares with how different the questions are. I am wondering if you can give me any advice as to how I should perceive now. Is 6 weeks enough? My strongest part is actually pathology and are weakest at pharmacology and microbiology.

 

[Spectreman]

Hello!
I am wondering if you can share what resources you would recommend to use to study for COMLEX Level 1 retake. I recently failed mine and I have the option to study for 6 weeks. I used primarily FA, UWorld, Pathoma to study, but I found the question style are so different on COMLEX that UWorld does not help me, if anything it scares with how different the questions are. I am wondering if you can give me any advice as to how I should perceive now. Is 6 weeks enough? My strongest part is actually pathology and are weakest at pharmacology and microbiology.

Did you use Sketchy? Because Sketchy Micro/Pharm will literally make those topics like free points on COMLEX.

 

[samac]

Hello all!
I recently failed my COMLEX Level 1 too. I have the option to take 6 weeks off to study or just take a whole year off. I am wondering if it is possible to save my 347 score to passing or even to average score. My goal is to perform well on my second attempt so it will at least save my already terrible application. I am wondering what resources do you all use to study for COMLEX only. I know UWorld is good, but I really feel like the styles of question is so different from COMLEX that it throws me off. Would you recommend COMBANK or COMQUEST? My school provides COMBANK for free but I am unsure if I should do COMQUEST instead. I am also looking into PASS program. I really don't want to just aim for passing, I want to do well enough on my second attempt that I have more options for residency. I also think if I take 6 weeks off, my school will give me less time to study for Level 2 and thus delay my entire applications. Any advice would be very helpful. Thank you all so much for reading.

I did the pass program after a failure. I supplemented with COMBANK. I got a 531, but I did the 8 week program. My score wasn’t as low as yours and I don’t think I would have been able to turn around as well as I did in A shorter timeframe.
But, I am going to be a year behind now. My school won’t allow me to not take time off for Step 2.
Also. Sketchy is my best friend. Micro/Pharm taught me so much as someone else said.

If you want to talk specifics feel free to message me because I get an email alert with those.

 

[Rekt]

Hello all!
I recently failed my COMLEX Level 1 too. I have the option to take 6 weeks off to study or just take a whole year off. I am wondering if it is possible to save my 347 score to passing or even to average score. My goal is to perform well on my second attempt so it will at least save my already terrible application. I am wondering what resources do you all use to study for COMLEX only. I know UWorld is good, but I really feel like the styles of question is so different from COMLEX that it throws me off. Would you recommend COMBANK or COMQUEST? My school provides COMBANK for free but I am unsure if I should do COMQUEST instead. I am also looking into PASS program. I really don't want to just aim for passing, I want to do well enough on my second attempt that I have more options for residency. I also think if I take 6 weeks off, my school will give me less time to study for Level 2 and thus delay my entire applications. Any advice would be very helpful. Thank you all so much for reading.

You need to use UWorld. The questions "being different" doesn't really matter. They're still different than Comquest or Combank as well. UWorld will test your understanding of the material and will make Level one easy in comparison. UWorld isn't just the gold standard for Step 1, it is for the Comlex exam too. Combank and Comquest are absolute garbage to prep you for the exam. Sure, you can do a few if you feel like you "need to get a feel" for the questions, but anything beyond that is a waste of time. The reason questions are so important, is because of the explanations. That's the entire point. Think of UWorld as your interactive textbook.

I also disagree with the above, Sketchypharm and Micro is 100% necessary. It won't "get you all the points", but everyone uses it now, so all the questions that people easily get right because of sketchy means you could be leaving some very easy points on the table and you won't even know it, thus increasing your risk of failure by relative comparison. It's essentially baseline required knowledge. Anything beyond is how you get the "bonus" points.

Judging by your 340 score, you will need to add in core content supplementation from something like Boards and Beyond as well. If you're dedicated enough you can do this all in six weeks if you have no other obligations. You should be studying >10 hours a day easily.

 

[Spectreman]

Saying Sketchy will make pharm/micro free points on COMLEX is a stretch, but OP scored a 340 and states that Micro and Pharm were their weakest areas, then makes no mention of Sketchy.

I would highly suggest OP takes advantage of Sketchy and even something like Picmonic to help them hold onto this info.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

with a 347 they honestly need to be reviewing everything, not just their weakest points. Sketchy Micro + First Aid + Uworld will get you >90% of the micro correct on COMLEX. Sketchy Pharm is alright, it's not as amazing as micro but it teaches the major points, follow up with first aid and uworld and you'll again be able to net most questions correctly.