Feeling lost with how to start board prep

[Peach Newport]

I went to the usmle/comlex board but tbh it feels like theyre speaking a language I don't know.

Just started oms2, and it's obvious I need to start board prep. But not only to I not know how to do this, I don't know where to begin.

I hear people use buzzwords like uworld anki pathoma qbank bros etc... I have no idea what these are... but more importantly I don't know how to use them in a study plan.

It's obvious that board prep will cost a lot of money, so could I just sign up for a Kaplan thing? It worked for me for the mcat.

I guess I want to ask you guys, how did you figure out a board prep plan?

How do you start studying for a test at the beginning of oms2 when you haven't learned most of the material yet?

How do get a diagnostic test result at the beginning of oms2 when you haven't learned the material yet?

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[Postictal Raiden]

Do USMLE Rx Qbank + pathoma (videos) until the end of the spring break. Then start UW Qbank + more passes of pathoma until your dedicated period. Reset UW and redo all the qs along with doing every NBME practice test you can get your hands on during your dedicated period + more pathoma.

This recipe worked well for an above average score.

 

[Peach Newport]

Do USMLE Rx Qbank + pathoma (videos) until the end of the christmas break. Then start UW Qbank + more passes of pathoma until your dedicated period. Reset UW and redo all the qs along with doing every NBME practice test you can get your hands on during your dedicated period + more pathoma.

This recipe worked well for an above average score.

What do you do to review first year material?

 

[Postictal Raiden]

Oh and when you start with USMLE RX, do the subjects you covered up to that point first. Then start introducing subjects as you cover them in school. The vast majority of the material should be covered in classrooms before spring of your spring break of second year

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Ibns comment is probably the best and all encompassing one. I would say that you probably can probably get away with an average to above average score even if you study only during your dedicated and a bit around that too.

But looking back if I could go back in time I would have read first aid from the start of the year, sacrificed more of my grades in classes to review materials more pertinent or high yield, and worked on mastering topics that my school didn't teach very well ex. heart sounds. I would also have looked into golijan as I think pathophysiology is worth so much more than just straight pathology on the boards.

There are also a lot of video educational resources around that many people swear by. A friend of mine and I both used DIT and we both believe that without it we wouldn't have done as well as we did. Other people really enjoy Boards & Beyond. I think they while pricy are extremely effective supplementations to your board studying and can really net you a lot of points.

But to sumerize I did UFAPS - DIT or Uworld, First Aid ( X3-4), Pathoma ( 1x with some videos 2x namely heme), Sketchy Micro & Pharm ( Use these both for your year they're great) and Doctors in Training.

 

[Peach Newport]

Ibns comment is probably the best and all encompassing one. I would say that you probably can probably get away with an average to above average score even if you study only during your dedicated and a bit around that too.

What if I'm gunning for a combined academic plastic surgery/Jewish dermatology program in NYC that sics the hounds on any unwashed DOs that approach their front door with anything less than a 270?

For real though, if you can get an average usmle score (230?) like you describe, why are something like half of DOs unable to even pass the usmle? Or were you talking about comlex?

 

[Dr. Mantis Tobogan]

What if I'm gunning for a combined academic plastic surgery/Jewish dermatology program in NYC that sics the hounds on any unwashed DOs that approach their front door with anything less than a 270?

For real though, if you can get an average usmle score (230?) like you describe, why are something like half of DOs unable to even pass the usmle? Or were you talking about comlex?

 

[Peach Newport]

View attachment 222296

That only takes into account the DOs who actually took the USMLE. Scuttlebutt says that of the -50% of DOs who don't take it, most choose not to because they can't score well on diagnostic/practice tests.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

What if I'm gunning for a combined academic plastic surgery/Jewish dermatology program in NYC that sics the hounds on any unwashed DOs that approach their front door with anything less than a 270?

For real though, if you can get an average usmle score (230?) like you describe, why are something like half of DOs unable to even pass the usmle? Or were you talking about comlex?

Then pray to the Jewish Dermatology gods and pray your unwashed face is anointed with a strong benzoylate.

Honestly, the problem is multifaceted and to be entirely fair examining it through the perspective of how many people take it as an indicator of who would pass is probably too conservative. I would wager that 80-85% of DOs collectively if all forced to take it, would pass. Now if you pull a KCU/RVU curriculum on the DO world and i'll say it'll probably be closer to a 88-90%. But this doesn't say much because in the end I wouldn't suspect the average to be above a 220.

But in short I suspect that a large issue is probably going to stem from 1 factor that is very mutable and another that is less so. I'll say that many DO schools don't have strong focuses on as difficult pathology or have tests that are similar to uworld and the boards. This essentially means that students aren't being challenged as much as they could be, which in the end means that they get blindsided by the enormous rise in difficulty transitioning from class to boards prep. The second is that in probably 50% of DO schools the majority of the students are simply not as academically minded or value specialties that require high scores. So where as a majority of a MD class at a mid level school is aiming probably for mid tier IM in big cities which will require stronger academics, most at a low tier DO school will probably be aiming for FM, low tier IM, and maybe one or two who want to do an AOA specialty in surgery. They simply ended up being a lot more lax in seeking a strong foundation and it becomes evident during boards prep.

In short, take boards seriously during dedicated. Take learning the systems and their pathology seriously during the school year. And above all learn how to think within the context of the process of learning the science. If you don't learn how to think like a doctor or pathologist should think, then you're going to be at a disadvantage. And that will come through really spending time and energy getting an appreciation for pathology.

But honestly I think an decent student with a comprehensive understanding of their systems and a good dedicated period can score in the 220s to 230s. Breaking into the 240s and beyond ends up I feel requiring brilliance that goes beyond my level or my dedication since in the end I balanced not falling apart in all of this.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

That only takes into account the DOs who actually took the USMLE. Scuttlebutt says that of the -50% of DOs who don't take it, most choose not to because they can't score well on diagnostic/practice tests.

A good deal even in my school didn't take it despite being intelligent and capable. But sure, probably of the 90% of people who signed up for the USMLE at my school, I suspect probably 10% at least ended up just focusing on COMLEX because in the end a 600 on COMLEX is better than a 550 + a 210 for many programs in many specialties in the Midwest.

A good psych program director once told our class that they prefer a strong comlex over a week usmle. So that taking usmle wasn't even necessary.

 

[TheaterOfTheme]

Anyone have success with firecracker?


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[Dr. Mantis Tobogan]

That only takes into account the DOs who actually took the USMLE. Scuttlebutt says that of the -50% of DOs who don't take it, most choose not to because they can't score well on diagnostic/practice tests.

The total number of eligible DO graduates this last year was 5,984. These grads would have taken their Step 1/Level 1 in 2015, which is the year reflected in the chart above. There were 3,185 first-time test takers, or 53.22% of all DOs in 2015. If 93% of 53.22% of students passed (2,962 students) that means that even without including those who chose not to take the USMLE, the total DO pass rate would be a 49.49%.

In order to meet the 50% pass rate that you stated, the remaining students (2,799 or 46.78%) would have to have a pass rate of 1.07% or just 30 students.

So yes, it is possible that the total DO pass rate is 50% if everyone was forced to take the exam. However, I would bet every penny of my loan debt that significantly more than 1% of the "holdouts" could pass, particularly if the exam was required (thus, forcing them to prepare for it). Even if you assume that these students would pass the USMLE at a rate similar to the "repeat test taker" rate, the total DO pass rate would still be ~80%.

 

[Goro]

I went to the usmle/comlex board but tbh it feels like theyre speaking a language I don't know.

Just started oms2, and it's obvious I need to start board prep. But not only to I not know how to do this, I don't know where to begin.

I hear people use buzzwords like uworld anki pathoma qbank bros etc... I have no idea what these are... but more importantly I don't know how to use them in a study plan.

It's obvious that board prep will cost a lot of money, so could I just sign up for a Kaplan thing? It worked for me for the mcat.

I guess I want to ask you guys, how did you figure out a board prep plan?

How do you start studying for a test at the beginning of oms2 when you haven't learned most of the material yet?

How do get a diagnostic test result at the beginning of oms2 when you haven't learned the material yet?

A) Start finding out what you don't know, or remember from OMSI.
B) I don't think that it's helpful to start worrying about this now. Wait until Xmas break.
C) Do you have access to COMBANK? You can tailor practice exams to what you've already had. As of this writing I can't remember if UWorld lets you do this. Hopefully other SDNers can chime in.

 

[AFNI_User]

I think it would be useful to start utilizing combank or another qbank that isn't Uworld on the subjects you're currently covering or covered in class. Will make the board push xmas break a lot more comfortable!

 

[MrTaco92]

Do USMLE Rx Qbank + pathoma (videos) until the end of the spring break. Then start UW Qbank + more passes of pathoma until your dedicated period. Reset UW and redo all the qs along with doing every NBME practice test you can get your hands on during your dedicated period + more pathoma.

This recipe worked well for an above average score.

How many questions a day did you start out with? It feels like getting through even 10 RX questions takes a while to get through with the explanations and all

 

[Postictal Raiden]

How many questions a day did you start out with? It feels like getting through even 10 RX questions takes a while to get through with the explanations and all

I'd start with 10 qs daily. Should take you an hour. Increase this as you progress

 

[jd1031]

I went to the usmle/comlex board but tbh it feels like theyre speaking a language I don't know.

Just started oms2, and it's obvious I need to start board prep. But not only to I not know how to do this, I don't know where to begin.

I hear people use buzzwords like uworld anki pathoma qbank bros etc... I have no idea what these are... but more importantly I don't know how to use them in a study plan.

It's obvious that board prep will cost a lot of money, so could I just sign up for a Kaplan thing? It worked for me for the mcat.

I guess I want to ask you guys, how did you figure out a board prep plan?

How do you start studying for a test at the beginning of oms2 when you haven't learned most of the material yet?

How do get a diagnostic test result at the beginning of oms2 when you haven't learned the material yet?

For step 1, there's an algorithm for success. First Aid + Pathoma + USMLE World (Qbank) = success.
1. First aid - Make tons of notations and corrections (go online, print out the updated corrections for First Aid, then update your book accordingly) in the book throughout the year. Ideally, go throughout it at least 3 times before taking the USMLE which each subsequent run through being faster and faster
2. UWorld - (like someone said above) Start with 10 questions per day and slowly build up to a whole block per day. You should also go through this 3x, ideally (I only went through UWorld twice, and I feel like going through it one more time is the one thing that could have increased my score even higher)
3. Pathoma - I noted my First Aid book with things I learned in Pathoma
4. Cram Fighter - Use this app to make your study schedule for every pass-through with the material. It helped me out ALOT.
5. Don't study the day before the test. Use it to relax
*Try to align your study schedule with items in your class/block schedule as much as possible. Kills two birds with one stone and thus saves time. I.e. study renal in First Aid the same time you're on your renal block
**If you're an auditory learning, Goljan can help. I've never used it but I heard good things about it from other people
***IMO there's no need to buy an expensive study course.

 

[Med student 18]

most people used UFAP (has been explained extensively). I used UFA + lecturio and dabbled pathoma. There are MANY resources. uworld test + NBME to see where you stand initially. also, an honest introspection about which topics need more cleaning up helps a lot.

 

[MrWonderful]

Hi. Relax. Take a deep breath, and ignore the majority of these posts. You've opened the proverbial "can of worms" where gunners will now tell you exactly how they sculpted the most perfect boards study plan the world has ever seen. No doubt, some of it is probably good advice. But the best board advice is that LESS IS MORE. If you use 10 books and 4 Q-Banks you won't do as well as using 1-2 of each. Research consistently proves this.

Boards Plan:
Time: 3-4 Months
Sources: UWorld, SketchyMicro, OMG OMT, First Aid (so 1 textbook, 3 online)
Structure:
-40 UWorld Q per day random tutor mode. Review and write out answers. Review written explanations when you eat breakfast, poop, etc.
-Read 1 chapter of FA per day. Just skim, nothing crazy. Get the big picture ideas down.
-Dedicate 2 full weeks to doing all of SketchyMicro. Memorize it. Skip micro in FA.
-Last 3 weeks before COMLEX, do OMG OMT video review course. Do all practice questions in OMG OMT + whatever COMBANK/COMQUEST questions your school provides you (most do for free)

Don't listen to people telling you to buy flashcards, old textbooks that never get updated, or something crazy. Hit the basics. Do a focused, high yield review. You need to hone in. You can crush this thing it just starts with making some really good decisions about board resources. For example, many people use DIT but DIT is just First Aid being read to you. Many DOs use Savarese but Savarese contains way too much information and it hasnt been updated in years, failing to address integrated OMM questions. If every DO in the country used the same book then it stands to reason that there'd be a smaller standard deviation in OMT scores, which there sort of is. If you want to inflate your score I would start with crushing OMT. As such, I humbly recommend OMG OMT. Following the status quo might make you feel comfortable but at best youll score the national average. You possess the ability to murder this exam and match the program of your dreams!!

 

[Blunt Dissection]

Hi. Relax. Take a deep breath, and ignore the majority of these posts. You've opened the proverbial "can of worms" where gunners will now tell you exactly how they sculpted the most perfect boards study plan the world has ever seen. No doubt, some of it is probably good advice. But the best board advice is that LESS IS MORE. If you use 10 books and 4 Q-Banks you won't do as well as using 1-2 of each. Research consistently proves this.

Boards Plan:
Time: 3-4 Months
Sources: UWorld, SketchyMicro, OMG OMT, First Aid (so 1 textbook, 3 online)
Structure:
-40 UWorld Q per day random tutor mode. Review and write out answers. Review written explanations when you eat breakfast, poop, etc.
-Read 1 chapter of FA per day. Just skim, nothing crazy. Get the big picture ideas down.
-Dedicate 2 full weeks to doing all of SketchyMicro. Memorize it. Skip micro in FA.
-Last 3 weeks before COMLEX, do OMG OMT video review course. Do all practice questions in OMG OMT + whatever COMBANK/COMQUEST questions your school provides you (most do for free)

Don't listen to people telling you to buy flashcards, old textbooks that never get updated, or something crazy. Hit the basics. Do a focused, high yield review. You need to hone in. You can crush this thing it just starts with making some really good decisions about board resources. For example, many people use DIT but DIT is just First Aid being read to you. Many DOs use Savarese but Savarese contains way too much information and it hasnt been updated in years, failing to address integrated OMM questions. If every DO in the country used the same book then it stands to reason that there'd be a smaller standard deviation in OMT scores, which there sort of is. If you want to inflate your score I would start with crushing OMT. As such, I humbly recommend OMG OMT. Following the status quo might make you feel comfortable but at best youll score the national average. You possess the ability to murder this exam and match the program of your dreams!!

While I would agree that 3-4 months is ideal for dedicated board prep time, I haven't met very many DO students that have successfully gotten a 240+ USMLE score with only using UWorld. One of our own students here scored in the 97% on COMLEX, but only got slightly above average on the USMLE. The deficit is simply in the amount of hours we spend on basic medical sciences when compared to our allopathic counterparts. The only way to supplement the deficit in basic medical sciences is to actually learn MORE - especially if OPs goal is to score in the top % for specialties like dermatology or plastics. I know of a handful of students at my school that scored in the 250+ range for USMLE - they all studied together and they started at the beginning of second year to really learn more than what was taught in class. Supplemented with Pathoma and B&B and did a minimum of 2 qbanks. I'm not saying that you can't score in the 250+ range by going minimal, but unless your school is giving you the level of detail and depth that is expected of the USMLE, from what I've seen, it's not sufficient.

 

[MrWonderful]

Most students are doing UFAP method and scoring just fine on USMLE. But i suppose that varies by school

 

[Dr. Mantis Tobogan]

Serious question, are the people who don't score well just not using UFAP or does everyone use it and it just works out better for some?

 

[Scrubs101]

Serious question, are the people who don't score well just not using UFAP or does everyone use it and it just works out better for some?

I have no clue since im just a 1st year, but my guess is its not what you use but how you use it. I believe most people know about UFAP.


"Its not the size of the boat, but the motion of the ocean" lol


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[Blunt Dissection]

Serious question, are the people who don't score well just not using UFAP or does everyone use it and it just works out better for some?

Now this is just my opinion, but if you stick only to using UFAP without any other supplements, you're banking on having an incredibly strong grasp of 1st year material. While Pathology makes up a large chunk of the exam and Dr. Sattar does a killer job of reviewing a lot of the physiology/biochemistry involved with it, there's a lot of physiology related things that he either doesn't talk about or it's not relevant for him to talk about in pathology. First Aid alone isn't very useful for learning - it's meant as a guide so that when you look at a page, you can recall how the pathophys is causing that disease. UWorld provides you with explanations, but if you're doing a path question here and a biochem question there followed by a micro question, you're just getting scattered bits of information. Cohesion is needed to make the information relevant and I think it's part of the reason why SketchyMed is such a hit with a lot of students. It presents the identifying factors of the organism, the pathology, and the treatment all in one.