Advice after failing step 3 COMLEX

[TheDrsGF]

Hi,

My boyfriend is a resident and recently failed the step 3 COMLEX for the second time. As you can imagine he is extremely discouraged about the situation.

As his girlfriend I want to be a support system to him but I am not a doctor so I feel pretty limited in how I can help him.

Typically he uses question banks and reads different review books. He spends most of the day studying. We are trying to figure out what he needs to do differently. Staying motivated to use the same studying techniques which don't appear to be working does not seem like the best approach.

He needs to retake the exam again in mid-may so any advice on how to improve on his technique would be very helpful.

1. Are there places to go for study partners? I would think in todays internet era this could even be done online.
2. What are the recommended study materials for the COMLEX 3?
3. Do you recommend any of the online courses such as Premier Review?

Thanks for your help,
TheDrsGF

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[ShyRem]

If I were him, I'd find a review course ASAP. Look online for one - I think Premier Review does one, perhaps Boards Boot Camp? But I'd find one and get it PRONTO.
Also, which question bank is he using? A USMLE qbank won't be much help. Get COMBANK or COMQUEST.

 

[villa]

Agreed that a qbank is the most important aspect. Comquest or Combank (or both). If he is studying so much, he probably knows the information; it's just a matter of learning how to apply it on the comlex. The comlex isn't a very practical exam. In real life, more information would be provided and more than one answer is correct. He isn't studying for real clinical life; he's studying for a test. (This was the hardest thing for me to realize, and once I did, I stopped getting frustrated with the inanity of the exam itself, and just learned to play the game). Good luck good luck good luck.

 

[Micrococcus]

Your BF is very fortunate to have your support. Perhaps a little more detail about the exact resources he used would be helpful. How was he scoring on "qbank" leading up to his last attempt? Did he take the NBME Step-3 online simulated exam? Scores on it in standard/timed mode give an accurate representation of how he would do on the real exam. Would you consider his problem more an issue of foundation or test-taking skills?