Allocated time toward Board prep

[driven4]

I'm not very good at standardized testing, and so naturally I'm concerned about Board exams. I was wondering what's the standard for board prep? I heard some say the school give 4 weeks off, others say 6 weeks? To me this sounds very short. I couldn't imagine preparing for the MCAT in 6 weeks!

Also, with the upcoming merger I think more DOs will be taking the USMLE. How do most students find time to study for those on top of the comlex? Are DO programs supportive of their students taking the USMLE ?
How do you guys find time to study for boards ?!!

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[TissueSpeed]

Basically we get 6-8 I think. But we have dumb random stuff during some of that time but no science classes. For now. I just grind it and split 60/40 boards vs class. Don’t know specifics of what overlaps or not so that percentile is just a guess.

I don’t know what our school is supportive of. Don’t really care either. Just gotta do what you can in the time frame and blow off administration since they aren’t really super involved in our board prep. Which is fine lol the less they intervene in our lives the better.

If you can you need to tie in board stuff with what you are currently learning. Medical school is redundant. If your re going over antimicrobials study them all again. If micro. Read through all of it in FA or sketchy. If you have a few autoimmune diseases hit those. By the time dedicated comes around only thing I’ll have to completely review is biochem. Also. As you go thru each system revisit embryology and anatomy/physio.

Somehow tie it all in

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

6 weeks is plenty for dedicated time. Anymore than that and you would probably go crazy from what I hear from upper classmen.

Also it doesn’t matter what your school supports, just take USMLE. Also you just study for the USMLE and then take COMLEX a week later and during that week just cram OMM. It’s not like you have to completely revamp what you’re studying.

 

[TissueSpeed]

6 weeks is plenty for dedicated time. Anymore than that and you would probably go crazy from what I hear from upper classmen.

Also it doesn’t matter what your school supports, just take USMLE. Also you just study for the USMLE and then take COMLEX a week later and during that week just cram OMM. It’s not like you have to completely revamp what you’re studying.

Ha yeah after 6-8 weeks I’d be found in a closet chewing on the corners of first aid in the fetal position wiping tears with pathoma

Of course I’ll let u all know if it works after teh boardZ.

 

[Neopolymath]

Some tried and true rules of DO school are do not listen to your administration for pretty much anything, study for the USMLE, and cram OMM for the Comlex around 3 days later.

Do most schools, DO specifically, actually give a true dedicated study period or are they like mine and has a bunch of stuff during that time anyways? People at my school apparently use a vacation month a lot of times to get a true study period.

 

[BorntobeDO?]

Some tried and true rules of DO school are do not listen to your administration for pretty much anything, study for the USMLE, and cram OMM for the Comlex around 3 days later.

Do most schools, DO specifically, actually give a true dedicated study period or are they like mine and has a bunch of stuff during that time anyways? People at my school apparently use a vacation month a lot of times to get a true study period.

I know my school is in the 'dedicated but not really' category. They do cut it down to like 12 hours of mandatory stuff a week, but its still ridiculous.

 

[TissueSpeed]

I know my school is in the 'dedicated but not really' category. They do cut it down to like 12 hours of mandatory stuff a week, but its still ridiculous.

Since when does university ever do what’s best for students





Never.


One would think they would compete with each other for board scores but in reality they sit back and collect tuition money to fund personal salaries and expand.

I guess all those PhD in anatomy and microbiology who would otherwise be unemployed need to make a living somehow.

Not that a PhD is very impressive. Anybody can get one lol.

Especially in these weak a$$ biological sciences. The real men get them in math and computer science. But why am I talkingim a lowly disgruntled med student. Equivalent to the dog poop they wipe off their boots

 

[TissueSpeed]

Some tried and true rules of DO school are do not listen to your administration for pretty much anything, study for the USMLE, and cram OMM for the Comlex around 3 days later.

Do most schools, DO specifically, actually give a true dedicated study period or are they like mine and has a bunch of stuff during that time anyways? People at my school apparently use a vacation month a lot of times to get a true study period.

I asked for advice a few times to test the water of what admin have to say in regard to boards. Might as well ask a preschooler how to do math. But it’s like pre med councilors. The best ones are the ones who are non existent.

 

[zero0]

Just study for USMLE, you'll inadvertently overstudy for COMLEX in the process. Take USMLE, hit Savrese for a week, take COMLEX. Just be sure to save some gas in the tank for that 400-question slog.

 

[2021Doctor]

From Rocky Vista Handbook:
To be eligible for clinical rotations, students must have successfully completed and passed all first-year and second-year courses, and have taken the COMLEX Level 1 examination.
Beginning with the graduating Class of 2017 and subsequent classes, students will be required to take the USMLE Step 1 examination as well.
http://www.rvu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/RVU_Catalog_Handbook_2016-2017.pdf

 

[68PGunner]

Which DO school would give 6-8 weeks of dedicated here? Let’s get some names in here in order to help out future DO applicants.

 

[Neopolymath]

Classes at my school end mid-May and then a week of random mandatory items to get us squared away with rotations paperwork for the hospitals which is a couple hours a day, then nothing from then until test day. So 6-8 weeks depending on when each of us takes it.

The administration plays a huge role in making sure we are staying on track, tracking our COMBANK and Kaplan progress to make sure we are hitting practice questions regularly. They aren't really supportive of us taking Step 1, saying "If a residency won't take you because you don't have a Step 1 score, they aren't DO friendly anyway".

As for class/ boards balance, the first part of the semester is weighted pretty heavily with classes tapering off through May. So right now I am doing a system a week with 1-2 hours a day to study anatomy/ physiology/ histology, etc, and will be gradually increasing that as I move forward. Using Zanki and Brosencephalon combined throughout the day seems to be reinforcing old knowledge so I can only assume my strategy is working.

LOL! This is usually said by someone who did FM or OMM residency 30 years ago and who thinks you just show up and anyone can be a doctor while neglecting that not everyone has such low ambitions.

 

[TissueSpeed]

LOL! This is usually said by someone who did FM or OMM residency 30 years ago and who thinks you just show up and anyone can be a doctor while neglecting that not everyone has such low ambitions.

This is why I never take advice from the old guard. Especially those who did fm and or omm residencies. Back in the good ole day you could go DO with a 2.5 gpa and 20 on your mcat and anybody could land a residency. The people with the above criteria are not those who I would take advice from. And half their schooling was omm. Not the person I want to take career advice from.

(Nothing against fm since it’s one of my interests but you can easily pick out the faculty who are bitter from their past and shove it over into students).

Plus none of them took the usmle so what good is their opinion anyway. And Don’t get me started on the PhD type who hand out board advice. Some are great but we have brand new faculty who maybe sat for their “comlex” once telling us how to study for it lol

 

[68PGunner]

This is why I never take advice from the old guard. Especially those who did fm and or omm residencies. Back in the good ole day you could go DO with a 2.5 gpa and 20 on your mcat and anybody could land a residency. The people with the above criteria are not those who I would take advice from. And half their schooling was omm. Not the person I want to take career advice from.

(Nothing against fm since it’s one of my interests but you can easily pick out the faculty who are bitter from their past and shove it over into students).

Plus none of them took the usmle so what good is their opinion anyway. And Don’t get me started on the PhD type who hand out board advice. Some are great but we have brand new faculty who maybe sat for their “comlex” once telling us how to study for it lol

Exactly... Do I want to take advice from PhD old farts who have never sat for the exam or do I want to take advice from recent upperclassmen who sat for the exam and killed it? Hm... tough choice.

 

[shisong]

here at rowan, i know PBL students get a lot of dedicated time i think starting end of march and rest of us get roughly 6 weeks or so