(attn: OMSIII/IV) COMLEX level 1 and USMLE step 1?

[thegrandbull]

hello all,

I am an OMSII, interested ONLY in family medicine, preparing to take the comlex at the end of May. With the new pass/fail exams, I'm wondering if I should take just the COMLEX or the USMLE along with it.

also:
1) How similar are the exams in terms of difficulty, timing, and style
2) Is Uworld a good prep tool for the comlex exam?
3) Overall thoughts, pros/cons, for me taking USMLE

Thank you!

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[BoneWizard]

1) You get a lot more time for USMLE. COMLEX you're going to struggle with time if you even try to read the entire question stem. I had a few questions on COMLEX where it was just a full page of block text. COMLEX was a little easier in my opinion if you get the time management down. A good quarter of the test questions are just freebees if you just know your chapman points/viscerosomatics and OPP treatments cold.
2) UWorld is great, but Truelearn was pretty close to the exam and I feel would be sufficient for just COMLEX.
3) Don't really see any point in taking the P/F USMLE if you're only going for FM.

 

[Goro]

hello all,

I am an OMSII, interested ONLY in family medicine, preparing to take the comlex at the end of May. With the new pass/fail exams, I'm wondering if I should take just the COMLEX or the USMLE along with it.

also:
1) How similar are the exams in terms of difficulty, timing, and style
2) Is Uworld a good prep tool for the comlex exam?
3) Overall thoughts, pros/cons, for me taking USMLE

Thank you!

FM only? COMLEX will be fine.

IF you change your mind and, say, something more competitve gets your love in your clinical years, then shine on Step 2

 

[Schwifty]

If you think you can pass step 1 I would take it even if you are going for FM. It will just open more doors for you and you’ll need it if you change your mind and go for something else

 

[thegrandbull]

If you think you can pass step 1 I would take it even if you are going for FM. It will just open more doors for you and you’ll need it if you change your mind and go for something else

assuming i wont change my mind on FM, what kind of opportunities would you think id be missing out on if i didnt take step exams? im pretty set on rural family med in a small town

 

[Schwifty]

assuming i wont change my mind on FM, what kind of opportunities would you think id be missing out on if i didnt take step exams? im pretty set on rural family med in a small town

Rural FM in a small town, comlex will probably be fine. If you want to target a very specific area or a big city in the coast then I would say otherwise

 

[Ho0v-man]

I’d still study like you were going to take step 1. Sets you up really well for the following exams. Worst case scenario, you don’t take step 1 because you didn’t quite make the pass cutoff. Best case, you have a lot more options geographically and keep other fields open if you change your mind.

 

[snowbird3]

1) I felt COMLEX was more straightforward & easier overall. There were more short & "easy" questions than USMLE imo. I've never had problem with timing on tests, but I was more confused on USMLE questions with longer questions stems, so for me personally i felt I had more time on COMLEX as I was able to answer some questions much quicker.
2) I used UWorld, and it was helpful, but probably not necessary if just going to take COMLEX.
3) I was not sure what specialty I was going into when I took the USMLE, and if I had known before I would have just taken COMLEX. I would look at some programs you might be interested in and see if any require USMLE. I'm not sure how FM is, but if you aren't aiming for the very top programs, COMLEX only should be more than enough. Some of my classmates only took COMLEX, applied to FM, and have gotten plenty of interviews.

 

[thegrandbull]

1) You get a lot more time for USMLE. COMLEX you're going to struggle with time if you even try to read the entire question stem. I had a few questions on COMLEX where it was just a full page of block text. COMLEX was a little easier in my opinion if you get the time management down. A good quarter of the test questions are just freebees if you just know your chapman points/viscerosomatics and OPP treatments cold.
2) UWorld is great, but Truelearn was pretty close to the exam and I feel would be sufficient for just COMLEX.
3) Don't really see any point in taking the P/F USMLE if you're only going for FM.

so, im using kaplan right now and i have the Qbank timed and i am finishing the questions with minutes to spare. it looks like there is roughly 80s per Q. is kaplan not being accurate? and if not, what should i be aiming for time/Q to simulate test conditions?

OPP? is that just another acronym for OMM ot OMT?

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

FM = COMLEX only

 

[thegrandbull]

1) I felt COMLEX was more straightforward & easier overall. There were more short & "easy" questions than USMLE imo. I've never had problem with timing on tests, but I was more confused on USMLE questions with longer questions stems, so for me personally i felt I had more time on COMLEX as I was able to answer some questions much quicker.
2) I used UWorld, and it was helpful, but probably not necessary if just going to take COMLEX.
3) I was not sure what specialty I was going into when I took the USMLE, and if I had known before I would have just taken COMLEX. I would look at some programs you might be interested in and see if any require USMLE. I'm not sure how FM is, but if you aren't aiming for the very top programs, COMLEX only should be more than enough. Some of my classmates only took COMLEX, applied to FM, and have gotten plenty of interviews.

how many answer choices are there on the real comlex? A-D, or like A-E and further?
also, i am doing kaplan and amboss right now because its what i currently have access to and i feel like the time limits they give me are very generous... im getting ~15min for 10 Q Qbank quizzes and ending with minutes to spare. Someone above said that there is very little time per Q on comlex but if it's anything like these Qbanks, im not too worried

 

[snowbird3]

how many answer choices are there on the real comlex? A-D, or like A-E and further?
also, i am doing kaplan and amboss right now because its what i currently have access to and i feel like the time limits they give me are very generous... im getting ~15min for 10 Q Qbank quizzes and ending with minutes to spare. Someone above said that there is very little time per Q on comlex but if it's anything like these Qbanks, im not too worried

I don't remember many having more than whatever the practice questions had. A few times there would be more answer choices, but not often enough to make a difference imo.
I would say if you're a person that doesn't normally have difficulty with timing, you'll be fine. I also never used the time function on qbanks though, I had other problems lol. I did know someone who had difficulty with timing and she broke it down into how many minutes per question, halfway I should have this many minutes left, etc, and ended up finishing the comlex. When I took it, you did have more time for usmle than comlex (maybe 10 more questions/block?), but I was able to answer most comlex questions quicker than usmle.

 

[thegrandbull]

I don't remember many having more than whatever the practice questions had. A few times there would be more answer choices, but not often enough to make a difference imo.
I would say if you're a person that doesn't normally have difficulty with timing, you'll be fine. I also never used the time function on qbanks though, I had other problems lol. I did know someone who had difficulty with timing and she broke it down into how many minutes per question, halfway I should have this many minutes left, etc, and ended up finishing the comlex. When I took it, you did have more time for usmle than comlex (maybe 10 more questions/block?), but I was able to answer most comlex questions quicker than usmle.

yeah so i am a bit of a slow reader/comprehender.. im concerned with the time.. but it looks like we have around 80 sec/ Q which isnt bad so long as the vignettes aren't tremendously long

 

[snowbird3]

yeah so i am a bit of a slow reader/comprehender.. im concerned with the time.. but it looks like we have around 80 sec/ Q which isnt bad so long as the vignettes aren't tremendously long

Some of the longer OMM questions, and questions in general, I'd just read the last sentence first, and was able to answer it off of that (or so I thought haha). Also, the timing is weirder on the comlex because unlike usmle I'm pretty sure you can run over time from sections. So, if i'm remembering correctly, the usmle would kick you out of one section after an hour, the comlex gave you a block of 4 hrs and you could use more time for the first section, etc; just something to pay attention to so you don't run over on time on a certain section.

 

[hellosnd]

thought comlex was a lot easier with time bc u dont need to read the entire question most of the time.

 

[thegrandbull]

thought comlex was a lot easier with time bc u dont need to read the entire question most of the time.

im also noticing this.. i read the whole vignette and then it asks something completely unrelated that you only needed the last sentence to answer

 

[hellosnd]

im also noticing this.. i read the whole vignette and then it asks something completely unrelated that you only needed the last sentence to answer

I also completely ignore OMM findings