I did show the Kaplan QBank to a few of the doctors I work with.
They took it and they told me some of the questions were on the level of the specialty boards (IM boards, Peds boards, Surgical boards)
Because the level of clinical knowledge needed was that vast.
Specifically, I am not talking about "wierd and bizarre syndromes"
Rather, the harder Kaplan questions have similar answer choices revolving around several similar differential diagnoses. TO obtain the correct answer, you have to recognize the "clinical subtlety and distinctions" in order to make the right choice.
Plus there is some dosing, treatment length, and calculation of fluid volumes.
Only bother with Kaplan if you A) have the cash B) have the time C) have the willpower D) want to know a lot of ticky tack little things that may help you survive pimping on the wards (it certainly helped me... my general surgeon said I was the first student of his to ever correctly answer Mirizzi syndrome)
An example of a typical Kaplan trap and wordplay laden question:
Start off by describing possible bacterial gastroenteritis of an American traveling in Mexico.. given "suspicious antibiotics"... developed vague upper abdominal pain ... crashed her car while she was doing this... was "treated adequately" and went back to the united states... a few weeks later, developed intense epigastric pain... what is the treatment?
they wanted you to answer "endoscopic anastomosis" (cystogastrotomy) to drain a pancreatic pseudocyst
