COMLEX vs. USMLE preparation

[bgibney]

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I have a question for those who took both the COMLEX and the USMLE. I am preparing my study schedule for the exams, and want to know the relative amount of which topics are on the exam.

For instance, how much Embryo is on the COMLEX? Is FA enough, or should I supplement with HY. How about for the USMLE?

How much Immuno is on the COMLEX?

Is HY Molecular Bio sufficient for the biochem material on both exams?

Should I study biostats and behavioral for the COMLEX, or should I make that strictly USMLE material?

For Path, should I use the Goljan book AND BRS? Will using both sources just confuse me?

When should I study OPP - at the beginning or the end of my schedule?

Finally, here are the books I plan on using for the subjects, please let me know if you would use other sources and why. Thank you, I hope this thread is not redundant.

Embryo - FA
Anatomy - HY and blue boxes in Moore
Neuro - Made Rid Sim and class notes
Biochem - HY molecular bio and FA
Microbio - MMRS
Immuno - Lange Med Micro and Immuno
Physio - BRS
Path - BRS and Goljan?
Pharm - Lippincots, FA
OPP - Savarese
Behavioral/Biostats - FA and BRS

 

[bostongirl22]

I took only the Comlex (last June) but can answer some questions of yours...

I didn't have a single Embryo question...FA is definitely plenty

I also didn't have a single Biochem question...but did have some Mol. Bio.

Know your Immuno...I had quite a few of these, and definitely plenty of Anatomy.

Savarese is great for OMM...read it through a couple of times...especially know the viscerosomatic reflex tables in and out.

I did have some behav. type questions...but I thought FA was good enough for this.

 

[bgibney]

I took only the Comlex (last June) but can answer some questions of yours...

I didn't have a single Embryo question...FA is definitely plenty

I also didn't have a single Biochem question...but did have some Mol. Bio.

Know your Immuno...I had quite a few of these, and definitely plenty of Anatomy.

Savarese is great for OMM...read it through a couple of times...especially know the viscerosomatic reflex tables in and out.

I did have some behav. type questions...but I thought FA was good enough for this.

Thank you very much.

 

[DrSmiles]

EMBRYO: very little on both exams, I had more on USMLE
MOL BIO: TONS on my USMLE, way more than shown in First Aid, with very picky questions. None on my COMLEX.
BIOCHEM: TONS on USMLE, maybe a bit more than represented in First Aid, very little on my COMLEX.
IMMUNO: had a fair amount on both exams
BIOSTATS/BEHAVIOR: a handful of easy questions on USMLE, none on COMLEX
PATH: pick BRS or Goljan, not both. Both are good sources. I used all the Goljan material, found it very high yield for both exams.
MICRO: know your Micro well for COMLEX, even the weird tropical worms/bugs
ANATOMY: know it well for COMLEX, very little on USMLE. I found the USMLE Roadmap Anatomy review book quite helpful. First aid is not enough for COMLEX. Most of the OPP questions have a lot of anatomy tied in. Definitely know your autonomics too. Sarvese and Simmons are good review books. Blue boxes in Moore is fine as an extra resource, but probably not adequate for COMLEX due to the extra OPP questions. The USMLE Roadmap Anatomy review book has some good review pictures and I felt it was a superb book for anyone taking the COMLEX. Just don't underestimate the amount of anatomy that will show up on the COMLEX and you will be fine.
OPP: you probably won't need to study it much if you were paying attention in school. Most people take a couple of days before the test to study it.
PHARM: First Aid was adequate, but Kaplan was superior. You will get lots of diagrams/graphs on USMLE, similar to the ones on Qbank. Again, know your autonomics.