Did anyone do USMLERx ?

[ppgmd2010]

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Did anyone use USMLERx and get thier results back. I was just curious because this is the qbank I used and I was getting a 72 overall after doing it all once. I felt that the questions were easy with a few tough ones - kind of like the real step.

 

[R_C_Hutchinson]

Just to pile on, could people give general feedback on this Qbank please? I've had some people ask me about it and since I didn't use it I really don't have any substantive advice to offer.

 

[thedrjojo]

I did both this Qbank and UW... I can't tell too much about Rx because I split it with 7 other people ($20 for a few extra questions, even if i didnt get to track stats)... The questions were ok, but no where near as good as UW... i think i actually was doing worse on Rx than UW because Rx were obscure questions sometimes while UW were more useful... that being said, there were a few questions on my Step 1 that seemed almost identically lifted from Rx. The AMSA chapter at my school had specials for Rx so it was like $150 for a 6 month subscription, compared to like $120 for a 2 month subscription for UW... I agree with your assessment of it being a bunch of easy ones and then some rediculasly hard ones, similar to step 1, but I didn't want a simulation in a Qbank, I wanted a Qbank that gave me only hard ones, and I think UWorld did that (Rx i'd skip maybe 3-4 per 50 block [like I did on the actual step 1] but UWorld I'd have to skip like 8-10 per 50 block... I learned more that way)

 

[humuhumu]

I did a handful of questions in UW and Kaplan, but mostly Rx. I thought they were all good q banks. I don't think any of them were exactly like Step 1. I hear people say that UW is most like the real thing, but I don't buy it.

The USMLE defies generalization. Some of the questions on my form had short stems, some were lengthy cases with tons of lab values, some of the questions looked like they belonged on the MCAT, others seemed more appropriate for Step 2. At least half of the questions seemed easy enough for anyone who paid attention in med school to get. A majority could be answered correctly if you know First Aid. Some questions were incredibly trivial.

I suspect that if you pick ANY of the q banks and do all of the q's, you'll get all the exposure you need to various question formats and styles. Couple that with strong performance during the first 2 years, memorization of First Aid, a few practice exams, and a few supplemental resources of your choice, and you'll do very well. That's basically what I did.

 

[ppgmd2010]

thanks for all the feedback - what I found was Rx wasn't only a tool that reinforced what was in FA it helps you connect that info which leads to retention. If you not great and a single pass and memorizing endless facts - then this will help you flesh out FA as you do questions.

 

[chicklett1]

what I found was Rx wasn't only a tool that reinforced what was in FA it helps you connect that info which leads to retention. If you not great and a single pass and memorizing endless facts - then this will help you flesh out FA as you do questions.

I agree with this completely. Rx does a good job of reinforcing FA because it often forces you to hone in on the details that are so easy to just skim over when reading straight out of the book. It was really useful for me in building confidence, too, because the improvement over 6 weeks was quite tangible.

I did not use World or Kaplan, so I can't comment on which is better, but I thought Rx was pretty decent. I would not say that the questions were exactly like what I actually got on the USMLE, though. I think Rx was heavier on pathology, micro, pharm, and biochem, whereas the actual exam (mine at least) had a lot more physio and basic science. If you do use Rx, definitely do the NBMEs too, as they are a very good approximation of the real deal.

 

[SupremeSurgeon]

I've been doing both Rx and World and found that to be quite useful.

I use Rx as appetizer and World as the main course, of course.

If I have time left, I'll probably have Qbank for dessert.

 

[Baylock45]

I thought USMLERx was great prep for Step1. It's also pretty cheap.

 

[maji]

I just took the exam, did all of world and most of rx, and found the exam to be much closer to Rx than it was world. As people said, rx enforces the first aid, but my exam was probably 80% first aid items if not more. World was good for learning, but the test didnt seem like it at all. I guess it made me less prone to get nervous when I got the few crazy out of the blue questions.

Oh well, its over, I recommend Rx.. definately had repeats from that and world. All my biochem, embryo, pharm, micro, were in first aid, and most were in rx in some form or another.

 

[TUMED2010]

I did half of USMLErx during my second year and found it useful. I then got a 1 month subscription for USMLE WORLD, and found it extremely useful. You can't go wrong with two question banks, but you only have a limited amount of time.

Be sure to complete the following great questions sources during your second year:
-Robbins Review of Pathology (2nd edition only is much better than 1st ed)
-UW
-http://library.med.utah.edu/WebPath/webpath.html - great for a start

 

[phase12007]

I've been doing both Rx and World and found that to be quite useful.

I use Rx as appetizer and World as the main course, of course.

If I have time left, I'll probably have Qbank for dessert.

The way you put it, is great...You really made me laugh, very cute.