Help with improving Amboss Percentages

[deleted600623]

Hi all,

Just finished M1 year and currently doing some Step 1 review/prep outside of my research for the summer. From other information that I've read about qbanks, I decided to start going through Amboss with the goal of finishing a first pass by mid fall before I start UWorld. Prior to starting amboss, I've completed about 70% of Rx by using it mainly as practice for our block exams. So far, I've done about 600 amboss questions and am sitting at 68% which is the 80th percentile according to them. I've been consistently in the mid to upper 60s on my blocks which have been all random timed of all curriculum content covered so far but I'm struggling to improve that score. Anyone have any advice for improving scores and/or reviewing questions? My process right now is to review all the questions but focus on the ones I missed and make anki cards of whatever I felt caused me to miss that question. Also, does anyone know how Amboss correlates to UWorld? All I've read is that it might be on par/harder but that it's a good warm up. Thanks for the help!

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[libertyyne]

Dont worry about percentages on question banks, especially Don’t worry about percentages on Amboss.

 

[theonlytycrane]

amboss is hard AF. Just use it to learn and re-inforce your anki

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

amboss is hard AF. Just use it to learn and re-inforce your anki

For a fun, soul-crushing time, set up a quiz with all 5-hammer questions.

 

[deleted600623]

amboss is hard AF. Just use it to learn and re-inforce your anki

Harder than UWorld?

 

[M&L]

Harder than UWorld?

in my personal very biased opinion much harder. i regularly use both. But amboss has amazing explanations. SO i use amboss to learn, and uworld to test and reinforce

 

[kb1900]

Get used to it man. It does not matter at all. Talked to a ortho resident who said he was around 40-50% for his licensing board questions and that was higher than his peers.

I know people that first passed UW at 60% avg and got 260 and I know people that first passed UW at 85% and got 235. It’s all about what you get out of each question and optimizing that

 

[M&L]

Get used to it man. It does not matter at all. Talked to a ortho resident who said he was around 40-50% for his licensing board questions and that was higher than his peers.

I know people that first passed UW at 60% avg and got 260 and I know people that first passed UW at 85% and got 235. It’s all about what you get out of each question and optimizing that

thank you for saying that. This is actually so encouraging.

 

[deleted600623]

Get used to it man. It does not matter at all. Talked to a ortho resident who said he was around 40-50% for his licensing board questions and that was higher than his peers.

I know people that first passed UW at 60% avg and got 260 and I know people that first passed UW at 85% and got 235. It’s all about what you get out of each question and optimizing that

So if percentages are not good predictors of success then are there other ways of seeing where I stand so far? Like doing an old Free 120 exam? Or should I just use Amboss and eventually Uworld more as a learning tool and see how I do on NBMEs when I get to dedicated?

 

[kb1900]

So if percentages are not good predictors of success then are there other ways of seeing where I stand so far? Like doing an old Free 120 exam? Or should I just use Amboss and eventually Uworld more as a learning tool and see how I do on NBMEs when I get to dedicated?

Practice tests (and real tests) gauge performance. Qbanks are for learning.

You are way too concerned with your performance for being start of m2. Focus on learning from your qbanks and begins taking NBMEs closer to dedicated.

 

[libertyyne]

You are a year out, nothing is really predictive a year out. Would you be working any less hard if you were doing well right now ?
You can gauge where you are based on your performance in class, or subject shelf exams if you have them, otherwise you should focus on not burning out and getting through everything.

 

[deleted600623]

You are a year out, nothing is really predictive a year out. Would you be working any less hard if you were doing well right now ?
You can gauge where you are based on your performance in class, or subject shelf exams if you have them, otherwise you should focus on not burning out and getting through everything.

Well my school has an 18 month preclinical so I'm looking at Step 1 in February or March at the latest. Nonetheless, I will start to use qbanks more as learning tools than performance predictors.

 

[slowthai]

Get used to it man. It does not matter at all. Talked to a ortho resident who said he was around 40-50% for his licensing board questions and that was higher than his peers.

I know people that first passed UW at 60% avg and got 260 and I know people that first passed UW at 85% and got 235. It’s all about what you get out of each question and optimizing that

I feel like the answer is obvious, but I just want to make sure, lol. How do you make sure you get the most out of each question?

 

[M&L]

I feel like the answer is obvious, but I just want to make sure, lol. How do you make sure you get the most out of each question?

well, my micro professor told us to do this: look at each answer and actually talk through it. Like, what would have to be different about the question for the answer to be tis one? how is it different from the right answer? how do i tell them apart? what are other features that are important about this thing that are not mentioned in the question?

 

[AnonymousDoctorGuyPerson]

well, my micro professor told us to do this: look at each answer and actually talk through it. Like, what would have to be different about the question for the answer to be tis one? how is it different from the right answer? how do i tell them apart? what are other features that are important about this thing that are not mentioned in the question?

Just an M0, but this is so important when reviewing practice questions. To really milk it you need to get the most out of both the question and all the answer choices. "What would have to be different about the question for the answer to be this one" makes 1 PQ have the worth of 5. It also forces you to be honest with yourself, did you get Q14 right because you knew it or because you just didn't understand the other choices enough and settled for the one that happened to be correct?

 

[kb1900]

I feel like the answer is obvious, but I just want to make sure, lol. How do you make sure you get the most out of each question?

It’s not at all obvious and it’s a good question to ask, and then ask yourself again each review session. just asking yourself this question puts you ahead of 50% of preclinical students (imo).


1. Put your ego aside. This is why I tell preclinical students to stop worry about % correct and what not. You should not care if you get a question wrong that 90% of people got right. I’d argue UW is doing a disservice even showing that

2. Ask yourself if you really know everything referenced in the question and answer choices. Anything you’ve never encountered before warrants spending some time with so you’re at least familiar when it comes up

3. Understand the explanation for why the answer is correct to the point of being able to explain it to someone else.

4. Understand why the wrong choices are SO wrong that you’d never confuse them with the correct answer. This is key because often, without experience in rotations, it’s just a couple symptoms or aspects of the presentation that differentiate certain diagnoses. You should also consider what would have to be different about the question for these answers to be correct. This builds hugely into your elimination skills and confidence.

5. Commit all NEW information from 1-4 to your memorization tool of choice (notes, Anki etc.)

Some people also like to categorize their mistakes by type, but I found that never helpful for me. Typically people have weak content knowledge in certain topics more so than other types of errors

 

[slowthai]

It’s not at all obvious and it’s a good question to ask, and then ask yourself again each review session. just asking yourself this question puts you ahead of 50% of preclinical students (imo).


1. Put your ego aside. This is why I tell preclinical students to stop worry about % correct and what not. You should not care if you get a question wrong that 90% of people got right. I’d argue UW is doing a disservice even showing that

2. Ask yourself if you really know everything referenced in the question and answer choices. Anything you’ve never encountered before warrants spending some time with so you’re at least familiar when it comes up

3. Understand the explanation for why the answer is correct to the point of being able to explain it to someone else.

4. Understand why the wrong choices are SO wrong that you’d never confuse them with the correct answer. This is key because often, without experience in rotations, it’s just a couple symptoms or aspects of the presentation that differentiate certain diagnoses. You should also consider what would have to be different about the question for these answers to be correct. This builds hugely into your elimination skills and confidence.

5. Commit all NEW information from 1-4 to your memorization tool of choice (notes, Anki etc.)

Some people also like to categorize their mistakes by type, but I found that never helpful for me. Typically people have weak content knowledge in certain topics more so than other types of errors

Thank you!!

 

[4thtimeretaker]

Hi all,

Just finished M1 year and currently doing some Step 1 review/prep outside of my research for the summer. From other information that I've read about qbanks, I decided to start going through Amboss with the goal of finishing a first pass by mid fall before I start UWorld. Prior to starting amboss, I've completed about 70% of Rx by using it mainly as practice for our block exams. So far, I've done about 600 amboss questions and am sitting at 68% which is the 80th percentile according to them. I've been consistently in the mid to upper 60s on my blocks which have been all random timed of all curriculum content covered so far but I'm struggling to improve that score. Anyone have any advice for improving scores and/or reviewing questions? My process right now is to review all the questions but focus on the ones I missed and make anki cards of whatever I felt caused me to miss that question. Also, does anyone know how Amboss correlates to UWorld? All I've read is that it might be on par/harder but that it's a good warm up. Thanks for the help!

I've also heard Amboss is a little harder, even so than UW. How do you like Rx so far and what are your percentages on there? Personally, I have an RX and Amboss subscription I got through school but the Rx questions feel oddly specific.

 

[M&L]

I've also heard Amboss is a little harder, even so than UW. How do you like Rx so far and what are your percentages on there? Personally, I have an RX and Amboss subscription I got through school but the Rx questions feel oddly specific.

What do you mean by “oddly specific “? I am considering getting them

 

[4thtimeretaker]

What do you mean by “oddly specific “? I am considering getting them

So they're a good QBank but it felt like it was indirectly getting me to memorize little things that were in First Aid. I've heard that it is a QBank made by students/residents. If you're def going to get one just save your money and get Amboss. If you need a beater QBank then Rx is good to get your feet wet before you do UW or Amboss.

Edit: I particularly like that in Rx you can break it down by subtopic so that is really nice. So if you just finished reading / doing Zanki for like an MSK topic you can go in and specific target those questions.

 

[M&L]

So they're a good QBank but it felt like it was indirectly getting me to memorize little things that were in First Aid. I've heard that it is a QBank made by students/residents. If you're def going to get one just save your money and get Amboss. If you need a beater QBank then Rx is good to get your feet wet before you do UW or Amboss.

Edit: I particularly like that in Rx you can break it down by subtopic so that is really nice. So if you just finished reading / doing Zanki for like an MSK topic you can go in and specific target those questions.

Right now I have AMBOSS 4 years, and Uworld.

 

[4thtimeretaker]

Right now I have AMBOSS 4 years, and Uworld.

I think thats more than enough honestly, unless you feel like you need something to ease your self into doing practice questions. The most important thing is to learn from the questions and why I guess a particular answer choice is right. I have seen the correlation somewhere on here that said the more questions you do the better you'll do on boards. There are usually 40% Rx coupon codes floating around you could prolly find.

 

[M&L]

I think thats more than enough honestly, unless you feel like you need something to ease your self into doing practice questions. The most important thing is to learn from the questions and why I guess a particular answer choice is right. I have seen the correlation somewhere on here that said the more questions you do the better you'll do on boards. There are usually 40% Rx coupon codes floating around you could prolly find.

Thank you !!! Great advice

 

[deleted600623]

I've also heard Amboss is a little harder, even so than UW. How do you like Rx so far and what are your percentages on there? Personally, I have an RX and Amboss subscription I got through school but the Rx questions feel oddly specific.

For Rx, I'm in the mid 70s for most systems which is kind of skewed because I use those questions solely as practice for exams and just getting used to board style questions which are different from my in house exams (but we don't get old practice questions or anything to prepare for exams so its just what I have to use). I feel like the only purpose for Rx should be to use as you're going through the curriculum because they do have that ability to isolate subtopics. But some of the questions on there are very detail oriented as opposed to requiring critical thinking skills.

 

[TakotsuboOkazaki]

Dont worry about percentages on question banks, especially Don’t worry about percentages on Amboss.

/thread

 

[Phloston]

Hi all,

Just finished M1 year and currently doing some Step 1 review/prep outside of my research for the summer. From other information that I've read about qbanks, I decided to start going through Amboss with the goal of finishing a first pass by mid fall before I start UWorld. Prior to starting amboss, I've completed about 70% of Rx by using it mainly as practice for our block exams. So far, I've done about 600 amboss questions and am sitting at 68% which is the 80th percentile according to them. I've been consistently in the mid to upper 60s on my blocks which have been all random timed of all curriculum content covered so far but I'm struggling to improve that score. Anyone have any advice for improving scores and/or reviewing questions? My process right now is to review all the questions but focus on the ones I missed and make anki cards of whatever I felt caused me to miss that question. Also, does anyone know how Amboss correlates to UWorld? All I've read is that it might be on par/harder but that it's a good warm up. Thanks for the help!

A lot to unpack here and can't give you a detailed answer without greater discussion + knowing your full study Hx etc. Focus less on the %s and just continue plowing through the Qbanks. %s will go up in time.

 

[deleted393595]

Hi all,

Just finished M1 year and currently doing some Step 1 review/prep outside of my research for the summer. From other information that I've read about qbanks, I decided to start going through Amboss with the goal of finishing a first pass by mid fall before I start UWorld. Prior to starting amboss, I've completed about 70% of Rx by using it mainly as practice for our block exams. So far, I've done about 600 amboss questions and am sitting at 68% which is the 80th percentile according to them. I've been consistently in the mid to upper 60s on my blocks which have been all random timed of all curriculum content covered so far but I'm struggling to improve that score. Anyone have any advice for improving scores and/or reviewing questions? My process right now is to review all the questions but focus on the ones I missed and make anki cards of whatever I felt caused me to miss that question. Also, does anyone know how Amboss correlates to UWorld? All I've read is that it might be on par/harder but that it's a good warm up. Thanks for the help!

Percentiles don't matter. What matters is that you're learning from every question.

I got about average percentiles on UWorld and Amboss but got about 90th percentile on the actual tests.