So I started doing qbanks for the first time today- Kaplan. It has a very long winded explanation, and a shorter highlight of that. Would you read through the explanation for every question? I think it's helpful to me, but takes a long ****ing time.
How do you review qbanks?
- Thread starter JP2740
- Start date
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2012
- Messages
- 141
- Reaction score
- 46
well it's a matter of how much you understand the concept/topic being tested by that question. If you feel like you understand it save you time for the ones you dont understand. A good approach for questionbanks is to not just use them as a simple assessment tool but as a way to learn test taking strategy and concepts from different perspectives. It helps to read through the entire explanation so that you have a good understanding of why the incorrect choices are incorrect.
I would recommend taking a timed 46 block test random (if you feel comfortable with all of the topics) and then spend the next two hours reviewing the questions. Prioritze first with the incorrect and read through them so that you don't just "read it" but say oh i can see how that can be asked this way and that way or I get why they used that key word. and then go to the other questions and do the same for questions you got correct but felt uncomfortable with.
I would recommend taking a timed 46 block test random (if you feel comfortable with all of the topics) and then spend the next two hours reviewing the questions. Prioritze first with the incorrect and read through them so that you don't just "read it" but say oh i can see how that can be asked this way and that way or I get why they used that key word. and then go to the other questions and do the same for questions you got correct but felt uncomfortable with.
- Joined
- Aug 24, 2007
- Messages
- 2,199
- Reaction score
- 2,256
I like knowing right away if I got a Q wrong so I would do untimed tutor mode with only 20-25 Qs at a time
Quality of the material you study (in-depth explanations as to why you got the Qs wrong) is way better than quantity (doing 50 Qs & just grazing over the explanations)
By the time you go through them about half-way, you can then switch to timed if you must but I found myself getting better at reading the Qs & figuring out what they were actually asking as I did more & more Qs so for me personally time was never a factor
Good Luck
Quality of the material you study (in-depth explanations as to why you got the Qs wrong) is way better than quantity (doing 50 Qs & just grazing over the explanations)
By the time you go through them about half-way, you can then switch to timed if you must but I found myself getting better at reading the Qs & figuring out what they were actually asking as I did more & more Qs so for me personally time was never a factor
Good Luck
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2013
- Messages
- 4
- Reaction score
- 0
I could also use advice on this topic for better test taking and study strategies.
* How do you stay focused on the actual vignette? (sometimes I forget halfway through what I was reading or only after reviewing the right and wrong explanations when referring back to something I overlooked or missed)
* Do you read the actual last line or question being asked or read from top to bottom?
* Lastly, I think the most challenging thing for me (I made another post earlier about it in the clinical rotations forum) is when reading the question (or even during a live patient case) is thinking about all the possible differential diseases to consider. I think I missed a lot of that while in MS-2 and have been paying the price on it while in my MS-3 rotations. How do you handle all the 2nd and 3rd order rationale when presented with those situations?
* How do you stay focused on the actual vignette? (sometimes I forget halfway through what I was reading or only after reviewing the right and wrong explanations when referring back to something I overlooked or missed)
* Do you read the actual last line or question being asked or read from top to bottom?
* Lastly, I think the most challenging thing for me (I made another post earlier about it in the clinical rotations forum) is when reading the question (or even during a live patient case) is thinking about all the possible differential diseases to consider. I think I missed a lot of that while in MS-2 and have been paying the price on it while in my MS-3 rotations. How do you handle all the 2nd and 3rd order rationale when presented with those situations?
- Joined
- Aug 31, 2009
- Messages
- 1,061
- Reaction score
- 384
dude i had the same problem...and as such I would either really overshoot my dx and come up with some weird zebra, or undershoot and have it be like strep throat for everything haha...not really but you get the picture...
anyhow one of my mentors started having me do like a mind map kind of thing, actually writing out the ddx and treatment plan for each patient. and then going over it in my head and talking it out. and once you start seeing all the possibilities organized in one place things become clear. and after a while you don't need to write it out anymore and you can do it faster and faster!
you can apply this to practice questions as well.
anyhow one of my mentors started having me do like a mind map kind of thing, actually writing out the ddx and treatment plan for each patient. and then going over it in my head and talking it out. and once you start seeing all the possibilities organized in one place things become clear. and after a while you don't need to write it out anymore and you can do it faster and faster!
you can apply this to practice questions as well.
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2006
- Messages
- 7,475
- Reaction score
- 2,429
I always found it helpful to read through the explanations, because they often explain things about other diseases that can help you answer other questions down the line. I've had a handful of questions on HUS already...
- Joined
- Oct 10, 2011
- Messages
- 8,956
- Reaction score
- 11,441
If you understand a question and why other answer choices aren't correct (especially in those that are versions of 'what is the diagnosis') then you can skim the answer reviews. If you are guessing at all, or not picking something b/c you've never heard of it before, you should probably read the full response as to why each answer is wrong, and why the answer you picked is right (or wrong).
- Joined
- May 22, 2008
- Messages
- 17,394
- Reaction score
- 9,146
My approach:
-Skim the explanations of ALL questions - even the ones you get correct
-If something is completely unfamiliar, I find that topic in FA and see if that fact, concept, etc. is in FA. If it is, then I highlight it and read about that disease, pathway, etc. If it isn't, I annotate FA with what I think is the important info to know
Keep in mind that many question explanations (Kaplan included) have a lot of ridiculous details that, IMO, aren't worth learning. What those things are is up to you and your goals. Also, from personal experience with the Kaplan Qbank, it tends to be very detailed and test/explain very random and relatively unimportant concepts. Keep that in mind as you work through it.
-Skim the explanations of ALL questions - even the ones you get correct
-If something is completely unfamiliar, I find that topic in FA and see if that fact, concept, etc. is in FA. If it is, then I highlight it and read about that disease, pathway, etc. If it isn't, I annotate FA with what I think is the important info to know
Keep in mind that many question explanations (Kaplan included) have a lot of ridiculous details that, IMO, aren't worth learning. What those things are is up to you and your goals. Also, from personal experience with the Kaplan Qbank, it tends to be very detailed and test/explain very random and relatively unimportant concepts. Keep that in mind as you work through it.
