How to use UWORLD

[herewego]

Hi everyone,

I've done some searches on my question but haven't found a topic about exactly what I'm looking for.

I'm a current M2, and the kind of person that needs LOTS of time to master/integrate information.

I was wondering how I should use UWORLD. I haven't started yet, but my original plan was to buy it soon, and start going over the sections I've covered in lecture, untimed, learn, read explanations, annotate FA etc. Then after going through it completely, go through it again with random questions timed. Yes, I know I'll remember some questions, but really I'm looking to solidify my knowledge and fill in gaps, to use UWORLD as a learning tool rather than a straight predictor.

Any thoughts? What worked for you guys? Does this seem like a reasonable plan? any help would be appreciated.

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[colonelmustard]

Hi everyone,

I've done some searches on my question but haven't found a topic about exactly what I'm looking for.

I'm a current M2, and the kind of person that needs LOTS of time to master/integrate information.

I was wondering how I should use UWORLD. I haven't started yet, but my original plan was to buy it soon, and start going over the sections I've covered in lecture, untimed, learn, read explanations, annotate FA etc. Then after going through it completely, go through it again with random questions timed. Yes, I know I'll remember some questions, but really I'm looking to solidify my knowledge and fill in gaps, to use UWORLD as a learning tool rather than a straight predictor.

Any thoughts? What worked for you guys? Does this seem like a reasonable plan? any help would be appreciated.

Your current plan seems fine. You will not remember all the questions in World when you do it a second time, and even if you do, you're sure to remember the concept behind the question, which is most important.

 

[FiestyFutureDr]

I also am an MS2 and tend to take a long time to integrate the massive amounts of info we need- I recently bought UW and have been using along with microbiology/immuno, and it has been VERY helpful. I would recommend it, and if you're worried about remembering the exact questions (which I was worried about), you can always get a different question bank (Kaplan, USMLERx) when you get closer to taking the board exam. After going through a bunch of questions though, I am not worried about remembering specific answers as there are literally thousands of questions.

 

[Sun Dog]

Question about UWorld...Do you get unlimited access to the question bank or can you only view each question a certain number of times during your subscription? Thanks!

 

[Xamwell]

I'm a 4th year student. I did well on both Step 1 and Step 2 (as well as COMLEX 1 and COMLEX 2).

For disclosure, I used Kaplan for Step 1 and UWorld for Step 2. This wasn't based on any opinion of either bank but rather the fact that my school was cut a deal on them for the years I took the exams.

I think the most important thing to do to succeed on boards is to use the Q-bank in such a way that your strengths and weaknesses are accurately defined as the test approaches. Commonly there is an ego damaging response when one starts the questions in any given bank. The fact of the matter is that early attempts to use the banks will, even in the smartest candidate, yield less than desirable results. I vaguely remember scoring 20-40% (at best) in my earliest stabs at question sets. I say this because the natural response to this sense of failure is to adopt a systems-based review of questions. In effect (and I did this for a short period of time) this means switching from an answering a bundle of completely randomized questions to tailoring the questions to whatever subject is being studied at the moment. I.e. reading a chapter on lung pathology and doing only questions on lung pathology after changing the parameters on the Qbank. This boosts the score one gets on the section and a person can't help but feel better.

But the fact of the matter is that when the big dance comes there will be no context for which questions are delivered. If a person does systems/subject-based question sets for a good portion (or all of) their Qbank studying, the statistics displayed at the end of the 2,500 questions, as the test approaches, are not reflective of your actual strengths and weaknesses in any given topic area.

Regardless of your performance on each set of questions, while doing random sets you should see your overall average % of correct questions come up over time. If this is the case then your studying efforts are doing the trick. If it's been 3 months and you aren't consistently getting better than 50% of the questions correct it can make for a rough test day. Seeing one's average go from 30% in the first days of the bank up to 60% or greater correct on each set of subsequent questions indicates real improvement when faced with any possible question that may be asked.

All that being said I started using my Qbank, mildly at that, 5 months before the exam. I went through it once but spent a good amount of time reading EACH AND EVERY question whether I was right or wrong. It's tempting to speed through explanations but, fact remains, you paid for them and they're the strongest part of the learning experience. As the last month approached, after finishing 90% or so of the bank, I could look at my stats and know exactly what I needed to read and revisit in order to shore up my knowledge base. This made the final preparations much more efficient. Some advocated re-reading First-Aid and Goljian in the week prior to the test. Why do all that when I knew exactly which topics I was deficient in thanks to the approach I took with the Qbank?

Hope that helps.

 

[herewego]

I appreciate the input everyone.