Just started Kaplan Qbank and... ouch

[pathologyDO]

As title states I just went through Kaplan cards starting about a week ago. We are currently on break and finished our Neuro section in a systems based curriculum. I thought that since the material was pretty fresh I would go through and do the entire neuroscience section of the QBank, but I have been ending up with a cumulative of about 45%. I was really expecting much higher...

That being said this first section has brought up some important questions for my studying... if I finish a section in our M2 curriculum and then have time to work on QBank questions, should I be reviewing FA/Pathoma/BRS resources beforehand? I guess that question now that I have written it out seems kindof self-explanatory... Should I make an entire pass through all that material for a few days, then after going through say all of the FA material for a section, then go through Qbank questions? Or mix it up? Ugh, I hate organizing study schedules

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[NeuroLAX]

First day of each block I would read the BRS Physio for that section (if applicable) and review some relevant anatomy. Then I kept up with the lectures by reviewing alongside FA/Pathoma/Goljan. Then do more and more questions towards the end of the block, depending on how much time you have to go over everything. I don't know how much time you have per block so you may or may not find this helpful. In general, if you get something wrong, you need to figure out why. This is very important. Did you forget something? Did you have no clue because you've never heard of it? Did you make a mistake in your reasoning? This will help you prioritize what you need to do in order to understand the more difficult material that troubles you. And don't beat yourself up over Kaplan... they love minutiae. Besides, if you think Kaplan is bad, then you're in for a real treat with COMLEX-style logic in qbanks.

 

[tantacles]

Qbanks always feel bad. I don't know how you study, so I don't have much more advice for you than keep on doing the qbanks. Everyone experiences this.

 

[Ismet]

Qbanks are as much a learning tool as an assessment tool. Actually they're probably much more of a learning tool than an assessment tool. Learn from them. Ask yourself, did you learn and actively study from the 55% of the section that you missed? If not, go back and do that.

 

[pathologyDO]

Thanks for the positive vibes everyone. I have most definitely learned from the cards I have done. For the path or anatomy questions, each card increases my understanding much better than I was able to learn in class. Since a lot of the questions provide answers that may seem plausible, I have found that the explanations are great for helping you understand the details that could take you 5x passes over a regular lecture to extract into clinically applicable concepts. My differentials are getting much more solid.

I guess I just don't want to burn through the 2-3k cards in kaplan qbank and not "feel" ready for UWorld if that makes sense? Guess I will look at the questions as a means to learn and not consider the % correct too much.

 

[tantacles]

Thanks for the positive vibes everyone. I have most definitely learned from the cards I have done. For the path or anatomy questions, each card increases my understanding much better than I was able to learn in class. Since a lot of the questions provide answers that may seem plausible, I have found that the explanations are great for helping you understand the details that could take you 5x passes over a regular lecture to extract into clinically applicable concepts. My differentials are getting much more solid.

I guess I just don't want to burn through the 2-3k cards in kaplan qbank and not "feel" ready for UWorld if that makes sense? Guess I will look at the questions as a means to learn and not consider the % correct too much.

You will not be ready for UWorld no matter what you do. UWorld is a learning tool and not an assessment tool.

 

[pathologyDO]

You will not be ready for UWorld no matter what you do. UWorld is a learning tool and not an assessment tool.

True

 

[seminoma]

The worse you do the more opportunity you have to learn from it! Are you doing Rx as well? My Kaplan scores are always lower than Rx scores.

 

[pathologyDO]

The worse you do the more opportunity you have to learn from it! Are you doing Rx as well? My Kaplan scores are always lower than Rx scores.

I had not planned on getting Rx but maybe another qbank with easier questions might be a good idea, if nothing at least for my ego.