Kaplan Step I Home Study Guide???

[MD Dreams]

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Has anyone used this resource? Is it any good? Does the material cover the same information as the lecture books? I appreciate any input. Thank you.

 

[Wrigleyville]

I have the books. They are a good read, and summarize the topics nicely. I don't plan on using them for the last few weeks before the exam though, just because of the format (It would take too long, and I just want lists of high-yield facts at that point). If you want a good resource to review topics from your first two years, and go over things you may have forgotten/not seen, I'd recommend it. But it is more for something to read a few months before the boards, not weeks or days.

Has anyone used this resource? Is it any good? Does the material cover the same information as the lecture books? I appreciate any input. Thank you.

 

[JMD]

I am reading through the home study (organ system) books right now. They really help clarify some things that I haven't looked at in a long time (Biochem). They are nice to have because they explain things a little more than most review books. If I went straight to bare-bones FA without reviewing some foundation material I think I would be totally lost. However, I like to read through things as opposed to studying a bulleted outline, but I know people who are the exact opposite.

I plan to get through the first two general principle books and use them to annotate FA before my hardcore studying starts (taking step 1 late june). After that I will just use them as a reference. I am using other books (Goljan Path, BRS physio) in place of the corresponding sections in the Kaplan books.

I agree with most peoples' opinion that these books are good if you start them early and get to know them ahead of time. I definitely wouldn't crack them open 1 month before the exam and expect to absorb everything you need to for Step 1.

I'll let you know after I get my scores if these books were worth anything at all... 😉

 

[JMD]

Oh yeah, they are expensive as %$#. Even if they are good, I don't know if they are worth the large amount of $$$.

 

[T.A.M]

I agree completely with JMD. I used them last year. They are an excellent all-in-one resource, but I would only recommend using them if you plan to start studying soon, or have already started. One slight down-side: if you plan on doing a lot of questions, you'll need more from another source. The Kaplan program contains a Q book and CD, but does not give you access to Q bank. I went through the book and CD rather quickly and ended up using USMLeasy for the majority of my question prepping.

 

[T.A.M]

Oh, and my scores- rather competitive on both COMLEX and USMLE...

 

[Flintstone]

Thanks T.A.M. for the info.

I wonder if you can share how you study differently for COMLEX and USMLE. Did you feel you have enough time to study for COMPLEX. Our school just give us a bit more than 3 weeks. And, do you think Anatomy in FA is sufficient for COMLEX? Are we suppose to memorize all the techniques including all counterstrain points? Ah...I just feel like I am running out of time.

Thank you very much.

 

[JMD]

Although it was expensive, Kaplan in my area offered a combo organ system books and q-bank (6 months) this year. Didn't come with any q-book or CD. I think it was about $100 cheaper than if you bought the books and q-bank separately.

 

[T.A.M]

Flinstone- I studied for both at the same time. Minus the OMT questions, if you study for USLME, you're also studying for COMLEX. For OMT questions, Simmons' Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine Review for the Boards contains all the info you need to know. The downside is that Simmons only has a few test questions in it. I also used Savarese's OMT Review. It's a little less comprehensive than Simmons, but it has tons of COMLEX sample questions in it. Finally, KCUMB gave us about 4 weeks off to study, but I actually began in late January.