Official QBank Thread

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So yeah, Am I the only one who finds QBank anatomy hard, even after doing all the webprep and first aide anatomy info? Its been a long time since I (kinda) knew this stuff.
 
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Janders said:
So yeah, Am I the only one who finds QBank anatomy hard, even after doing all the webprep and first aide anatomy info? Its been a long time since I (kinda) knew this stuff.
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It seems like most of what I keep seeing is brachial plexus/dermatome/pelvic musculature questions over and over and....
The radiology anatomy stuff (i've had ~5 question w/ 22% complete )
were smack-down easy. I'm wondering if that's what the real thing will look like.
Anybody w/some experienced insight?
 
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I'm still looking for a definitive answer on how Qbank scores compare to real scores. In other posts people claim their dean said to shoot for 65-70% overall, and in another post (same thread) somebody claims their school says that 58-60% overall indicates a high liklihood of passing. A while back I looked around where people posted their actual scores (which were, for the most part, well above average) along with their Qbank percentages, which seemed well >70% for the most part.

So, if anybody can offer a more definitive answer to this question, please share!
 
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In case anybody else is curious, I calculated the breakdown of Qbank questions by disciplins (not organ systems). Out of 2110 questions, the breakdown is like this:

1. Path 32.0%
2. Pathophys 11.5%
3. Micro 10.9%
4. Gross Anat 8.7%
5. Pharm 8.6%
6. Phys 4.9%
7. Immu 4.9%
8. Behavior 4.8%
9. Biochem 2.9%
10. Genetics 2.9%
11. Embryo 2.4%
12. Histo 1.9%
13. Cell Bio 1.4%
14. Biostats 1.3%
15. Molec Bio 0.9%

Now, the way Qbank categorizes questions is up for debate (I thought many of the histo questions were more cell bio), but whatever. I also think that path claims many other areas - like biochem (all those enzyme deficiencies show up under path), which I guess makes sense if you call any question dealing with abnormal anything path.

Does anybody what the breakdown is on the real exam? I suppose Qbank could "oversample" some areas and "undersample" others, intentionally or not. If the proportions are very similar to the real exam, that would make it alot easier to see how you're doing overall. I mean, I'm doing great on biostats, but I'm guessing that will be less than 2% of my exam.
 
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In other places on SDN people have marveled at how close Qbank is to the actual exam. I'm hoping this isn't just in the mechanics of how the exam software runs. Does this imply that some questions seemed to get repeated on the actual exam? Or is it more that there are only so many ways to ask about certain topics, and if you see and understand all of the Qbank questions dealing with that topic you'll be virtually certain to get it right on the real exam?
 
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Don't you think this time can be better spent STUDYING than THEORIZING. As stated by multiple people and lots of my friends, qbank is not like the q. on the real test, however, it is a useful learning tool. There is no use in theorizing the correlation, just study hard and learn from the q's. If anyting, use the NBME exams as a correlation. G'luck
 
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Last qbank score for me was 76%
 
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i heard from some students that if u can do qbank close to twice you are set. i'm not sure how that works though...after you finish it once do you just do random sets of 50 of all items again? i guess you may not remember answers but i wonder if time is better spent on other practice questions from other sources (appleton and lange, rapid review, etc). Any thoughts or suggestions?

My average hasn't been spectacular like some others on this boards..72% but it's been going up. What killed me was the anatomy and molec bio. Apparently I know nothing on either topic 🙁
 
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no matter what, i can't get higher than a 70% on qbank. study like a mf, and then get crushed by qbank at the end of the day. gggrrr!! i'm just praying my scores will improves as my knowledge base improves. others have said this. hope it's true.
good luck to everyone! :luck:
 
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Did anyone notice that on one of the micro questions they said that Aztreonam was not resistant to B-lactamase? As far as I can remember aztreonam is b-lactamase resistant--- 😕 I wonder how many other mistakes I'm studying in Qbank--- scary.
 
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Took Step 1 on Thursday. Easier than Qbank, harder than the 150 free questions. There wasn't as much path as I thought there would be, and more anatomy, biochem, cell bio, but maybe that's just 'cause I remember the questions I had trouble with. Good luck all!
 
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doing 72% with 50% done. mostly in blocks of 25 questions 2-3 times a day. all random. I go over all the answers and take notes on them. Studying so far has been relatively laid back, i have 3 weeks to go and will kick things into gear with 2 weeks to go. I scheduled prometric practice test next friday so i guess i'll figure out where i really am then.
In my opinion doing kaplan questions is not necessarily meant to help you learn the concepts on step 1. I think of it as a boxer that runs miles or lifts weights in preparation for a fight. It improves your endurance and sharpens your reasoning ability.
Otherwise, i think there are too many super easy questions (i've had 30 questions asking about epidural hemorrhage) and too many obscure wtf questions (especially with micro and cell bio). Just take it with a grain of salt and try to do the best you can.
 
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Does anyone know if the Qbank question stems, etc are generally shorter than the real thing? I seem to have alot of time left over on my question blocks, which is weird for me.

Thanks,
D
 
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I thought the Qbank length was pretty similar to the real thing. There were a few questions on the real thing that were 1 sentence, though. I had more time on the real thing than on Qbank, but this probably reflects the fact that I found Qbank to be a bit more difficult overall.
 
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Adcadet said:
I thought the Qbank length was pretty similar to the real thing. There were a few questions on the real thing that were 1 sentence, though. I had more time on the real thing than on Qbank, but this probably reflects the fact that I found Qbank to be a bit more difficult overall.
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You thought QBank was more difficult than Step 1?
 
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Adcadet said:
I thought the Qbank length was pretty similar to the real thing. There were a few questions on the real thing that were 1 sentence, though. I had more time on the real thing than on Qbank, but this probably reflects the fact that I found Qbank to be a bit more difficult overall.
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I thought the complete opposite. Towards the end of Qbank I was averaging 80-85% with an overall of 73%, doing randomized blocks 50 since the beginning. Seems to me Qbank just hits you with the same thing over and over again. You can key on one or two words and know the answer. This was not the case on the USMLE and if I got 73% on it I will lick my own...., well you get the idea. I felt like the USMLE took a shovel and smacked in the back of the head.
 
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smgilles said:
I thought the complete opposite. Towards the end of Qbank I was averaging 80-85% with an overall of 73%, doing randomized blocks 50 since the beginning. Seems to me Qbank just hits you with the same thing over and over again. You can key on one or two words and know the answer. This was not the case on the USMLE and if I got 73% on it I will lick my own...., well you get the idea. I felt like the USMLE took a shovel and smacked in the back of the head.
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Yes, Qbank seems to focus on fewer topics than the real thing (I did notice some topics came up a lot in Qbank, and there were some topics heavily covered in Qbank that didn't get a single question on my actual exam), but Qbank didn't have any 1-sentence questions like the real exam does (not many, but a few). I had 12-20 minutes left in each block after going through all the questions once on the real thing; in Qbank I'd usually finish a 50-question block with 10 minutes left.

I was in pretty good shape for the real exam (good night's sleep, confident, good breakfast, lunch, small snacks, good caffeine level), so maybe after so many late night sessions doing hundreds of Qbank questions and then painfully review each correct and incorrect answer the real thing seemed easier. But elsewhere I've seen people make the same comment about Qbank being slightly harder (although they may not have done every single Qbank question), so I don't think it's me.

And I did think the 150 released items were a little easier. If I got the same percentage correct as I did on the 150 released items I'll lick YOUR .... well, you get the idea.
 
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Adcadet said:
Yes, Qbank seems to focus on fewer topics than the real thing (I did notice some topics came up a lot in Qbank, and there were some topics heavily covered in Qbank that didn't get a single question on my actual exam), but Qbank didn't have any 1-sentence questions like the real exam does (not many, but a few). I had 12-20 minutes left in each block after going through all the questions once on the real thing; in Qbank I'd usually finish a 50-question block with 10 minutes left.

I was in pretty good shape for the real exam (good night's sleep, confident, good breakfast, lunch, small snacks, good caffeine level), so maybe after so many late night sessions doing hundreds of Qbank questions and then painfully review each correct and incorrect answer the real thing seemed easier. But elsewhere I've seen people make the same comment about Qbank being slightly harder (although they may not have done every single Qbank question), so I don't think it's me.

And I did think the 150 released items were a little easier. If I got the same percentage correct as I did on the 150 released items I'll lick YOUR .... well, you get the idea.
Click to expand...

Hope you did that well too.... 😀 j/k! I know what you mean about doing every question on Qbank though. Was getting quite tedious towards the end.
 
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Is anyone else having problems with Qbank today? I was on question #33 out of 50 and it crashed.
 
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ok so here's my dilemma:
im trying to decide if its worth my time to do IV Q-bank or if i should dedicate what little time i have left after finishing Q-bank to redoing the robbins review book questions or pretest-clinical diagnosis.
whats the quality on the IV questions? any ideas, or suggestions?
 
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Does Cryptococcus have urease activity or is this a mistake by Kaplan Qbank?
 
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Kluver_Bucy said:
Does Cryptococcus have urease activity or is this a mistake by Kaplan Qbank?
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Another way to make the diagnosis of cryptococcus menigitis is by culturing in urease (+) yeast, since the India Ink Stain is only positive in about 50% of cases.

So in the short, it does produce the enzyme urease.
 
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What is the cutoff for # of lymphocytes to suggest viral meningitis? One of the questions on Qbank pertained to this concept.
 
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Does the Qbank full-length simulation allow you to review all of the answers afterwards like the regular questions?

On that note, is it different in any way than just doing 350 "regular" qbank questions in timed mode?
 
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I'll begin studying this weekend and from what some MSIII have told me doing 2-3 hours of QBank in the evening is the way to go. After reading the threads here I have a couple of questions about what worked/didn't work for others:

Is it better to do it in the morning before hitting the books or at the end of the day?

Random or blocks of questions pertaining to the material covered that day?

Timed or untimed?

Thanks for any contributions in advance.
 
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Yes you can go back and review it all....i did that full length on saturday...and i just did 350 "regular" qbanks and the feel is totally diff, because on the simulated test, they have a full countdown like there will be on the real test (counting down from 8 hours) and it is set up to make you feel you are taking a real test (you dont have to "create" tests of 50)
 
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samyjay said:
Yes you can go back and review it all....i did that full length on saturday...and i just did 350 "regular" qbanks and the feel is totally diff, because on the simulated test, they have a full countdown like there will be on the real test (counting down from 8 hours) and it is set up to make you feel you are taking a real test (you dont have to "create" tests of 50)
Click to expand...

Someone told me the "simulated" exam was just a PDF document that you can read with descriptors (no questions).
 
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Hey has any1 looked at IV bank? How is it comparewd to Qbank?
Also, does any1 know how Robbins path questions compare with those on Qbank?
thanks!
 
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Maybe someone is trying to tell me that I should go into pulmonology (respiratory system) is at 95%. Dermatology (Skin/Connective Tissue) at 69% is anchoring me down!
 
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p53 said:
Maybe someone is trying to tell me that I should go into pulmonology (respiratory system) is at 95%. Dermatology (Skin/Connective Tissue) at 69% is anchoring me down!
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I'm going to be a genetic counselor (100%).
 
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Is it just me or are these last 250 qbank questions impossible to push thru...i think ive done like 2000 of them in the last two weeks, and i am taking the test one week from now...anyone else who has just a "few" qbank questions left feel the same way?
 
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samyjay said:
Is it just me or are these last 250 qbank questions impossible to push thru...i think ive done like 2000 of them in the last two weeks, and i am taking the test one week from now...anyone else who has just a "few" qbank questions left feel the same way?
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Yeah it is you. You are burning out. Go to the strip club tonite and drop a couple GW's in the G Strings.

Try again tomorrow.
 
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Hey all,
I'm devoting the next 7 days to path and am trying to decide if I should devote my time to Robbin's question book or worry more about q-bank. With the amount of time I have left (and my slow pace) I probably won't finish q-bank if I don't hit it pretty hard this week.

So, are Robbin's questions more worthwhile, or should I just stick with q-bank?

(I'd like to shoot for both, but I find that I get a little overwhelmed if I try to concentrate on too many sources at once).

Thanks.
 
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JMD said:
Hey all,
I'm devoting the next 7 days to path and am trying to decide if I should devote my time to Robbin's question book or worry more about q-bank. With the amount of time I have left (and my slow pace) I probably won't finish q-bank if I don't hit it pretty hard this week.

So, are Robbin's questions more worthwhile, or should I just stick with q-bank?

(I'd like to shoot for both, but I find that I get a little overwhelmed if I try to concentrate on too many sources at once).

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Well, if you get overwhelmed, then stick with one source--nothing worse than being counterproductive at this point. If you can, try to squeeze in 50 q's in AM, 50 in pm, or maybe even one set. I don't know how much time you have, but you can spend couple hrs in the morning, and spend the rest of the day doing robbins review, or whatever path source you are using. But, in the end, only you know yourself, and how you study. So, do what will give you the most for your buck.
 
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are any of you doing Qbook questions? are they helpful? I'm trying to decide if i should focus more on finishing qbank and maybe robbins review...

Also, are you doing unused only or unused and wrong? I think I might be able to recognize questions so I'm not sure if i should do the wrong ones again? Plus, i am getting low on time so would it be better to do robbins qs instead?
Thanks!
 
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Bounty said:
are any of you doing Qbook questions? are they helpful? I'm trying to decide if i should focus more on finishing qbank and maybe robbins review...

Also, are you doing unused only or unused and wrong? I think I might be able to recognize questions so I'm not sure if i should do the wrong ones again? Plus, i am getting low on time so would it be better to do robbins qs instead?
Thanks!
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if i had to choose it would be robbins Qs. also i didn't do the wrong ones in qbank until i finished it once all random, got that advice from last years mvp. as for qbook i liked it better then qbank, more vignettes.
 
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anyone finding the physiology questions difficult?
after taking the form 1 NBME, qbank seems way harder. and the convertions/math were nonexistant on the NBME form.
just curious if i was the only one
streetdoc
 
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I finally finished qbank...took me 20 days, all random blocks of 50..looks like i should be a cell biologist or an endocrinologist, definitely NOT a dermatologist...over all i got about 3 out of every 4 questions right
 
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samyjay said:
I finally finished qbank...took me 20 days, all random blocks of 50..looks like i should be a cell biologist or an endocrinologist, definitely NOT a dermatologist...over all i got about 3 out of every 4 questions right
Click to expand...
Sounds like you're gonna do pretty well on the real deal.
👍
 
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Pox in a box said:
I'm doing worse and worse and worse on anatomy questions.
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Me too I started off really good, but my score eventually went down while most peoples improve. 😡
 
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Is it just me or is the full length test Kaplan offers super-evil? I did a full 10 points lower on it than I have been on the Qbank! What's the deal?
 
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Or maybe I didn't do as bad as I thought and the answers are wrong! So the most common cause of bacterial menititis in a 19 year old is meninigococcus, Qbank, NOT pneumococcus. Just so you know. >:\

Grrrr.
 
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