POUNDED on COMLEX II

[hooperg]

Anyone else get totally and utterly slammed on COMLEX II? From those at my school with whom I've spoken that took form B09C specifically, their exam scores were terrible too.

Anyone else have problems with B09C? I was 150 points lower on Step 2 than Step 1 👎

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[It'sElectric]

Well done. That's a ridonculous improvement!

 

[bonesawz]

I'll keep it short and sweet. 200+ point improvement from Step I....777 (Jackpot!!!)😀

Gotta ask....what are you going into with that score? surgeon general?

 

[SOUNDMAN]

Gotta ask....what are you going into with that score? surgeon general?

Well atleast you can be the assistant surgeon general with your score. Congrats again!

 

[superscreen]

Thanks everyone for sharing your comments.
I made a 398 on step 2, wondering if I should request a rescore as most people have commented no change, I don't want to waste $50. Thanks for your advice.

 

[OMMFan]

Has anyone else noticed the NBOME no longer lists the exam form on the score report? Mine disappeared from my Step 1 score a while back and the form for Step 2 was not listed with the scores I got today. I wonder if it has something to do with the uproar over form B09C.

 

[J1515]

Has anyone else noticed the NBOME no longer lists the exam form on the score report? Mine disappeared from my Step 1 score a while back and the form for Step 2 was not listed with the scores I got today. I wonder if it has something to do with the uproar over form B09C.

For the last time, there is no "form B09C." Everybody who took step II in 2009 had that listed next to their score.

 

[OMMFan]

For the last time, there is no "form B09C." Everybody who took step II in 2009 had that listed next to their score.

Sorry man, I didn't know that. I took step II in 2009 and it's not next to my score.

 

[Rags2]

My score dropped 103 points on step 2 and honestly I studied better for step 2. My USMLE score went up 1 point so I don't know what the deal is with the COMLEX. Best of luck

 

[HELLENICSCHOLAR]

My score dropped from 562 to 337. Everyone that I know had a 150 to 200 pt drop in their score.

How do we know which exam we had? Is there anyway to find out?

 

[OMMFan]

My score dropped from 562 to 337. Everyone that I know had a 150 to 200 pt drop in their score.

How do we know which exam we had? Is there anyway to find out?

I do not know whether there are specific "forms" for the computerized COMLEX (read above that I was mistaken about this). I do know that I have seen every possible score change, including no change, among classmates and SDNers. However, a 200+ point change seems excessive, so I would guess there are reasons for such a dramatic change in your score profile.

Assuming the score is not a mistake, it is probably a good idea to identify areas for improvement. Some questions that spring to mind are: Prior to taking the exam did you feel well prepared? Did you use a question bank and/or practice exams to gauge your performance? If so, did your actual score dramatically differ from your anticipated score? How did you feel walking out of the exam? In general, how accurate are your post-exam performance expectations? You might also compare to your performance on 3rd year shelf exams or school-specific rotation exams.

 

[HELLENICSCHOLAR]

I thought that I rocked the exam. Primarily used USMLE World to prep for Step 2 and passed all shelf exams with no problem. My roomate had a 650 on Step I and scored 459 on Step 2.

It seems that people I know that used U World took a hit. I was truly shocked. LECOM Clinical Ed said that the average pass rate is down to 85% nationally from 94%.

I'm sure there are different exams given on different days. How do we know which one we had in the end?

 

[Scorcher31]

to be honest im not sure that there really are different set exams. On my step 1 I had the same or similar questions asked about 4 times on marfans. These questions were all single (non multipart questions) and noone handpicking questions would have put them over and over again in a test. It leads me to the thought that questions are randomly assembled from some giant bank similar to what would happen if you went to qbank and said give me 100 question test on every topic.

I can tell you that the grade changes on step 2 do seem very odd. Most people in my school dropped by around 100 points. i went from a low 500's to a low 600's although I significantly changed how i studied for step 2 and barely studied for step 1. I never feel comfortable coming out of these things so that was the same for both step 1 and step 2.

For whatever reason most people who dropped a lot on this exam said they felt they did good, rocked it, or the test wasn't bad coming out. As for what that means I'm not sure. Perhaps some questions are incorrect, perhaps some poorly worded questions that people think are one thing on first glance? Did you use Savarese to study OMM? Combank was nice practice but, more was needed to prep for OMM.

 

[OMMFan]

Just speculation here, but since the exam is computerized the NBOME might be able to easily vary the exams on a given day. You might want to check with the NBOME. Your post-exam expectations and actual score differ so greatly that it seems worth checking into.

My Step 2 score increased from Step 1, though I did reasonably well on both. At the end of the day I thought my performance could have been better but hoped for the best. I did not think I rocked the exam, but I typically have a cautious outlook about my exam performance until I get score feedback.

I used mainly UW, some Combank, and took both COMSAE versions. UW helped somewhat for the exam and definitely helped to improve my performance on clinical rotations.

 

[ShyRem]

I thought I did pretty ok on the exam walking out. Definitely knew I'd passed. Got 75 points higher than level 1. Level 1, BTW, I was almost crying walking out and had no clue whatsoever; but I still passed around average.

I used Board Boot Camp prep (won it during test prep week!), and used Combank. Didn't bother with COMSAE as I'd heard it was pretty worthless this year. One thing I did for level 2 was spread out my review. Level 1 was difficult to do this for a variety of reasons, but I had time to really spread out my review for level 2. And it definitely helped with my stress level. Took no time at all off of rotations to study (took the time off AFTER the exam to enjoy my family for a couple weeks). Thought the OMM questions were level 1 material, but I had a LOT of OMM during third year.

I have heard of a lot of people doing very poorly on level 2. I don't know what the problem has been, but rescores have not been successful. Your best bet is to study and retake the beast.

 

[scpod]

The thing to keep in mind is that COMLEX is just not like the USMLE. The style of questions are totally different and you have to learn to adapt to them. USMLE questions tend to be longer, give you 5 or 6 clues to the answer, and give you a few distractors as well. You need to take all the information and weed through it in order to determine the best answer.

COMLEX questions are short and give you like 2 hints.... and you either know it or you don't. They simply want the most likely answer and it's probably the first one that jumps into your head. Yes, 4 of the answers can present the same way and there is not enough information to distinguish between them-- so, you go with percentages and pick the most likely answer. They really aren't asking you to think all that hard. In fact, thinking too much can cause you to miss the obvious.

 

[Rags2]

While everything you said above is true about the style of the tests I don't think this would cause so much variance as everyone is taking a similar test whether it be the comlex or the usmle. Are you saying that because a person is better at taking the usmle their knowledge base and test taking skills drop that much for the comlex? I stayed about the same on my usmle step 2 but my comlex drops over 100 points. The posts on this thread are in no means representative of what is really going on but I believe there is a flaw with how the comlex is being scored based on my n=1 lol. Just my opinion. Best of luck to all.

 

[badgerred]

I thought that I rocked the exam. Primarily used USMLE World to prep for Step 2 and passed all shelf exams with no problem. My roomate had a 650 on Step I and scored 459 on Step 2.

It seems that people I know that used U World took a hit. I was truly shocked. LECOM Clinical Ed said that the average pass rate is down to 85% nationally from 94%.

I'm sure there are different exams given on different days. How do we know which one we had in the end?

I got a 595 and the reason is because I specifically didn't use UW. I studied for it like it was a different exam and that paid off. I didn't even touch UW while preparing for COMLEX. I focused on COMLEX specific study aids like COMBANK and COMQUEST while knowing Savarese cold. UW is a terrible tool for the COMLEX because it focuses on zebras, pathophysiology and mechanisms while the COMLEX focuses on basic information but with an emphasis on management (diagnostic tools and treatment). Almost every question on the COMLEX will provide a scenario in which you have to figure out what the disease is and then the question will ask something related to diagnosis(What's the first test, what imaging test would you order, what labs would you order, what might be seen on labs) or treatment (what's the first intervention)

I used a lot of other sources too like Boards Boot Camp questions which I thought were a waste IMHO. What helped me the most was repeating the COMBANK and COMQUEST. I saw a lot of the same principles tested. The COMQUEST was by far the best tool and if I have to recommend one Q-bank, I would go with that but I am recommending you do both Q-banks. Together, they comprise of about 1700 questions.

And there is no text book that can help you prepare for the COMLEX CE because no book does a good job telling you what the first test to order is or what's the first treatment or intervention. You have to do those Q-banks especially COMQUEST because it trains you on management.

The only books I found helpful for the COMLEX were Boards and Wards and USMLE Secrets. BW provides the base of your knowledge whereas Secrets can supplement some random bits of knowledge.

I think the reason for the failed scores isn't due to a lack of knowledge but a failure to accept that the COMLEX is an entirely different test especially for part II. People don't want to accept that and use UW and Secrets like they are studying for USMLE Step 2 and then go into the test experiencing shell shock. If people study for it like it's a different test, they will do fine.

 

[It'sElectric]

I got a 595 and the reason is because I specifically didn't use UW. I studied for it like it was a different exam and that paid off. I didn't even touch UW while preparing for COMLEX. I focused on COMLEX specific study aids like COMBANK and COMQUEST while knowing Savarese cold. UW is a terrible tool for the COMLEX because it focuses on zebras, pathophysiology and mechanisms while the COMLEX focuses on basic information but with an emphasis on management (diagnostic tools and treatment). Almost every question on the COMLEX will provide a scenario in which you have to figure out what the disease is and then the question will ask something related to diagnosis(What's the first test, what imaging test would you order, what labs would you order, what might be seen on labs) or treatment (what's the first intervention)

I used a lot of other sources too like Boards Boot Camp questions which I thought were a waste IMHO. What helped me the most was repeating the COMBANK and COMQUEST. I saw a lot of the same principles tested. The COMQUEST was by far the best tool and if I have to recommend one Q-bank, I would go with that but I am recommending you do both Q-banks. Together, they comprise of about 1700 questions.

And there is no text book that can help you prepare for the COMLEX CE because no book does a good job telling you what the first test to order is or what's the first treatment or intervention. You have to do those Q-banks especially COMQUEST because it trains you on management.

The only books I found helpful for the COMLEX were Boards and Wards and USMLE Secrets. BW provides the base of your knowledge whereas Secrets can supplement some random bits of knowledge.

I think the reason for the failed scores isn't due to a lack of knowledge but a failure to accept that the COMLEX is an entirely different test especially for part II. People don't want to accept that and use UW and Secrets like they are studying for USMLE Step 2 and then go into the test experiencing shell shock. If people study for it like it's a different test, they will do fine.

To play devil's advocate of sorts...I used only UWorld and Secrets. I studied as if I were only taking the USMLE Step II, with a brief review of OMM using a study guide provided by my school (same study guide I used for Step I).

No drop in my Step II score.

 

[badgerred]

To play devil's advocate of sorts...I used only UWorld and Secrets. I studied as if I were only taking the USMLE Step II, with a brief review of OMM using a study guide provided by my school (same study guide I used for Step I).

No drop in my Step II score.

There are people who can read Secrets twice and do no Qbank and score 250 on USMLE Step II.

 

[bonesawz]

To play devil's advocate of sorts...I used only UWorld and Secrets. I studied as if I were only taking the USMLE Step II, with a brief review of OMM using a study guide provided by my school (same study guide I used for Step I).

No drop in my Step II score.

I have to endorse that same approach. I used UW and step up to medicine and a day and a half of omm review (same review for step one). I did combank 4 months before the test and made notes on ones I missed that I could review in an afternoon. Went up 114 points from a good step one score. I wouldn't approach UW to learn the personality of the questions, but practice rapid critical thinking and read every explanation just to expand your knowledge base. Comlex 2 is the jeopardy of medicine. Random facts you picked up during third year will come back to you, so trust your gut like someone said earlier.

 

[It'sElectric]

There are people who can read Secrets twice and do no Qbank and score 250 on USMLE Step II.

Trust me, I'm not those people. Just as bonesawz says above, UWorld should be used (in my opinion) as a study tool - thoroughly read ALL of the explanations to every question.

Don't get me wrong, COMLEX will inevitably throw in some random garbage that's hard to decipher, but there's also a lot of basic, to the point questions in there. I feel for everyone that got on this garbage exam. I'm just providing the other perspective...I really can't say enough good things about UWorld.

 

[badgerred]

Trust me, I'm not those people. Just as bonesawz says above, UWorld should be used (in my opinion) as a study tool - thoroughly read ALL of the explanations to every question.

Don't get me wrong, COMLEX will inevitably throw in some random garbage that's hard to decipher, but there's also a lot of basic, to the point questions in there. I feel for everyone that got on this garbage exam. I'm just providing the other perspective...I really can't say enough good things about UWorld.

I agree. If you can do UW in addition to the other Q-banks, that's ideal. I'm speaking to those who failed or are concerned with passing and can only realistically focus on a couple of sources because they have limited time or are slower with regard to finishing question banks. Many of you haven't seen COMQUEST since it is a relatively new product but those who have done it would probably agree it's the best test question bank for the COMLEX.

 

[jakstat]

I'll prob take badgerred's approach. I failed comlex2 and used uworld and combank but only for the OMT questions. I had about 2months to study. went through first aid about 3x. Then during the test felt like there was not really any questions that required hard thinking. Not to the level of qworld at least. Also when doing the uworld questions, I got to the point where I could pick out the answer just by elimination or looking at what the question was really asking for.

That is totally not the case with comlex questions. Either you narrow it to 2 and guess or you guess completely. if you have now idea what the question is asking then your out of luck. I believe thats what happend to me on half the questions on comlex2. i would read them and say wtf?...ok I have no idea...well from my experience on rotations I would pick this. Rarely was I able to narrow down the answer by looking at the question and answers.

 

[BLA]

I completely agree with badgerred 👍 I used UW and COMQUEST and am REALLY happy I did COMQUEST before taking the real thing. The question styles and subjects were spot on. I liked UW, but it is just not made for the COMLEX. I think you're right that the more question banks, the better just to cover a more broad scope of medicine. However, if I had to choose only one question bank, it would be COMQUEST. It is the USMLEWorld of the COMLEX. I think taking notes on their explanations, reviewing Secrets Step II, and spending a good half day with Savarese is the best way to tackle this. There are the questions that no source can prepare you for but I didn't let those get to me during the test. If time and resources permit, UW is a good to supplement for exposure on topics CQ may not cover - but UW alone is not a good idea.

 

[oreosandsake]

anyone else see drop big time from comlex 1 to comlex 2?

most of my friends who took it already dropped, some as much as 100 points.

i haven't taken it yet, and this thread is making me really nervous =(

 

[hooperg]

Guys, I think I've discovered how the NBOME has changed its scoring standards...

http://s941.photobucket.com/albums/ad253/hooperg83woot/?action=view&current=ComlexScoring.jpg

 

[Penhead]

My second chance at the Comlex CE went a lot better this time. My complex one was in the 550s, then Comlex two was in the 350s. My retake was in the 480s.

I did not use Combank or USMLE World this time.

Just two weeks of Pre-test books (Medicine, OB, Peds, and Family) and One week hard of COMQUEST. The Pre-test books were very good and I absolutely loved COMQUEST !!!

Hope this helps.

 

[kltiger13]

COMQUEST/Combank is what I used to study for my 2nd attempt at Step 2 and it seemed to work...I passed. I will use the same strategy for step 3.

 

[hooperg]

Just got an e-mail from the director of our school's office of board prep. It confirms our suspicions of STEP II CK, but form B09C was not to blame per se. The entire exam had been modified, without warning, to make it much more difficult and the standards changed. The national pass rate dropped to 84%.

Epic fail, NBOME.

 

[J1515]

Just got an e-mail from the director of our school's office of board prep. It confirms our suspicions of STEP II CK, but form B09C was not to blame per se. The entire exam had been modified, without warning, to make it much more difficult and the standards changed. The national pass rate dropped to 84%.

Epic fail, NBOME.

I don't think there's anything wrong with making it more difficult. Too many people pass the COMLEX and then can't pass the USMLE, leading PDs to think that COMLEX is an easier test (I know i know, we're not taught to pass the USMLE, blah blah blah)...

The test is still curved, so there are obviously still people passing and doing well even with the more difficult test.

 

[hooperg]

My gripes are with the completely unannounced nature of this change and with the absent follow-up as to why they changed the standards. Furthermore, the fact that they abruptly changed the standards rather than titrate them makes our entire class look poor and significantly hurts many of us in the match process.

 

[J1515]

My gripes are with the completely unannounced nature of this change and with the absent follow-up as to why they changed the standards. Furthermore, the fact that they abruptly changed the standards rather than titrate them makes our entire class look poor and significantly hurts many of us in the match process.

Agreed, it's not cool making sudden changes and not telling anyone about this, although theoretically what would you do even if they did tell you? Is there an official announcement anywhere? Or is it just hearsay right now?

 

[hooperg]

We got a class-wide e-mail from our school boards coordinator. The information he is relaying is coming from a dean who was at a national meeting. I have yet to see any formal announcement from the NBOME/AOA though I'll keep looking and post if it comes out.


As per the standards, that's a good question. I'm not exactly sure what could be done, as my friends and I (along with a huge number of people on here it seems) studied very hard and very thoroughly for the exam only to get slammed. Others, conversely, are reporting great scores with similar study regimens. So, I am at a loss.

Either way, what they did was unprofessional, unethical, and very injurious to our careers.

 

[DD214_DOC]

Great, so glad I found this thread 3 days before I take the test. 🙄

 

[IMDoc607]

Unbelievable

 

[DD214_DOC]

Took it this morning. Honestly, I didn't think it was all that bad. I feel much better about this than I did part I. We will see if I don't eat my words in 4-6 weeks; hopefully I won't.

Seems I kept getting the same question over and over. Nothing too crazy. I did doubt myself a lot, so if I don't pass it's because I changed too many answers.

Did COMBANK and COMQUEST along with Savarese. Probably 2300 practice questions in total. Felt that COMQUEST was much more useful than COMBANK. The OMT wasn't as detailed as I thought it would be. Some peds stuff I wasn't as well prepared for.

Here's wishing luck to me. Hopefully I won't be taking this thing again.

 

[jpy700]

I got my COMLEX 2 CE result, I passed but was disappointed with the score. I did alot better on my COMLEX Step 1 (by almost 150 points). I prepared for COMLEX 2 using the CRUSH Step2 study guide (which I felt was quite good in reviewing high yield material) and USMLEworld step2 for practice questions. Though the USMLEworld is excellent for Step 1 (which I used), in hindsight the step 2 USMLEworld qbank is probably not the best choice in terms of preparing for COMLEX 2 CE for a couple of reasons: Question stems in COMLEX 2 CE are alot shorter and sometimes ambiguous in what's being asked. UMSLEworld trains you by recognizing salient info and ignoring the distracters in a question stem and thus you sort of develop a more systemic approach to fact gathering to come up with a logical answer based on your level of understanding of the question and your clinical knowledge base. With COMLEX 2 CE questions, however, I was often left with the feeling of needing a bit more info about a clinical vignette or case to make an appropriate response since I felt many of the questions had multiple correct answer choices especially in areas of medical management, H&P’s, and systems-based practice. Unfortunately there is only one right answer according to the test writer. I've taken alot of standardized exams in the past including GMAT, GRE, and even the DAT many yrs ago and I'd have to say the COMLEX step 2 CE is one of the more poorly written standardized exams in recent memory. And some of the provided images of CT scans, x-rays, MRIs were of poor quality and resolution. My advice: when it comes to choosing COMLEX 2 practice questions- look to Qbanks that are specifically geared for COMLEX and MAYBE consider trying out NBOME’s COMSAE practice step 2 exam (personally I did not find it all that helpful since it was somewhat limited in questions and did not provide answer explanations). As for study guides, I liked CRUSH step2 but I'm sure there are others that are comparable like First Aid UMSLE 2 CK, etc. As for OMM, I felt the OMT Review 3rd ed by Dr. Savarese was good enough for the exam. Good luck

 

[HELLENICSCHOLAR]

I got hammered on Step 2 using U World and a little bit of COMBANK. Is COMQUEST better than COMBANK? COMQUEST told me that they only have a total of 900 questions in the databank which would take 9 days max taking it at an easy pace.

The COMLEX tends to have very ambiguous questions and is not as well written as the USMLE which I believe is a much better guage of a student's medical knowledge.

Probably why most MD Programs won't accept the COMLEX.

 

[NonTradDO]

I got hammered on Step 2 using U World and a little bit of COMBANK. Is COMQUEST better than COMBANK? COMQUEST told me that they only have a total of 900 questions in the databank which would take 9 days max taking it at an easy pace.

The COMLEX tends to have very ambiguous questions and is not as well written as the USMLE which I believe is a much better guage of a student's medical knowledge.

Probably why most MD Programs won't accept the COMLEX.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=665756

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=653243

 

[DD214_DOC]

So, the more I think back about the test, the more irrtated/angry and less confident I become. I guess this is a pretty normal thing?

Realizing I glanced over one or two words in some of the questions I wasn't 100% sure about and got them wrong. 😡 COMLEX does a pretty good job of trying to elicit a gut response that tends to be wrong.

 

[tsdesai]

I studied for USMLE Step II and COMLEX II together and did UW questions with some review books and an OMM book. Unfortunately, my score dropped 120 points on COMLEX but USMLE score went up 15 points from step I. I was very much surprised and embarassed to say the least. So i agree with above ppl that UW not the best for COMLEX. That exam has random questions that are impossible to fit in one book. I had a lot of administrative questions like which agency to contact and which national agency oversees certain issue. Kinda stuff i wouldn't expect an intern to know yet. My two cents.

 

[IMDoc607]

The NBOME should be ashamed that they did this to their students. They did nothing but injure our career. I went up but VERY little which I think is also hurtful. The more and more I go along I want nothing to do with those people. They are such a terrible organization.

 

[DrKeys]

Actually, it is really not their fault because people studied for the "wrong" exam. Assuming COMLEX and USMLE are the same exam is people's biggest mistake. This assumption is made by medical students who want to nail "two birds with one stone" to study 1 material for 2 different exams.

I'm not all surprised by people's result because they focus their study for USMLE and expected to do well at COMLEX. It's like saying You studied for bacteriology and expected to do well at parasitology.

For comlex, all you really need is just boards and wards, savarese, study for your 3rd year clinical end of service exams, and do some practice questions using COMSAE phase 2 form A and B. to get at least 550+ on COMLEX (knowing some buzz words, on clinical presentation, or signs. Boards and wards is awesome for this) plus you need to know the "Normal" variations and know when to just do "nothing" and reassur patients.

For USMLE, you need to use UW, secrets, NBME forms, boards and wards, do a lot of questions and know the treatment and management algorithms and potential differential diagnosis given some "evidences" that will tip you towards 1 dx vs another. Usually every scenario the patient has some sort of disease or another it force to come up with a dx every time.

I have taken USMLE Step 1, COMLEX 1, USMLE Step 2 and COMLEX 2. Seriously, they're totally two different exams. don't fall in the trap or be lazy try to study for 1 exam and expect to do well on both.

😱 this message should actually be a "Sticky" so people in the future can read and not ask the same question over and over again.

 

[ShyRem]

DrKeys, unfortunately even if this were made a sticky people would still ask the same question in another couple of weeks. You wouldn't believe the number of times we refer people to active threads with the very same questions that have already been discussed. Sometimes the two threads are literally right next to each other on the page.

 

[DD214_DOC]

So it seems people who are experiencing the 100+ point drops didn't even bother studying specifically for COMLEX?

I really hate this post-exam anxiety. Why, oh why, must we wait four weeks?

 

[nudmamer]

As you can tell by my post count I do not comment often, but this topic is something I feel strongly about and have talked at great lengths about. This whole separate test, holistic teaching, "we treat people" is one of history’s greatest fallacies. If you got around a 550 or so on COMLEX ONE than sure your grade may have gone up, but if you were in that 1 or 2 standard deviations above average it is a crap shoot if your exam goes down or stays the same. I have not received my grade on COMLEX but I am sure it dropped, but post after post says "my USMLE score stayed the same or went up, but COMLEX went down." This is because the test is highly inconsistent and written by people who do not write tests well PERIOD!!!! The people that say oh you didn't study correctly, or you missed the osteopathic philosophy in third year are the same people trying to convince interviewers that they went to D.O. school because they love the osteopathic philosophy instead of just coming to terms with his or her 3.1 GPA or 25 on the MCAT. I am sorry if I offended someone, but I am growing so tired of the smoke and mirrors these institutions have created charging us tons of money to go to schools that flat out undeniably provide inferior education and inferior examinations. What in the world did you learn in your clinical rotations that your M.D. counterparts did not learn that helped you on COMLEX, I would love to hear someone fabricate the answer to this question. USMLE=Chess an examination based on problem solving difficult complex situations and coming up with the most intelligible answer, COMLEX=jeopardy a exam with a random number of questions that you may or may not have heard of that requires basically no thought process whatsoever period!

 

[IMDoc607]

As you can tell by my post count I do not comment often, but this topic is something I feel strongly about and have talked at great lengths about. This whole separate test, holistic teaching, "we treat people" is one of history’s greatest fallacies. If you got around a 550 or so on COMLEX ONE than sure your grade may have gone up, but if you were in that 1 or 2 standard deviations above average it is a crap shoot if your exam goes down or stays the same. I have not received my grade on COMLEX but I am sure it dropped, but post after post says "my USMLE score stayed the same or went up, but COMLEX went down." This is because the test is highly inconsistent and written by people who do not write tests well PERIOD!!!! The people that say oh you didn't study correctly, or you missed the osteopathic philosophy in third year are the same people trying to convince interviewers that they went to D.O. school because they love the osteopathic philosophy instead of just coming to terms with his or her 3.1 GPA or 25 on the MCAT. I am sorry if I offended someone, but I am growing so tired of the smoke and mirrors these institutions have created charging us tons of money to go to schools that flat out undeniably provide inferior education and inferior examinations. What in the world did you learn in your clinical rotations that your M.D. counterparts did not learn that helped you on COMLEX, I would love to hear someone fabricate the answer to this question. USMLE=Chess an examination based on problem solving difficult complex situations and coming up with the most intelligible answer, COMLEX=jeopardy a exam with a random number of questions that you may or may not have heard of that requires basically no thought process whatsoever period!

1. Agree with statement number 1
2. Agree 100% with inferior exams but I disagree with inferior education

 

[IMDoc607]

Actually, it is really not their fault because people studied for the "wrong" exam. Assuming COMLEX and USMLE are the same exam is people's biggest mistake. This assumption is made by medical students who want to nail "two birds with one stone" to study 1 material for 2 different exams.

I'm not all surprised by people's result because they focus their study for USMLE and expected to do well at COMLEX. It's like saying You studied for bacteriology and expected to do well at parasitology.

For comlex, all you really need is just boards and wards, savarese, study for your 3rd year clinical end of service exams, and do some practice questions using COMSAE phase 2 form A and B. to get at least 550+ on COMLEX (knowing some buzz words, on clinical presentation, or signs. Boards and wards is awesome for this) plus you need to know the "Normal" variations and know when to just do "nothing" and reassur patients.

For USMLE, you need to use UW, secrets, NBME forms, boards and wards, do a lot of questions and know the treatment and management algorithms and potential differential diagnosis given some "evidences" that will tip you towards 1 dx vs another. Usually every scenario the patient has some sort of disease or another it force to come up with a dx every time.

I have taken USMLE Step 1, COMLEX 1, USMLE Step 2 and COMLEX 2. Seriously, they're totally two different exams. don't fall in the trap or be lazy try to study for 1 exam and expect to do well on both.

😱 this message should actually be a "Sticky" so people in the future can read and not ask the same question over and over again.

It is absolutely their fault, but I agree with your assessment of the COMLEX vs USMLE. I know people who rocked level 1 and got destroyed on level 2. They only studied for COMLEX. Truthfully, if you read this thread you will see plenty of people dropped tremendously. I improved but not by much. I find it hard to believe that all these people who dropped so much was due to studying for the wrong exam.

 

[ShyRem]

And if you read through the thread you'll also find people who did better on level 2.

 

[IMDoc607]

And if you read through the thread you'll also find people who did better on level 2.

Yea.....so whats your point? Are you trying to say that the majority of people on this thread did better? I think not. The increase in scores that you always hear from people did not happen this year. I know plenty of people that echo the same results that people on this thread do. The national pass rate dropped to 84%.....self-explanatory