Pull the trigger on UWorld?

[Captopril]

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I know UW has been discussed ad nauseum, but I have a legitimate questions regarding when to use UW.

I know alot of you have effectively used UW in your studying, and it is a great learning tool, but I'm just not sure how to use it exactly.

I have a few months left in my prep (test date= mid-July), and was wondering if I should buy UW 2-3 months before my test and do the questions based on what subjects I am studying at the time (e.g. if I'm reviewing Anatomy for 2-3 days, I do only UW Anatomy Q's in tutor mode for those days), or if I should wait until I have a good handle on the material and do UW in the last 3-4 weeks in random timed unused blocks.

Either way I would annotate FA with the explanations I find pertinent, but just want to know what the best way to use the Q's is. Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[FutureInternist]

I think most people use UW as a "learning" tool rather than a "gauge"...keeping that in mind, and if you have so much time available I don't see why you shouldn't but it now.

Another option, if you have the money, might be to buy Kaplan for now & use it as a learning tool & then use UW when you are 1 month out & can use your % correct to estimate your score....although I personally don't see any point in doing that.

Also, since you have so much time to do UW, if you go w/ that option, you are bound to go over it atleast twice in which case make sure you mark every Q the first time round, then on the 2nd time, choose "Marked only" & unmark them as you do them. This ensures no repeats.

Good Luck.

 

[Captopril]

Thanks for the info, friend. I was thinking about using NBME's more as a gauge, so I definitely want to use UW as a learning tool. I just wanted to know the most effective method to use it as a learning tool (i.e. random timed mode vs. subject based tutor mode).

 

[leahmaria]

Thanks for the info, friend. I was thinking about using NBME's more as a gauge, so I definitely want to use UW as a learning tool. I just wanted to know the most effective method to use it as a learning tool (i.e. random timed mode vs. subject based tutor mode).

My test date is mid June, and I am currently going through UW in little 5 question blocks (unused, untimed, random but only including systems we've covered in path so far). I'm doing about 15-20/day with the goal of being all the way through UW by early May when our classes end and study time begins. (I also go back occasionally and just re-do incorrect questions.) Then, I plan on going through UW again during my 5 weeks. I guess I don't care that my average then won't be able to "predict" anything, as my main goal is learning, and there are plenty of tools (NBMEs and UWorld assessments, etc) to gauge my progress.

I haven't yet tried the tutor mode, but doing them 5 at a time keeps them fresh in my head, but allows me to go back and change an answer before submitting. UW tracks the answer changes and lets you know how many you change from incorrect to correct and vise versa, so it's nice to know that I change an incorrect answer to a correct one about 3 times as often as i change a correct answer to an incorrect one. I think I'd miss out on that if I did it in tutor mode.

 

[FutureInternist]

Thanks for the info, friend. I was thinking about using NBME's more as a gauge, so I definitely want to use UW as a learning tool. I just wanted to know the most effective method to use it as a learning tool (i.e. random timed mode vs. subject based tutor mode).

I did tutor mode, since I would read all the notes on a particular topic then do all the Qs on that topic from UW. This made the learning easier since you are in the same area of the body for all Qs. It also makes note taking & reviewing the Qs later a lot easier.

EDIT :- I liked tutor mode more than the normal one since there just some Qs you come across that you HAVE to know the answer to right away 🙂, & I found myself speeding through the rest of the Qs in that block to get the explanation on that one Q....stupid??? sure...but that's the psychiatric d/o God gave me 🙂

 

[spospo]

just bought mine yesterday (3 month subscription). i take the test june 4th. i did 24 q today, tutor, every subject (except GI b/c we have yet to go over any GI stuff - only class left!)

i like random (not just one subject) b/c it keeps me on my toes. i get a little bored and rushed doing just one subject.

as for tutor mode, i think i am going to go back and forth between that and timed. i like tutor b/c i know i will forget my reasoning if i went to review it after the test. i also know i would speed through the explanations if i reviewed them all at once. i will do some timed though of course just to get my timing down