Q bank Micro- WTF?

[DarksideAllstar]

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Not sure about everyone else, but I find the types of questions that I have been asked have been about mo's that our class has never even talked about (like some obscure Group D strep). I did well on the micro shelf (95th percentile), but right now micro is my lowest scoring subject. Is this really representative of Step 1? Damn you Kaplan!

 

[Solace]

Not sure about everyone else, but I find the types of questions that I have been asked have been about mo's that our class has never even talked about (like some obscure Group D strep). I did well on the micro shelf (95th percentile), but right now micro is my lowest scoring subject. Is this really representative of Step 1? Damn you Kaplan!

That was what so crazy about micro on Qbank. I kept wondering when in the hell were they going to stop introducing me to bugs I have never even heard up.
They seem to go on and on with it but repetively seeing them in answer choices and reading the explanation to them will help you to grow familiar with them.

 

[Kosmo]

We didn't have to take shelf exams in pre-clinical years, so I never took the micro shelf. But I'm guessing the shelf exam is more representative of step 1. The shelf exams are, after all, made up of retired USMLE questions. You may have a single question on a relatively obscure bug, but I don't think I had a single question about a bug that wasn't mentioned in First Aid.
(I would recommend a firm grasp of antimicrobials, however.)

 

[DarksideAllstar]

We didn't have to take shelf exams in pre-clinical years, so I never took the micro shelf. But I'm guessing the shelf exam is more representative of step 1. The shelf exams are, after all, made up of retired USMLE questions. You may have a single question on a relatively obscure bug, but I don't think I had a single question about a bug that wasn't mentioned in First Aid.
(I would recommend a firm grasp of antimicrobials, however.)

Part of the problem is that I dont think some of these bugs they have asked about have been in First Aid (and possibly not in MMRS). This isn't going to really change how I study, but it is a little alarming. Thanks for your replies.

 

[78222]

I've never even heard of some of the bugs mentioned in qbank micro - it would be one thing if it happened occassionally - but it's like every other question is some obscure bug. Also, wtf is up with all the parasite questions??

 

[doctorFred]

as i've mentioned in other posts, kaplan has a tendency to ask a lot more of those obscure, ultra-difficult questions that you'll see on step 1. so qbank tends to be a lot harder than the real thing, which i think is kind of the point.

 

[lion]

as i've mentioned in other posts, kaplan has a tendency to ask a lot more of those obscure, ultra-difficult questions that you'll see on step 1. so qbank tends to be a lot harder than the real thing, which i think is kind of the point.

the trend seems to be that Kaplan Qbank tests irrevelant facts and material , to wit the difficulty of such kaplan questions is no index of a potential close approximation of exam content ...this seems to be the trend ..in less words , kaplan being more difcult according to you doesn't mean that it is an effective q bank ..

 

[HIJay]

i will second or third that. kaplan micro has bugs i have never seen, heard, and read about before.

i am starting to think they are making stuff up now

 

[Doctor Bagel]

Well, this is making me feel better because I've been doing pretty poorly on Kaplan's micro.

 

[osli]

I asked pretty much the same thing here a week or two ago, and the general answer was that Kaplan micro is on crack and not very representative of the USMLE.

In my case, I'm familiar with pretty much all of the bugs mentioned but not familiar enough to answer the questions asked. In fact, I'm not familiar enough with any bugs to answer many of the questions asked... i.e., I might know it is strep mutans or listeria or bacillus cereus or whatever responsible for the clinical presentation described, but I have no chance in hell of getting a question right asking what method that bug uses to store or exchange genetic information encoding resistance genes to the most frequently prescribed antibiotic for treatment. I mean, WTF!?! As of two weeks ago I had seen about 20 of those questions, and just this week I've seen another three or four in maybe 200 questions.

 

[MedLover25]

weird.

my school goes crazy with micro, naming nearly every possible organism it could be - and we have to study all of them.

then whenever anyone does Q bank - it's almost a joke. They give you SOOOO many hints on what the organism is most of the time.

but then again, studying for micro here is insane, lol.

 

[InternationlDoc]

weird.

my school goes crazy with micro, naming nearly every possible organism it could be - and we have to study all of them.

then whenever anyone does Q bank - it's almost a joke. They give you SOOOO many hints on what the organism is most of the time.

but then again, studying for micro here is insane, lol.

HAven't covered parasites yet, a tough school course, Qbank seems like a joke on micro.

I think Anatomy and some pharm topics are the toughest on the Qbank - specially anatomy is very tough to study for.

 

[osli]

weird.

my school goes crazy with micro, naming nearly every possible organism it could be - and we have to study all of them.

then whenever anyone does Q bank - it's almost a joke. They give you SOOOO many hints on what the organism is most of the time.

but then again, studying for micro here is insane, lol.

Figuring out the organism on Kaplan is easy... figuring out how to answer question after identifying the organism isn't necessarily so easy...

Probably half at most of Qbank micro questions ask you to simply identify the organism. The rest go on to ask about treatment (not that common), another organism that has the same mechanism of "insert something here" (more common), or how resistance genes are stored and/or transmitted in that particular organism (common).

 

[Doctor Bagel]

or how resistance genes are stored and/or transmitted in that particular organism (common).

I hate these. I have no clue because we didn't emphasize this at all in my micro class, and it's not a big topic in the CMMRS book either.

 

[DwyaneWade]

klebsiella rhinoscleroma??? 😱😱😱😱

 

[HIJay]

haha...yea wtf?
kaplan is just randomly throwing 2 latin words together and voila, a new bug...at least thats my hypothesis

 

[osli]

klebsiella rhinoscleroma??? 😱😱😱😱

That would be one that would qualify as a 'WTF'?!

 

[zedx]

sheesh, they're really getting desperate for questions then. I dont see why they'd go as far as to bring up subspecies of a bacteria

 

[DwyaneWade]

That would be one that would qualify as a 'WTF'?!

even better, they didn't name the bug (of course). They just gave a patient description of African rhinoscleroma and then asked for best treatment (tetracycline

 

[Pinkertinkle]

cardiobacterium.

 

[osli]

even better, they didn't name the bug (of course). They just gave a patient description of African rhinoscleroma and then asked for best treatment (tetracycline

I'm surprised that they didn't ask what other antibiotic would have the same organism to organism resistance transfer mechanism as the resistance gene to the best treatment for the likely causative agent in the case described. It's the Kaplan Way as far as micro goes...

 

[PeepshowJohnny]

I'm surprised that they didn't ask what other antibiotic would have the same organism to organism resistance transfer mechanism as the resistance gene to the best treatment for the likely causative agent in the case described. It's the Kaplan Way as far as micro goes...

How about: "Which of the following is the most common reported side effect of the other antibiotic agent that would have the same organism to organism resistance transfer mechanism as the resistance gene to the best treatment for the likely causative agent in the case described?"

 

[HIJay]

How about: "Which of the following is the most common reported side effect of the other antibiotic agent that would have the same organism to organism resistance transfer mechanism as the resistance gene to the best treatment for the likely causative agent in the case described?"

what the....
im so confused

 

[osli]

How about: "Which of the following is the most common reported side effect of the other antibiotic agent that would have the same organism to organism resistance transfer mechanism as the resistance gene to the best treatment for the likely causative agent in the case described?"

Hey, I think I saw that exact question last night!