QBank: Take tests by discipline or "mixed"?

[amy2003uva]

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I'm currently taking 50q blocks based on the discipline I'm studying at the moment, and am taking "mixed" (random) 50q exams on Sundays.

How are you all using Qbank/USMLEworld? My husband is doing only mixed exams and I wonder which approach is better.

 

[TX_Longhorn]

amy,

try doin both. doin 50 mixed a day is the key. u might start out low but u ll go up as u relearn old stuff. in addition, try doin a few more questions pertaining to what ur studin for that day.

 

[blz]

I start the day off with 50 questions mixed (of topics I've already covered, I keep adding each day with new topics finished - that way I keep getting refreshed) then finish the day off with 50 questions of the topic I was studying. It's good to do questions first thing in the morning because it kick starts the day (I always have trouble starting.) I'm a little against the totally random question thing because I think it's stupid to just do questions about topics you haven't studied yet because 1) you get stupid questions wrong because you didn't sit down and memorize a detail 2) your score is less of a reflection of your abilities and 3) it takes longer to review your answers if it's something you haven't covered. I like this method because I don't have to spend over an hour going over questions I've gotten wrong. Plus, I feel like I gain more insight from incorrect answers because I understand the material at a greater level.

 

[ertugrul]

I'm a little against the totally random question thing because I think it's stupid to just do questions about topics you haven't studied yet...

I'm second

 

[amy2003uva]

thanks everyone. i haven't ventured out into random tests yet, for the exact above mentioned reason. hopefully as i cover more ground i'll feel more comfortable doing that. any other opinions?

 

[DoctorFunk]

I started recently by taking random blocks of 50 questions and was amazed at how long it took to review the answers and annotate them into First Aid. I was spending at least 2 hours just reviewing for every hour block of questions. I'm hoping that by doing blocks of material covered more recently I will not only perform better but spend less time annotating because I will have a better idea of the information actually covered already in FA.

I still plan on doing a number of random blocks though (maybe one random and one pre-set per day). There's no replacement for the practice you get in having to completely shift mental gears from subject to subject when going through random questions.

 

[UCLAstudent]

I do random sets. I used to do them based on what I'd already reviewed, but now I've decided to use QBank as a learning tool rather than an assessment tool. It's more challenging, definitely, but I get a lot out of it. 🙂

 

[mudphudwannabe]

At our school they recommend only doing random questions, since this is what you'll get on the exam. I think doing random questions is probably a good way to make sure you're still staying fresh in other subjects, even if you're focusing on one subject at a time. I don't see any harm in using questions related to what you're studying at the moment to help you gauge how you're doing, but I think you should still do some random to make sure your brain gets used to switching gears.

 

[lord_jeebus]

If you're doing QBank plus UW (which people couldn't do in the past), you're doing a lot more questions than most people used to use. I would suggest saving one for random sets only and using the other one for either subject-based or random sets.

If you're on a budget or otherwise don't want to use multiple online question banks, and you're reviewing by subject (not systems), I suggest getting QBook, which offers a lot of good questions organized by subject, at a very reasonable cost per question.

 

[gunnison]

I like this idea. Which do you guys think would be better for the random sets, Qbank or UW?

 

[Medikit]

If you're doing QBank plus UW (which people couldn't do in the past), you're doing a lot more questions than most people used to use. I would suggest saving one for random sets only and using the other one for either subject-based or random sets.

If you're on a budget or otherwise don't want to use multiple online question banks, and you're reviewing by subject (not systems), I suggest getting QBook, which offers a lot of good questions organized by subject, at a very reasonable cost per question.

This is what I did and I ended up hardly using Qbook simply because I just didn't have the time to do all of those questions, definitely glad I did it that way rather than buying two qbanks and barely using either of them.

 

[RaistlinMajere]

I prefer mixed b/c I've covered all the material.