schools that prepare for USMLE
- Thread starter mr beans mama
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DO schools are not obligated to prepare their students for USMLE.
So to answer your question: no DO school prepares their students best for USMLE because they do not prepare their students for USMLE at all.
Only COMLEX.
So to answer your question: no DO school prepares their students best for USMLE because they do not prepare their students for USMLE at all.
Only COMLEX.
I talked with a few residents yesterday and they told me there are schools that prepare for USMLE. They mentioned the newer schools probably do it more so that they seem more appealing to applicants.
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I'm not sure there are schools that have reviews or anything but I know AZCOM has a very good pass rate, ~90% for the USMLE
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That is not true. At Nova they specifically stated that they prepare you for the USMLE and the COMLEX, by specifically targeting each of the exam characteristics in your board prep. They also encourage their students to take both if they are interested in ACGME residencies... That was straight from the horses mouth. 😉
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Interesting.
Gives hope that perhaps in the future COMLEX will be completely gotten rid of and everybody (DO & MD students) will have to take USMLE.
It would make life so much easier!
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I can only speak to the schools I've interviewed at, but DMU went out of their way to mention what they do to help students pass the COMLEX & the USMLE. Specifically, they showed us the pass rates and distribution of scores for both. They were very deliberate about stating that their goal is to help students get into any residency they want, and that includes scoring high on the USMLE. It sounds like it's pretty standard for a school to use the Kaplan test bank of questions for the COMLEX, but they mentioned they do the same for the USMLE.
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If that were to happen, the identity of DO's would be further reduced, by removing one of the only remaining functional differences between the two types of degrees (OMT). This would thereby make an amalgamation of the two degrees much more likely and reduce the need for having a second type of a degree in medicine, so while I don't like the idea of having to take both exams any more than you do, the reason why many DO's (~60%) participate in ACGME residencies is not because they are better, but rather because it improves options. Without these additional residency spots, DO's would not have survived the 70's, 80's and 90's.
This is why, I believe, the AOA and many devoted DO's will fight a single board exam. You have to remember, that the DO's that came before you fought long and hard so that they COULD get a different board exam, one more specific to DO's and DO practices. So, be careful what you wish for. 😉
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DMU offers Kaplan course to prepare for COMLEX. Then, I've heard, some DMU students take an extra day or two after to brush up for the USMLE.
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Ha ha! I guess I'll be one of those DO's fighting for amalgamation of the two degrees. I'm only halfway through my second year though - perhaps I will be converted to osteopathy during rotations.... 🙂
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It will never happen. But I agree that it would make more sense/make things easier.
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Forget about whether or not the school prepares you for the USMLE in addition to COMLEX..... it's on YOU. You are going to prepare yourself for one or both exams, not the school.
With the exception of OMT and how the questions are worded the exams are testing you on the same material. The school may give you access to COMLEX question banks but it's easy enough for you to subscribe to something like UWORLD or pick up USMLE study material.
IMHO the school is the least important variable in this equation. Much more important is how well you prepare yourself for the boards.
With the exception of OMT and how the questions are worded the exams are testing you on the same material. The school may give you access to COMLEX question banks but it's easy enough for you to subscribe to something like UWORLD or pick up USMLE study material.
IMHO the school is the least important variable in this equation. Much more important is how well you prepare yourself for the boards.
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Exactly! The best way a school can help you prepare for the USMLE or COMLEX is to leave you alone so you can study for the boards. Whichever school isnt going to make you waste your time during second year in class or doing some other stupid activity is probably your best bet. IMHO their really isnt much difference b/w the two tests. If you prepare for one you'll be prepared for the other. Overall i think the older schools will probably be your best bet for board prep as well as rotations etc.
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I 3rd what nlax said, although I disagree with older schools being the best bet for board prep. Many of the newer schools have geared their cirriculum towards passing the boards. AZCOM and LECOM for instance both boast a pass rate among the top 3 on the boards and AZCOM I believe was in the top 3 for average score as well. They also mentioned that they have something like a 90% pass rate on the USMLE of the students that took the test. Western, by all accounts an older/more established school than AZCOM, has a lower pass rate on the COMLEX as well as saying that they had roughly a 65% pass rate on the USMLE. They qualified this by saying that their students who did poorly on the COMLEX chose to take the USMLE in order to try to improve their chances, against the schools recommendation, and subsequently failed. Whether or not this is actually the case is anyone's guess.
Honestly, go to the school that you feel will be the best fit and allow you to study to retain the material for the tests. Schools will train you in order to pass the COMLEX, none is going to specifically train you for the USMLE since its not the DO boards. That part is up to you.
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Yea, I think my class (2011) was 100% pass on COMLEX, and about 30-40 of us also took USMLE step 1 and I THINK all passed who took it, last I heard at least.
As far as the school's role..... At the end of the 2nd year they do put on a week or two mini review series of lectures. In the past faculty from the school have done anatomy, micro, and neuro while the school has brought in a kaplan lecturer who does path that we all enjoy. Everyone definitely came for the path lectures and then attendance dropped and people just went and studied on their own. Beyond those "formal" review days we basically have the month or so off to study on our own. We were given First Aid books and online access to Qbank which had USMLE and COMLEX questions.
As far as the school's role..... At the end of the 2nd year they do put on a week or two mini review series of lectures. In the past faculty from the school have done anatomy, micro, and neuro while the school has brought in a kaplan lecturer who does path that we all enjoy. Everyone definitely came for the path lectures and then attendance dropped and people just went and studied on their own. Beyond those "formal" review days we basically have the month or so off to study on our own. We were given First Aid books and online access to Qbank which had USMLE and COMLEX questions.
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I see what both of you guys are saying about COMLEX and USMLE pass rates but i disagree. I think board pass rates and averages are a pretty useless stat unless pass rates are very low(like less than 85%). A more useful statistic would be what percentage of the people who passed boards did extremely well. Unless you think for some reason you will struggle to pass it really shouldnt matter whether or not the pass rate is 97% or 92%. People should be asking which school will best prepare you to destroy boards not which will best prepare me to pass. I would rather know at which school were the top 1/4 or 1/5 of the class getting 220-230s and which ones were getting 240's-250's. Schools that do alot of intense(and time consuming) board prep prepare their students to pass very well. However, this takes away alot of self directed study time which is the key to getting really high board scores. The people i know who did incredible on boards skipped all the board review stuff our school did, skipped kaplan, skipped regular lectures, and studied on their own. Its possible that schools who are really hands off about board review allow the high acheivers in the class to do really well but leave the borderline students in the dust when it comes to passing.
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Man, I couldn't agree with you more. I'm often shocked by how many people think they can go through the first two years of med school and fail the boards. I want to know what schools have the best numbers for their passing students.
