Studying for boards

Started by yesno
Get help with your application

Use all the free resources available to you from SDN: articles, guides, expert advising, forums discussions, and school research.

Browse articles Compare schools My application plan Read Interview Feedback
Practice for interviews Ask an Advisor
Y

yesno

Full Member
10+ Year Member
So I have just under 1 month of dedicated study time for usmle1 and comlex1. I am taking comlex 1 week after usmle. Now I looked at some omm questions and some comlex questions in general. And I feel absolutely no interest in this exam. I think that OMM is a mixture of "magic=bull****" and material borrowed from other subjects such as anatomy or clinical medicine. So it is not very efficient to try to study for it. I initially planned to focus on usmle1 and then dedicate 1week to comlex omm and anatomy. But what do you think if I just completely neglect comlex studying? Lets say I go over the practice tests in the Savarese book and that's it, just chill during that week after usmle? So are there any consequences if I get 250 on step1 and do only average on comlex? I feel dumber each time that I read an OMM question.
 
I would recommend you prepare for both tests by studying for the USMLE. Then, with the week after your USMLE, you can prep however much you want for the COMLEX.

If you have no interest in AOA residency programs, then the COMLEX won't really matter. If you do, then you should take the COMLEX more seriously, regardless of how you may feel about the exam itself.
 
It varies by the exam you get, but there's a good chance you will have a good amount of OMT on your COMLEX. Study hard for the USMLE. Then spend your week studying OMT.

If you're interested in ACGME residencies only, focus on the USMLE but don't punt the COMLEX. Maybe incorporate some COMBANK starting soon? I wouldn't recommend starting it right after the USMLE as to not psych yourself out. You will want to get used to the question format; it is quite different from the USMLE.

Oh, and don't neglect Chapman's points. Even though they're woo magic, they're easy points. Look them over once or twice a day or two before.
 
yesno said:
So I have just under 1 month of dedicated study time for usmle1 and comlex1. I am taking comlex 1 week after usmle. Now I looked at some omm questions and some comlex questions in general. And I feel absolutely no interest in this exam. I think that OMM is a mixture of "magic=bull****" (1) and material borrowed from other subjects such as anatomy or clinical medicine. So it is not very efficient to try to study for it. I initially planned to focus on usmle1 and then dedicate 1week to comlex omm and anatomy. But what do you think if I just completely neglect comlex studying? Lets say I go over the practice tests in the Savarese book and that's it, just chill during that week after usmle? (2) So are there any consequences if I get 250 on step1 and do only average on comlex? I feel dumber each time that I read an OMM question.
Click to expand...

Agree with point # 1 completely however, after 2 years of hard work, do you really want to potentially F--- it up by taking a whole week off in between.
While a week is too much to study for OMM, if you have a week already set, then may as well use it wisely.
OMM 2 days
OB-GYN 1 day
Peds 1 day
Rest
OMM/OB-GYN/Peds recap 1 day
Chillax 1 day

Good Luck
 
FutureInternist said:
Agree with point # 1 completely however, after 2 years of hard work, do you really want to potentially F--- it up by taking a whole week off in between.
While a week is too much to study for OMM, if you have a week already set, then may as well use it wisely.
OMM 2 days
OB-GYN 1 day
Peds 1 day
Rest
OMM/OB-GYN/Peds recap 1 day
Chillax 1 day

Good Luck
Click to expand...

Is the comlex heavy on ob-gyn and peds?
 
Thank you all! I am studying for usmle now... Seems simple enough: uworld, first aid, goljan mostly. But hard to force myself to study even for usmle. . So I think if I am able to work hard the next few weeks and take usmle, then I'll do something for comlex the following week. But yes, I just noticed recently that Savarese does not cover everything that we do for OMM. And I know that other schools go even into more detail for omm just by googling some random omm terms. For example there are not that many chapman points or tender points in savarese, but in our notes there are way too many of them. And cranial isn't that bad in Savarese. But I am not going to kill self over some more detailed info. They(omm class) also do include random info on pregnancy and pediatrics that you will not find in 1st aid or goljan or savarese. I'll try to do something after usmle, but I know that assuming equal effort I'll do better on usmle, hence I see no point in killing myself over comlex. And I know my comlex score will be at least average just because of my effort in subjects like pharm, path,etc.
 
I thought step 2 had a big bump of OMM questions. I don't know if your good with studying OMM in 2 days or 1 week or more, just don't ignore it. It will bite you in the ass.
 
JeetKuneDo said:
Thanks for the heads up. Even though it's a year away, good to know. I'm still pretty clueless about the difference between the two exams aside from OMM.
Click to expand...

USMLE gives you a bunch of information to narrow down the answer choices. COMLEX likes to test most commons and gives you very little information. Basically requiring you to take a leap of faith. USMLE has longer question stems, COMLEX has very short question stems, sometimes only a few sentences.

Hope that helps.
 
sylvanthus said:
USMLE gives you a bunch of information to narrow down the answer choices. COMLEX likes to test most commons and gives you very little information. Basically requiring you to take a leap of faith. USMLE has longer question stems, COMLEX has very short question stems, sometimes only a few sentences.

Hope that helps.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info, definitely helpful.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.