The right way to go about taking both Step and Complex

[ladysmanfelpz]

So going to a DO school it is required for all of us to pass the Comlex to graduate, but like most people here I also am electing to take step 1. I am taking step 1 and then comlex a week after that because that is the "standard" word of mouth suggestion I've heard. I met with our boards advisor on campus and he acknowledged this "standard" and was quick to critique it saying there has been no evidence on what actually works. He in fact suggested we all take 2 weeks as there is more OMM and other DO philosophy questions on it than we think. What are you all doing?

I was almost thinking about taking Comlex first, as I've heard its somewhat easier and would be nice to get a practice run under my belt before taking the USMLE. But then I didn't know how I would prep for OMM so thought against that. Right now I have Step 1 scheduled June 10th and Comlex June 17th. Is that enough time? Can I move it up? If I'm prepped I'm prepped and would rather knock it out. Could I maybe go the 10th and the 15th? I don't think I'll need a day off after the USMLE and will already be in study mode. I plan on doing an anki deck on OMM and whatever DO specific questions/OMM review i can find those 4 days to week before Comlex. Is this a good game plan? I just wanted to confirm before going by some arbitrary schedule I overheard before taking the two biggest exams of my life!

Thanks everybody.

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[deleted645092]

I took them 1 week apart as you said above. Took 1 day off after step 1 and then studied OMM plus COMBANK x5 days, and took the day off before COMLEX. Scored 10 percentile points higher on COMLEX and my OMM bar was way off to the right with "only" 5 days of studying it.

 

[Sardonix]

I took them 1 week apart as you said above. Took 1 day off after step 1 and then studied OMM plus COMBANK x5 days, and took the day off before COMLEX. Scored 10 percentile points higher on COMLEX and my OMM bar was way off to the right with "only" 5 days of studying it.

I did this as well.

Take Step 1 first. Just know that it will be the harder of the two and focuses a lot on higher order and clinical based questions.

COMLEX is the random brother of STEP that will be more draining since it's longer.

 

[ladysmanfelpz]

I took them 1 week apart as you said above. Took 1 day off after step 1 and then studied OMM plus COMBANK x5 days, and took the day off before COMLEX. Scored 10 percentile points higher on COMLEX and my OMM bar was way off to the right with "only" 5 days of studying it.

See this is what I am interested about. The scoring higher part. Anybody try a Comlex first and then Step? Or as @Sardonix said is it better to get step out of the way since its harder?

And @scrublyfe21 do you think you absolutely needed that day off after Step? That's how I have it structured now, but if I'm in study mode I'm hoping to be able to power thru studying day after thru friday, no day off and then taking it Saturday. Idk I may be asking too much and just stick with my schedule. Not worth killing myself for 2 extra days of break maybe? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Sardonix]

I did have friends who took Step AFTER COMLEX. But what you need to ask yourself is how much time will you need to study OMM and will studying OMM disrupt the rest of your general studying that applies to both Step and COMLEX?

I am biased toward Step --> COMLEX because so long as you have enough time before Step, you can completely ignore OMM and just focus on material that will be on BOTH exams.

The big question you alluded to towards the end there: how much time will you give yourself between the two? Some people go stir crazy if they give themselves too much time and burn out. Other people need a solid week to feel confident (me). Either way, it IS safer to assume you'll need a day off after the first round, however, rather than assume you will be ready to power through again because in all likelihood you won't be.

 

[Blanky]

Some MD programs have their students take step at the end of 3rd year. Why dont more DOs utilize this strategy?

 

[QueenJames]

Some MD programs have their students take step at the end of 3rd year. Why dont more DOs utilize this strategy?

Because our advising and schools SUCK BRO.

They don't care about STEP.

They care about the COMLEX.

Why?

As I was told by somebody deeply rooted in the NBOME, it's because of MONEY.

No more comlex means they are missing out on MUCHO DINERO.

Why focus on the step when that money goes to the NBME?

It's all about money.

Didn't take step?

Congratulations.

You just played yourself homie.

Do not listen to your school. They are not doing you ANY favors.

 

[Blanky]

Lol I don’t think we are on the same page. Some MDs take the USMLE at the end of third year and I hear that all of them see score increases.

I was considering Comlex at end of year 2 and then study during 3rd year and take USMLE towards end of year 3 to take advantage of the gained knowledge

 

[QueenJames]

Lol I don’t think we are on the same page. Some MDs take the USMLE at the end of third year and I hear that all of them see score increases.

I was considering Comlex at end of year 2 and then study during 3rd year and take USMLE towards end of year 3 to take advantage of the gained knowledge

Good luck with that.

See how crappy the rotation schedules you get are first and go from there.

I wouldn't recommend it.

Your school will throw some bullcrap assignments and patient logs down your throat to keep you occupied when you aren't on rotations or studying for your shelf.

Hopefully it works out for you.

Do it and let us know how it goes!

 

[Ho0v-man]

Lol I don’t think we are on the same page. Some MDs take the USMLE at the end of third year and I hear that all of them see score increases.

I was considering Comlex at end of year 2 and then study during 3rd year and take USMLE towards end of year 3 to take advantage of the gained knowledge

You absolutely can do that and plenty do. BUT you probably have little say over how your third year is scheduled. The MD programs that do this stuff acknowledge that their students need time in third year for prep but I know my school wouldn’t give me the time I’d personally need for 3 board exams at the end of third year.

 

[atomheart]

Step 1 Monday then level 1 that Friday.
Level 2 Monday then Step 2 that Thursday.

I recommend taking level before step and less than 1 week apart. I surprised myself that I did want to keep studying after taking comlex level 2, but burned the rest of the week on part 1. The extra work of studying for comlex takes a day, and is the same material for level 1-3.

 

[Feelgood MD]

Because our advising and schools SUCK BRO.

They don't care about STEP.

They care about the COMLEX.

Why?

As I was told by somebody deeply rooted in the NBOME, it's because of MONEY.

No more comlex means they are missing out on MUCHO DINERO.

Why focus on the step when that money goes to the NBME?

It's all about money.

Didn't take step?

Congratulations.

You just played yourself homie.

Do not listen to your school. They are not doing you ANY favors.

A school I was admitted to is now requiring USMLE in addition to COMLEX.

 

[ciestar]

You absolutely can do that and plenty do. BUT you probably have little say over how your third year is scheduled. The MD programs that do this stuff acknowledge that their students need time in third year for prep but I know my school wouldn’t give me the time I’d personally need for 3 board exams at the end of third year.

I have surgery as my last rotation of third year and no way would I be able to take that surgery shelf and jump into studying for step 1. Hell, I am taking a month off (in addition to the two weeks of dedicated time we get) to study for CK, because of the vacation time we’re given.

 

[sunshinefl]

Some MD programs have their students take step at the end of 3rd year. Why dont more DOs utilize this strategy?

You absolutely can do that and plenty do. BUT you probably have little say over how your third year is scheduled. The MD programs that do this stuff acknowledge that their students need time in third year for prep but I know my school wouldn’t give me the time I’d personally need for 3 board exams at the end of third year.

This. We’re already— gearing up for COMLEX level 1 material because we have to take it at the end of 2nd year anyway, forgetting the basic science stuff over 3rd year, putting in hours and effort into clinical rotations, studying for/ taking COMAT exams, studying for/taking Level 2-CE, studying for/taking Level 2-PE, studying for/taking Step 2-CK, applying for/setting up electives/aways, etc. Now on top of all that you want to throw in taking Step 1 without a proper dedicated period? No thanks.

 

[BluegrassBuckeye]

I just want to offer an alternative option that worked well for me. It was a draining process preparing for and taking my first ever board exam, and after I was done with it I had absolutely zero interest in taking another one shortly after. I am confident that would have been the case had I taken Step 1 first followed shortly thereafter by Level 1 as is the the normal accepted protocol. However, if your school is like mine you are only required to take COMLEX by a certain deadline in order to continue on into 3rd year. So I did that. And I scheduled Step 1 in my third year at the end of a cush rotation (psych to be specific) where I would have plenty of time to study. I found a vast majority of what I had learned preparing for COMLEX came back to me pretty quickly and with some distance between me and my last studying effort I was able to fix mistakes I had made in my study habits the first time around and also focus on areas of weakness. Although I haven't found a good conversion chart to compare the two, based on NRMP match results for my specialty of interest I did better on Step 1 than Level 1.

 

[RealDealHolyfield93]

How much weight is placed on COMLEX scores if after the merger there will be no AOA specific residencies?

 

[DrStephenStrange]

Probably the same as right now. The programs that were already accepting it will continue to do so, and the ones that could care less about it will also do the same.

How much weight is placed on COMLEX scores if after the merger there will be no AOA specific residencies?

 

[UnoMas]

How much weight is placed on COMLEX scores if after the merger there will be no AOA specific residencies?

n=1, but the number of times my COMLEX scores were brought up this year on the interview trail was ZERO.

In fact, on my residency onboarding paperwork, in the board score section, my USMLE Step scores/date taken were already populated and I had to manually enter my COMLEX scores, pass/fail status. And the COMLEX scores are the ones that I absolutely need to get licensed. This is for Anesthesia. That's how much they care about the COMLEX