Truth about Qbank - from Kaplan rep

[PedzOhNine]

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okay - i read a bunch of testimonies on Qbank and I felt the urgent need to clarify some facts since I work for them (Kaplan) and I heard it straight FROM the director's mouth. Ahem -
1. there are TWO sets of Qbank - one for USMLE and one for COMLEX. so when students say Qbank you MUST ask yourself which Qbank are they praising/bashing?

2. USMLE test makers have been writing Qs for more years than those that write for COMLEX hence the USMLE Qs are better written and Kaplan has a better grasp on simulating those Qs into their Qbank.

3. COMLEX writers are mainly clinicians (this whole part I heard from the NBOME chair when I went to conference) and few are PhDs - take that info and you get Qs that are more 3rd and 4th year rotation "pimp me Qs" USMLE writers have a plethora of PhDs who can write good science, MS1- MS2 based Qs. So when you look at a COMLEX Q it is as if you ARE in the clinic. Real life clinical medicine does not give you ALL the information that you need/want and the diagnosis (answer choice on exam) is not clear cut. You must make the best differential you can and hope the odds are good based on what info you DO have. THAT is what those D.O. NBOME writers are shelling out. It hurts I know - but now you know.

4. Summary: COMLEX Qbank from Kaplan is NOT indicative of real COMLEX exam. Sorry, but COMLEX is fairly new and Kaplan does not have a strong database for its Qbank. USMLE Qbank is excellent - indicative of the real USMLE.

So make sure you know and understand what ppl on SDN are saying before you decide to by something or not buy something.

Further questions? PM me.

OMS-II
Kaplan instructor and student rep

 

[IzzyB]

thanks for all your input... when you said COMLEX qbank is not indicative of the actual COMLEX exam, what exactly do you mean? is it harder/easier? are the Qs structurally different? Would scores on these COMLEX Qs be indicative of actual COMLEX scores or not even anywhere within the ballpark? Can you be scoring 70% on the Qbank & bomb the actual COMLEX or vice-versa? Basically, I would just like to know how good of a gauge the Qbank is with regards to actual scores. Thanks!!!

 

[Terpskins99]

The Kaplan rep that came to our school mentioned that the qbank questions specific for comlex were only with reference to osteopathy/OMT.

All the other questions are normal USMLE-style qbank questions.

 

[Captainwada]

okay - i read a bunch of testimonies on Qbank and I felt the urgent need to clarify some facts since I work for them (Kaplan) and I heard it straight FROM the director's mouth. Ahem -
1. there are TWO sets of Qbank - one for USMLE and one for COMLEX. so when students say Qbank you MUST ask yourself which Qbank are they praising/bashing?

2. USMLE test makers have been writing Qs for more years than those that write for COMLEX hence the USMLE Qs are better written and Kaplan has a better grasp on simulating those Qs into their Qbank.

3. COMLEX writers are mainly clinicians (this whole part I heard from the NBOME chair when I went to conference) and few are PhDs - take that info and you get Qs that are more 3rd and 4th year rotation "pimp me Qs" USMLE writers have a plethora of PhDs who can write good science, MS1- MS2 based Qs. So when you look at a COMLEX Q it is as if you ARE in the clinic. Real life clinical medicine does not give you ALL the information that you need/want and the diagnosis (answer choice on exam) is not clear cut. You must make the best differential you can and hope the odds are good based on what info you DO have. THAT is what those D.O. NBOME writers are shelling out. It hurts I know - but now you know.

4. Summary: COMLEX Qbank from Kaplan is NOT indicative of real COMLEX exam. Sorry, but COMLEX is fairly new and Kaplan does not have a strong database for its Qbank. USMLE Qbank is excellent - indicative of the real USMLE.

So make sure you know and understand what ppl on SDN are saying before you decide to by something or not buy something.

Further questions? PM me.

OMS-II
Kaplan instructor and student rep

Q bank sucks for USMLE step1 too....I wasted 300 bucks..couldve went to a better more integrative and challenging Question bank. DONT BUY Q BANK!!!

 

[PreMedAdAG]

Q bank sucks for USMLE step1 too....I wasted 300 bucks..couldve went to a better more integrative and challenging Question bank. DONT BUY Q BANK!!!

I think you may be the only lone ranger standing on this side of the fence... most people find Qbank absolutely critical for USMLE passing....

and I'm surprised you said they weren't challenging? That's a little scary.. you should probably utilize your superior intelligence to find a cure for some horrible disease 😉

 

[RunwayModel]

I think you may be the only lone ranger standing on this side of the fence... most people find Qbank absolutely critical for USMLE passing....

and I'm surprised you said they weren't challenging? That's a little scary.. you should probably utilize your superior intelligence to find a cure for some horrible disease 😉

Actually, more people agree with him than you think. Kaplan Qbank used to be the only thing out there that was close to Step 1. However, now with USMLEWORLD Qbank (most people use this for Step 2 and NOT Kaplan Qbank) and with the NBME Self-Assessment Tests, you have better questions that are more able to make you integrate and apply your knowledge, not regurgitate like a lot of the questions on Kaplan Qbank do. Most people felt a definite difference in questions when they did Kaplan vs. NBME Self-Assessments, and not a good difference either.