USMLE is NOT a better written test than COMLEX - Change my mind

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E Said said:
OMM may not be everyones cup of tea (Cranial ..... ) but I have seen the positive benefits it has on many patients in my short time in medical school that narcotics never touched to show me the benefits of it. I may not decide to use it in my practice but you knew what you were getting yourself into coming to an osteopathic medical school.... OWN your decision to attend this type of training and stop self deprecating.... You must have been that kid in class that everyone always knew you hated OMM/complained about medical school because you wouldnt shut up about it.
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And you must be that kid who puts somatic dysfunction on every differential
 
While it’s been a while.... ~9yrs I guess, I did take both USMLE and COMLEX and thought that in general USMLE was better written exam. COMLEX seemed to have short stems and you had to remember one or two key words/phrases to get it. USMLE had longer stems with more information, sometimes extraneous info that wasn’t needed, which was likely purposeful forcing you to logic through what was and wasn’t important. Some of the COMLEX questions left me scratching my head trying to figure out what they were actually asking.
 
Taking a 1 minute board studying break to comment on how IRRITATED I get by the large number of pathology questions im being asked on Uworld. It's like they're blind to the fact that almost none of us are going into pathology, and that we don't diagnose and treat the majority of diseases off of a tiny little glass histo slide that some godforsaken pathologist spent 10 seconds looking at before he continued to check his instagram account. If USMLE is like this, RIP Giovanotto, RIP!

/rant
 
Giovanotto said:
Taking a 1 minute board studying break to comment on how IRRITATED I get by the large number of pathology questions im being asked on Uworld. It's like they're blind to the fact that almost none of us are going into pathology, and that we don't diagnose and treat the majority of diseases off of a tiny little glass histo slide that some godforsaken pathologist spent 10 seconds looking at before he continued to check his instagram account. If USMLE is like this, RIP Giovanotto, RIP!

/rant
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You have failed your patients. I’m sorry
 
ButterButter said:
You’ll be perfect for an NMM fellowship. I bet you have those magic hands. Can you feel my CRI through the Internet??
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Only a master can do that. That being said the universe tells me that butterbutter has a parallelogram head.
 
Giovanotto said:
Taking a 1 minute board studying break to comment on how IRRITATED I get by the large number of pathology questions im being asked on Uworld. It's like they're blind to the fact that almost none of us are going into pathology, and that we don't diagnose and treat the majority of diseases off of a tiny little glass histo slide that some godforsaken pathologist spent 10 seconds looking at before he continued to check his instagram account. If USMLE is like this, RIP Giovanotto, RIP!

/rant
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Histopathology isn't very important or very high yield on the usmle or comlex. Knowing the histology in the Pathoma book is sufficient.

Pathophysiology however is beyond just what is important for pathology. It's the foundation of understanding most disease process tbh. It's one of the things we actually should understand moderately.
 
Drrrrrr. Celty said:
Histopathology isn't very important or very high yield on the usmle or comlex. Knowing the histology in the Pathoma book is sufficient.

Pathophysiology however is beyond just what is important for pathology. It's the foundation of understanding most disease process tbh. It's one of the things we actually should understand moderately.
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Right, but asking me to ID clear cell carcinoma, purely off of a histo slide, no matter how pathognomonic it is, is a gigantic waste of time and memory.
 
E said:
OMM may not be everyones cup of tea (Cranial ..... ) but I have seen the positive benefits it has on many patients in my short time in medical school that narcotics never touched to show me the benefits of it. I may not decide to use it in my practice but you knew what you were getting yourself into coming to an osteopathic medical school.... OWN your decision to attend this type of training and stop self deprecating.... You must have been that kid in class that everyone always knew you hated OMM/complained about medical school because you wouldnt shut up about it.
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Narcotics are a drug class with enormous importance to medical practice. We as a civilization simply cannot do surgery without them. The question of whether or not I as a physician should do OMM to treat conditions is far more muddled. I think it has its place, but we neither see it used nor frankly taught for indicated reasons. Simply put, if you're teaching me to check TART findings on a patient who is about to be put on a vent, I'm going to check out because that scenario isn't founded at all within reasonable clinical practice, neither is using chapman points for diagnostics as someone with obvious peritoneal symptoms in the ER is going to get a stat CT or US.

I personally have benefitted significantly from OMM for my upper and cervical neck pain. I miss getting it now that I am not around more DO students who are interested in OMM. And if I was in FM I'd totally do OMM if a patient came in for some clear somatic dysfunction. But when it comes to situations outside of that I'm just not too sure.
 
Giovanotto said:
Right, but asking me to ID clear cell carcinoma, purely off of a histo slide, no matter how pathognomonic it is, is a gigantic waste of time and memory.
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it looks like pink swiss cheese. I mean, some basic histopath is probably valuable. Ex. cytokeratin bridges = carcinoma.
 
Drrrrrr. Celty said:
it looks like pink swiss cheese. I mean, some basic histopath is probably valuable. Ex. cytokeratin bridges = carcinoma.
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You mean like when you're a PCP and someone comes in to your office with fever and fatigue, you tell him to stand still for a second, biopsy his kidneys, process it, throw it on a slide, look at it under the scope, and diagnose him. You mean like in this scenario? Right.
 
Giovanotto said:
You mean like when you're a PCP and someone comes in to your office with fever and fatigue, you tell him to stand still for a second, biopsy his kidneys, process it, throw it on a slide, look at it under the scope, and diagnose him. You mean like in this scenario? Right.
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No, but sending a frozen section of a lymph node and knowing that when your pathologist reports that there are cells showing atypia ( and what the atypia means) and then send for cytological staining for surface receptors relevant for potential cancers in that organ system is. Let me put it this way, you can choose what kind of doctor you want to be right now. It's not going to get easier or more directly useful to your life anytime soon.
 
GoSpursGo said:
This thread is definitely teetering on the edge of being closed. Please keep responses professional, ie away from wisecracks about alternative anatomy.
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I can tell by your Cranial Rhythmic Impulse through the computer that some of the jokes did not sit well.


I'm sorry for hurting your feelings butterbutter : (
 
ButterButter said:
Lol, anatomy comprises a sizable portion of COMLEX, so you might wanna brush up a little bit.
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On the COMLEX exams I've taken (yes, Faculty can take COMLEX) it was mostly micro, pathophysiology, pharm, and neurology and/or anatomy. OMM? About 10% and mostly "where the somatic dysfunction?" (T1, T3, L1 etc)
 
sab3156 said:
I actually want them to take it it a step further and put the real stuff on the exam, like voodoo magic and witch doctor treatments and homeopathy. After all, these things are all similar to OMM, and I feel sad that I don't get tested on real stuff like that.

I will only respect COMLEX if I can get tested on my ability to treat someone with a voodoo doll and with homeopathic medicine. But for now, at least we have Chapman points, BLT, and cranial manipulation. I just wish the MDs could see what we are capable of.
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Here we go again with this bs
 
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sab3156 said:
Are you in high school applying to 6 year programs or something?
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I think you may have me confused with your cousin in the U.K.

Common mistake I must say
 
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FutureMcCoy18 said:
I’ve argued with @sab3156 plenty on his viewpoints, but on this count, I have to agree with him. There’s not much difference in testing on Chapman’s/cranial vs. voodoo/homeopathy; it’s all unscientific BS.
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You guys just all crack me up. You all knew what you were getting into when you went to DO school. Getting on this forum and b****ing about it isn’t going to change a d*** thing about the requirements to graduate or the fact that DOs have to take the COMLEX to graduate even though it is an inferior test. Literally all of OMM on the COMLEX takes about 1 good day of studying and a couple YouTube videos to memorize completely. Basically, nut up or shut up. If you can’t memorize useless minutiae then you shouldnt have gone to medical school, and the DO degree shouldn’t have you as a representative.

Not speaking to you futuremccoy, just to the many people on these threads that will be osteopathic physicians but do not want to represent the profession in such a way that accommodates the knowledge necessary to be one.
 
jrlob91 said:
You guys just all crack me up. You all knew what you were getting into when you went to DO school. Getting on this forum and b****ing about it isn’t going to change a d*** thing about the requirements to graduate or the fact that DOs have to take the COMLEX to graduate even though it is an inferior test. Literally all of OMM on the COMLEX takes about 1 good day of studying and a couple YouTube videos to memorize completely. Basically, nut up or shut up. If you can’t memorize useless minutiae then you shouldnt have gone to medical school, and the DO degree shouldn’t have you as a representative.

Not speaking to you futuremccoy, just to the many people on these threads that will be osteopathic physicians but do not want to represent the profession in such a way that accommodates the knowledge necessary to be one.
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Just because something has been done the same way for a long time is not justification for its continued existence. As DOs fed up with non-evidence based treatments continue to speak up, perhaps the AOA will start to look at trimming the fat. Many OMM techniques are solid and have been used by DOs, PTs and MDs for years with good results. These should persist. But pseudoscientific modalities as archaic as blood letting should not be synonymous with the DO profession.
 
ButterButter said:
Just because something has been done the same way for a long time is not justification for its continued existence. As DOs fed up with non-evidence based treatments continue to speak up, perhaps the AOA will start to look at trimming the fat. Many OMM techniques are solid and have been used by DOs, PTs and MDs for years with good results. These should persist. But pseudoscientific modalities as archaic as blood letting should not be synonymous with the DO profession.
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Then keep complaining on an anonymous forum, change is bound to occur that way
 
jrlob91 said:
Then keep complaining on an anonymous forum, change is bound to occur that way
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I'm actually involved in national leadership and have submitted curriculum reports & recommendations to the AOA on behalf of my school. So I am very invested in the future of Osteopathic education and practice. I'm not just some disgruntled med student, I'm working hard for the change I want to see.
 
ButterButter said:
I'm actually involved in national leadership and have submitted curriculum reports & recommendations to the AOA on behalf of my school. So I am very invested in the future of Osteopathic education and practice. I'm not just some disgruntled med student, I'm working hard for the change I want to see.
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Advocating for osteopathic education and then jokingly degrading an NMM fellowship because of CRI as stated above seem a little counterintuitive.
 
jrlob91 said:
Advocating for osteopathic education and then jokingly degrading an NMM fellowship because of CRI as stated above seem a little counterintuitive.
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That was a joke.

And I don't believe cranial is a valid modality that should be taught to undergraduate medical students. If NMM programs would like to incorporate it into their curriculum, that's fine by me. So for me to simultaneously joke on cranial while also advocating for osteopathic education reform is as valid as MD faculty joking on blood-letting while also teaching updated antihypertensive guidelines.

Advocating for osteopathic education does not mean advocating for the enshrinement of OMM. Not to imply that's what you meant by your post. Several schools have petitioned COCA to reduce hour requirements for OMM so they can focus more on established, evidence-based modalities and allocate more resources to improving overall systems-based curriculums. I don't feel that this is doing a disservice to the osteopathic profession, and these are not fringe ideas in the AOA world.
 
ButterButter said:
That was a joke.

And I don't believe cranial is a valid modality that should be taught to undergraduate medical students. If NMM programs would like to incorporate it into their curriculum, that's fine by me. So for me to simultaneously joke on cranial while also advocating for osteopathic education reform is as valid as MD faculty joking on blood-letting while also teaching updated antihypertensive guidelines.

Advocating for osteopathic education does not mean advocating for the enshrinement of OMM. Not to imply that's what you meant by your post. Several schools have petitioned COCA to reduce hour requirements for OMM so they can focus more on established, evidence-based modalities and allocate more resources to improving overall systems-based curriculums. I don't feel that this is doing a disservice to the osteopathic profession, and these are not fringe ideas in the AOA world.
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you're definitely SGA... God it all makes sense now. :yuck:
 
jrlob91 said:
You guys just all crack me up. You all knew what you were getting into when you went to DO school. Getting on this forum and b****ing about it isn’t going to change a d*** thing about the requirements to graduate or the fact that DOs have to take the COMLEX to graduate even though it is an inferior test. Literally all of OMM on the COMLEX takes about 1 good day of studying and a couple YouTube videos to memorize completely. Basically, nut up or shut up. If you can’t memorize useless minutiae then you shouldnt have gone to medical school, and the DO degree shouldn’t have you as a representative.

Not speaking to you futuremccoy, just to the many people on these threads that will be osteopathic physicians but do not want to represent the profession in such a way that accommodates the knowledge necessary to be one.
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The profession is being a physcian. The hurdle is osteopathic nonsense. The idea of an osteopathic physician is antiquated and the continued use of the term relegates our degree to chiropractor tier. Stop perpetuated separate but equal language.
 
ελπίδα said:
Amazing that I get a probation warning for my comments yet @Goro (A Professor at a school) Likes a comment like this and this is acceptable? Man, thank god I rejected my acceptance to the school this professor is associated with.
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I see that you have learned nothing from your smack by the ban hammer. Complaining about likes indeed
 
Goro said:
I see that you have learned nothing from your smack by the ban hammer. Complaining about likes indeed
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Absolutely Professor - I'll make sure to follow your professionalism into the wards in a few short months.
 
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jrlob91 said:
You guys just all crack me up. You all knew what you were getting into when you went to DO school. Getting on this forum and b****ing about it isn’t going to change a d*** thing about the requirements to graduate or the fact that DOs have to take the COMLEX to graduate even though it is an inferior test. Literally all of OMM on the COMLEX takes about 1 good day of studying and a couple YouTube videos to memorize completely. Basically, nut up or shut up. If you can’t memorize useless minutiae then you shouldnt have gone to medical school, and the DO degree shouldn’t have you as a representative.

Not speaking to you futuremccoy, just to the many people on these threads that will be osteopathic physicians but do not want to represent the profession in such a way that accommodates the knowledge necessary to be one.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I guess only pseudoscience adherents are the true DOs. I will stop pretending to be a DO so that I don't bring any shame to the profession by criticizing the practice of things that should have been buried in the pages of history a century ago.
 
Cliff notes:
- OP mimicking youtuber who has edgy titles
- OMM appropriately lashed for cranial/chapmans
- plot twist - OP has never taken USMLE or COMLEX
- thread devolves into hilarity
/thread

As a graduating DO, I approve of further OMM lashings, especially hallucinated cranial and chapmans points. Continue on comrades.
 
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