Uworld Random questions vs by systems?

[TBV]

I feel like in Uworld doing systems I can pick the right answer purely knowing oh pick the respiratory answer or whatever and that can't be helpful. What are people using? Is random the way to go or is it too all over the place to learn anything?

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[worldbeater]

Random, timed is ideal for testing your application of the material. Some people use systems-wise if they are using World to their their application of a specific chapter of content that they read.

 

[justAstudent]

Do you guys think its worth it to do it on random, timed starting from day 1 of dedicated study?

 

[Pushtothestars]

Do you guys think its worth it to do it on random, timed starting from day 1 of dedicated study?

BUMP

 

[CyberMaxx]

I feel like most people on SDN will say timed random, which is definitely the most predictive way to use UWorld. This method also has the added advantage of training you to do questions under similar conditions to the actual test. That being said, I am doing it by systems. I waffled on this decision for a while, but finally decided that I didn't really need UWorld to be predictive (that's what NBMEs and UWSAs are for) and I would learn a lot better if I worked through First Aid and UWorld side by side. I feel like this method has been useful for me, but ymmv.

 

[DocWinter]

Yes, your UWorld score will probably be higher if you do by system. I too do not take my UWorld score seriously - I look to NBMEs for that. I find that for the initial sweep of material it is beneficial for actual learning/refreshing to stick to a 40 page block in FA and not jump all around. Later in my study/2nd pass I'm in random/tutor still. I personally never have run into a time crunch so being on timed isn't important to me, but others like that hard edge. To each their own.

UWorld is a learning tool. Use it to teach you, don't let the scores mean too much.

 

[soop]

This is just my own opinion as how you should use UWorld.

UWorld is first and foremost a learning tool. If you want to practice under timed conditions, take an NBME. I feel like you should learn how build a solid foundation before working on speed and test acumen. Doing it system by system allows you to compare and contrast the ways questions can be asked for similar diseases as well as practice what you recently learned. That being said, everyone learns differently and there is no single best way to use UWorld. Only you know which way you learn best and how you should use UWorld.

With 2nd year curriculum → tutor, system based.
Dedicated period without a solid foundation → tutor, system based.
Dedicated studying period with a solid foundation → timed, random blocks.

 

[Adjet]

Based on my experience starting with random from day 1, I don't know if I'd wholeheartedly recommend it. a) It's a little frustrating at first since there will be a lot of concepts that aren't as fresh and you will have to be patient with your scores and b) for topics I wasn't as familiar with initially, I didn't have a good context to appreciate the explanations, so I don't think I learned as much from them. Systems based would avoid this, but the one nice thing with random is that you notice the progress as you pass through FA/Pathoma

 

[Entadus]

It can be a personal thing... try both and see what works best for you...

I have been doing blocks of UWorld timed random

Though I mostly did USMLE-Rx by system beforehand 🤔

 

[TwinsFan]

For my first pass of FA (which I finished yesterday) I was doing ~ 1 block per day of UWorld by systems to go with each chapter and all the Flash Facts to go with it (brutal!). It worked well to actively study and start to nail down the systems. Now that I've got a decent base of knowledge to build from I will be doing 1 block per day to go with FA/pathoma system and 1-1.5 blocks of random (2-2.5 blocks total) for the next 2-2.5 weeks, then ramp to almost all Qs (3+ blocks/day) for the last week or two.

Doing UW on timed random w/o any significant knowledge base seemed way too inefficient, and unless you are already hitting well into the 200s (maybe 220+ or so) I would start by system and build from there.