What's the best way to use Qbank?

[keeping-it-real]

i know if i searched i could probably find the answer, but i'm trying to utilize better time management, so if any could tell me what they think is the best (most high yield) way to use the Qbank resource, please let me know.

for example, is it better to do only random question blocks of 50 q's or study pathology in the morning and then do all path questions?

thx.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Bones2008]

I divided my 4.5 weeks of studying in half, going through all the material twice. the first half I did only questions at night that corresponded to the material I'd studied that day. the second half, having already studied everything at least once, I did random questions in 50-question blocks at night.

 

[keeping-it-real]

I divided my 4.5 weeks of studying in half, going through all the material twice. the first half I did only questions at night that corresponded to the material I'd studied that day. the second half, having already studied everything at least once, I did random questions in 50-question blocks at night.

i'm doing subject-specific tests right now but i haven't really started intensive board studying. i guess my hesitation is that i don't want to "waste" the Qbank questions by doing them before i've really studied the material... but at the same time i do want to use their questions to gauge my studying.

right now i do blocks of 10 questions and then go back and read the descriptions of all the questions and then learn (via FA,etc.) why every answer choice is is either correct or incorrect. this takes quite a bit of time but i feel like after i review the questions, i have a pretty good understanding of the material.

so far i'm right around 55% correct which i'm not too displeased with considering i haven't really buckled down to start my board studying. but the problem i have now, is that those questions i've already done are basically useless... whenever i see them, i can almost automatically pick the answer that they want.

so, should i stop doing the questions now and wait until after i've studied? this will give me a better assessment of where i actually stand.

or should i continue using it like i am and just realize that i will be overestimating my abilities when it comes time to use Qbank as an evaluation tool?

thx.

 

[lord_jeebus]

For path, why not get Robbins Review of Pathology for your subject-specific review and save the QBank for later? Similarly you could use questions from BRS books for other subjects.

If you're studying by traditional subjects (not systems), you could also get the Kaplan QBook, which is organized that way.

I think it it best to save as much QBank as you can for use in 50Q random blocks. But the above books can't be broken into random blocks so you may as well use them as you review.

I'm assuming you have enough time to do book questions and go through QBank later -- if you don't, using up QBank Q's now might not be a big concern.

 

[keeping-it-real]

For path, why not get Robbins Review of Pathology for your subject-specific review and save the QBank for later? Similarly you could use questions from BRS books for other subjects.

If you're studying by traditional subjects (not systems), you could also get the Kaplan QBook, which is organized that way.

I think it it best to save as much QBank as you can for use in 50Q random blocks. But the above books can't be broken into random blocks so you may as well use them as you review.

I'm assuming you have enough time to do book questions and go through QBank later -- if you don't, using up QBank Q's now might not be a big concern.

hrm... this sounds like a good idea

i have the Qbook and robbin's review -- i just hate doing them b/c it's a pain in the neck to self score (i usually do blocks of 5 questions and then have to come up with some way of not seeing the answers to the next set).

in contrast, Qbank is stupid simple to use and i can't accidentally see the next question's answer

i'll give the review books a try, though, and see how it works because i would like to save Qbank until after i've reviewed a bit and can evaluate teh efficiency of my studying. how does the difficulty of robbin's review compare to the difficult of pathology on the USMLE? Qbook?

thx for the advice.

 

[KitesurfDaEarth]

The general path questions at the beginning are pretty good, fairly high yield, and somewhat easy. Once you get into systems...it gets pretty hard. Ive been doing qbank, and have taken the path shelf and the robbins review questions have been the hardest by far.

hrm... this sounds like a good idea

i have the Qbook and robbin's review -- i just hate doing them b/c it's a pain in the neck to self score (i usually do blocks of 5 questions and then have to come up with some way of not seeing the answers to the next set).

in contrast, Qbank is stupid simple to use and i can't accidentally see the next question's answer

i'll give the review books a try, though, and see how it works because i would like to save Qbank until after i've reviewed a bit and can evaluate teh efficiency of my studying. how does the difficulty of robbin's review compare to the difficult of pathology on the USMLE? Qbook?

thx for the advice.

 

[lord_jeebus]

you could use Webpath if you prefer a computer interface.

 

[Bones2008]

so, should i stop doing the questions now and wait until after i've studied? this will give me a better assessment of where i actually stand.

or should i continue using it like i am and just realize that i will be overestimating my abilities when it comes time to use Qbank as an evaluation tool?

I think you're right to be wary of "wasting" questions. some of my friends did a ton of QBank before actually entering the step 1 study period and they regretted it. in just over 4 weeks I was able to do (and read the explanations for) every single question on qbank on top of reading FA, BRS path/phys, and the other books I used. my personal opinion is that doing a bunch of questions too early when you don't even know the material that well is a waste. small amounts sound just fine to me, though.

 

[mikedc813]

i know if i searched i could probably find the answer, but i'm trying to utilize better time management, so if any could tell me what they think is the best (most high yield) way to use the Qbank resource, please let me know.

for example, is it better to do only random question blocks of 50 q's or study pathology in the morning and then do all path questions?

thx.

I studied a subject, say Physiology, from First Aid and maybe something like BRS or HY, and then did the Qbank questions afterwards. This worked better for me than just starting with Qbank. I know some people who ONLY did Qbank and First Aid, but that didn't seem to work at all for me. I probably did 8 hours of book study a day followed by 2-3 hours of Qbank, which meant about 1-2 sets of 50 (including reading all of the answers).

 

[missbonnie]

I do a random qbank block of 50 qs every morning & go over the answers. IO wasn't going to do any random till much later in my studying, but I think it's a good idea to get the brain switching between subjects & to get used to doing questions in the AM, like the real test day.

I study by systems, more or less, and do other questions like webpath, robbins qs for path, I do the BRS physio qs at the end of the chapters mostly to gauge whether I got a concept or not, I think the BRS Path Qs are worthless. Our school has online versions of almost all the pre-tests so I doa few those too. I do SOME focused qbanks too, but minimize using those to save for my random blocks.

This weekend I'm going to start doing 2 random blocks every morning and work myself up to probably 3.

My questions: do most ppl do a practice FULL-LENGTH exam? I guess Kaplan gives us that 1 full-length that has questions separate from qbank. I wasn't going to, but I remember doing plenty of full lengths when prepping for mcat and it made test day a no-brainer in terms of stamina & pacing.

bonnie

 

[Surgeonizer]

Don't purchase it in the first place. It doesn't simulate the real exam very well. Too many ridiculous minutiae on QBank. The real test is more about critical thinking--i.e., how you deal with questions that require multiple cognitive steps to arrive at the answer and the ability to separate distractors from germane info.

My advice re: QBank--don't waste your time and money.

 

[njbmd]

Don't purchase it in the first place. It doesn't simulate the real exam very well. Too many ridiculous minutiae on QBank. The real test is more about critical thinking--i.e., how you deal with questions that require multiple cognitive steps to arrive at the answer and the ability to separate distractors from germane info.

My advice re: QBank--don't waste your time and money.

Hi there,
I used only Q-Bank and had only two weeks to study for and take Step I. I rocked on that exam. Q-Bank is a good review and can point out your weaknesses. It also tells one why the right answers are right and the wrong answers are wrong.

I also had many questions on my exam that were exact repeats of Q-Bank. My advice is to use Q-Bank as a means of directing your review. It is also the best resource if you have a short study period.

njbmd 🙂

 

[Mr. Peanut]

I used Qbank in a subject specific way at first and now wish i hadn't. Since Kaplan sees fit NOT to offer a "reset to unused" questions, whatever subjects you focus on will be under represented if you do a random unused test later... and random "all questions" tests don't seem very random (lots of repeats).

This might not work for you, but what I'm doing these days is studying a subject and then taking subject specific tests using the CDs that come with rapid review books. Then doing some Qbank at night (when I have internet). These are pretty cheap ($20?) and might be worth your time in a subject or two. Path and Micro are the ones I've done the most of in the rapid review and they seem pretty good to me. Then again, buying more stuff might just be a waste.