When to utilize question banks?

[golgi body]

Incoming M1 here. Based on what I have read/heard from current students, the best way to supplement classes and study for boards is to practice with question banks as you go. I’ve been told by a current student and friend that Kaplan and Rx is good for M1, and then to start using UWorld for M2/dedicated. However, I went to my PCP recently for immunizations and she told me to just use UWorld from the start (even though its harder)and to forget the other question banks.

Can anyone provide some opinions on how/when to utilize these question bank resources? Thanks.

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[AnatomyGrey12]

Don't do UWorld from the start. That would waste your most valuable resource. I started Q banks when we started into systems, second semester of first year and selected for the systems we were in. Ultimately did about 10k practice questions and was pleased with my Step result.

Kaplan is decent, Rx sucks but is decent for memorizing First Aid.

 

[golgi body]

Don't do UWorld from the start. That would waste your most valuable resource. I started Q banks when we started into systems, second semester of first year and selected for the systems we were in. Ultimately did about 10k practice questions and was pleased with my Step result.

Kaplan is decent, Rx sucks but is decent for memorizing First Aid.

Thanks for the advice. So would it really only be useful to start q banks once systems start? I think my first couple blocks are molecular foundations, histo, etc

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Thanks for the advice. So would it really only be useful to start q banks once systems start? I think my first couple blocks are molecular foundations, histo, etc

Personally yeah I think you should wait until then. I guess you could do the biochem questions, but those other topics are usually harder to tease out because they get shelved under different headings and come up in the systems questions.

 

[deleted600623]

Don't do UWorld from the start. That would waste your most valuable resource. I started Q banks when we started into systems, second semester of first year and selected for the systems we were in. Ultimately did about 10k practice questions and was pleased with my Step result.

Kaplan is decent, Rx sucks but is decent for memorizing First Aid.

Which do you recommend first? Rx to memorize FA and then Kaplan when you get closer to dedicated?

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Which do you recommend first? Rx to memorize FA and then Kaplan when you get closer to dedicated?

Doesn't matter. Maybe do both concurrently.

 

[7331poas]

Dont start a qbank until you have at least finished 2 blocks of a system

 

[deleted600623]

Dont start a qbank until you have at least finished 2 blocks of a system

You mean 2 systems?

 

[7331poas]

You mean 2 systems?

sure

 

[Ho0v-man]

First semester will be so overwhelming. Don’t do qbanks right off the bat. That’s like trying trying to master butterfly technique while actively drowning

 

[deleted967981]

First semester will be so overwhelming. Don’t do qbanks right off the bat. That’s like trying trying to master butterfly technique while actively drowning

Love the imagery in that description.

 

[HybridEarth]

UWORLD is the gold standard (for your boards), but it will certainly help you with your courses as well if you manage your time enough to fit it in. It is a learning tool, not a testing tool. It's about 3000 questions, and there are a few paragraphs explaining why the correct answer is right, as well as explaining the relevant stuff you need to understand it. It takes quite a while to get through, considering you can spend 5-10 minutes on each question actually doing it, writing notes/flash cards on your computer on it, and actually understanding what its saying.

If I were an incoming M1, I would buy UWORLD and try to follow your school's curriculum as far as subjects go. For example, if you're learning endocrine physiology, do the endocrine physiology questions in UWORLD; if you have a dedicated immunology course, do the immunology questions.

To reiterate, it is a learning tool. You aren't really "wasting" it by using it early. I don't know why that information gets passed around so much - it was given to me too when I was an M1 and I am kicking myself for listening to that. You can do UWORLD again before Step 1 during dedicated, or use another reputable qbank like AMBOSS or Kaplan.

Just my two cents. Wishing you the best.

 

[DubbiDoctor]

Kaplan and Rx are all you need to do well during the school year. Save UWorld until dedicated. If you're an uber gunner and need a third Qbank, consider amboss (I've never tried it but have heard good things). If you're in a traditional curriculum - i.e. only studying physiology, not pathology, year 1, qbanks will be less helpful. But if you're doing systems, they're great. Zanki + all of the kaplan qbanks Qs for last block's systems were all I needed to score 90+ on the end of unit NBME exam.

 

[deleted600623]

UWORLD is the gold standard (for your boards), but it will certainly help you with your courses as well if you manage your time enough to fit it in. It is a learning tool, not a testing tool. It's about 3000 questions, and there are a few paragraphs explaining why the correct answer is right, as well as explaining the relevant stuff you need to understand it. It takes quite a while to get through, considering you can spend 5-10 minutes on each question actually doing it, writing notes/flash cards on your computer on it, and actually understanding what its saying.

If I were an incoming M1, I would buy UWORLD and try to follow your school's curriculum as far as subjects go. For example, if you're learning endocrine physiology, do the endocrine physiology questions in UWORLD; if you have a dedicated immunology course, do the immunology questions.

To reiterate, it is a learning tool. You aren't really "wasting" it by using it early. I don't know why that information gets passed around so much - it was given to me too when I was an M1 and I am kicking myself for listening to that. You can do UWORLD again before Step 1 during dedicated, or use another reputable qbank like AMBOSS or Kaplan.

Just my two cents. Wishing you the best.

This makes a ton of sense. A lot of the high scorers on Step 1 (multiple med students on YouTube scoring 250+) all say that the KEY to using UWorld is not doing the questions but reviewing the answers. Thus, using it as a learning tool and not a testing tool.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

UWORLD is the gold standard (for your boards), but it will certainly help you with your courses as well if you manage your time enough to fit it in. It is a learning tool, not a testing tool. It's about 3000 questions, and there are a few paragraphs explaining why the correct answer is right, as well as explaining the relevant stuff you need to understand it. It takes quite a while to get through, considering you can spend 5-10 minutes on each question actually doing it, writing notes/flash cards on your computer on it, and actually understanding what its saying.

If I were an incoming M1, I would buy UWORLD and try to follow your school's curriculum as far as subjects go. For example, if you're learning endocrine physiology, do the endocrine physiology questions in UWORLD; if you have a dedicated immunology course, do the immunology questions.

To reiterate, it is a learning tool. You aren't really "wasting" it by using it early. I don't know why that information gets passed around so much - it was given to me too when I was an M1 and I am kicking myself for listening to that. You can do UWORLD again before Step 1 during dedicated, or use another reputable qbank like AMBOSS or Kaplan.

Just my two cents. Wishing you the best.

This is bad advice. Have you taken Step yet?

This makes a ton of sense. A lot of the high scorers on Step 1 (multiple med students on YouTube scoring 250+) all say that the KEY to using UWorld is not doing the questions but reviewing the answers. Thus, using it as a learning tool and not a testing tool.

Everyone uses it to read the explanations and review the answers.... it’s a terrible idea to use it in M1. Here’s why, the most valuable thing about UWorld is that it teaches you how to think. How to approach a novel situation and tie multiple concepts together. You only get that benefit if you are doing it after you have originally learned the material. Yes you learn some new content in UWorld, but that’s not where the true value lies. Doing UWorld as you go through systems for the first time is a great way to blow through your best resource and have the true value escape you because you don’t have the knowledge base to pick up on the integration aspect. So yes, it’s a waste.

Going through UWorld twice has shown no benefit over just doing it once, so doing it again in dedicated isn’t going to help you because you’ve already seen those questions.

 

[HybridEarth]

Yes I've taken Step 1 and am taking Step 2 in a week.