which to take 1st: USMLE or COMLEX?

[Get Rad]

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i need to take the COMLEX and also rock out on the USMLE. my question is which do i take first, and how much time in between exams? do i leave USMLE til the end to maximize study time, or will i be too burned out after the COMLEX? should i take the USMLE first and then just study OPP material for a few days before taking the COMLEX, or would i need more prep than that? as much as i'd like to take a vacation, do i really have the time to do it if i'm taking 2 boards?
😕
thanks for your opinions!

 

[Terpskins99]

i need to take the COMLEX and also rock out on the USMLE. my question is which do i take first, and how much time in between exams? do i leave USMLE til the end to maximize study time, or will i be too burned out after the COMLEX? should i take the USMLE first and then just study OPP material for a few days before taking the COMLEX, or would i need more prep than that? as much as i'd like to take a vacation, do i really have the time to do it if i'm taking 2 boards?
😕
thanks for your opinions!

Most of my friends elected to take USMLE first and COMLEX second. For the reasons you listed. You're going to get pretty tired.

 

[Phallacious]

I took USMLE one week before COMLEX believing reasons of fatigue, etc etc.

In retrospect, I would take COMLEX first and regard it as a pre-marathon to the marathon. The COMLEX is a real exam and good, but if you are taking the USMLE then you want to really excel at that so I would take the COMLEX wait 10 days and then the USMLE.

Use the in between time to brush up on concepts you were unclear about w/ COMLEX. IF you are taking the USMLE and planning on applying primarily ACGME residencies no one gives 2 ****s about the COMLEX so do as well as you can but throw everything you have into the USMLE.

Also, do not spend even 1 day studying for the OMM. People are wrong about how much that is emphasized on COMLEX. It is really miniscule often incorporated into other questions such as anatomy, et al.

DON't waste a single minute studying for OMM just what the school offers you is more than enough.

Peace out.

 

[Terpskins99]

I took USMLE one week before COMLEX believing reasons of fatigue, etc etc.

In retrospect, I would take COMLEX first and regard it as a pre-marathon to the marathon. The COMLEX is a real exam and good, but if you are taking the USMLE then you want to really excel at that so I would take the COMLEX wait 10 days and then the USMLE.

Use the in between time to brush up on concepts you were unclear about w/ COMLEX. IF you are taking the USMLE and planning on applying primarily ACGME residencies no one gives 2 ****s about the COMLEX so do as well as you can but throw everything you have into the USMLE.

Also, do not spend even 1 day studying for the OMM. People are wrong about how much that is emphasized on COMLEX. It is really miniscule often incorporated into other questions such as anatomy, et al.

DON't waste a single minute studying for OMM just what the school offers you is more than enough.

Peace out.

Umm... just want to say that I really disagree with this statement. While the OMM on the exam is not difficult, it still makes up about 20% of the exam and some of it isn't really common knowledge (e.g. chapman's points, para/symp innervations). You're giving away free points here. Taking one day to study OMM won't kill you. But miss a single OMM question on the exam and I guarantee you'll be kicking yourself afterwards.

 

[Taus]

my rec would be to take the USMLE 1st

I took the USMLE on a Monday....relaxed (ie recovered from an insane hangover) for a few days....studied OMM for a half a day and reviewed bugs n drugs....then took the COMLEX on that Friday

It worked out really well and I wouldn't have changed the way I did it

I also would not advise you to totally ignore OMM unless your school has you extremely well prepared for it....you'd be throwing away easy points