Quote:
Originally Posted by Haisook
What about Kaplan? I'm in the same exact situation as the original poster, and I thought Kaplan Qbank is the second choice after UW, or is it not?  |
Usually
Kaplan's the first choice - ie: learn your concepts from Kaplan (material and then Qbank) - THEN, test yourself / refine your concepts with UW. If you're done done UW - like explanations and everything, then only you move to a 3rd bank like
Consult.
We use the qbanks more like textbooks than actual things that test our knowledge because the way the exam is - reading the actual textbooks is a time consuming and tricky process and doesn't necessarily guide us the right way to think to be successful on the USMLE. In fact, the argument that the NBME (those that make the USMLE) makes is that you'll be a better doctor if you think like the
qbanks and like the USMLE instead of memorizing books because it's more like real life. I don't know how true that is, but the current exam is the result of years and years of criticism from all sides that the exam and real medicine had nothing to do with each other and that textbooks and real medicine had nothing to do with each other. So, the NBME changed the exam - the textbooks on the other hand are still textbooks.
So, yeah- do
Kaplan Qbank to reinforce and test yourself after the first read of their material. Then, do UW, because now you've moved on to "real USMLE" type situations but not quite yet. Do an
NBME - that will tell you how much you really absorbed and then finally - to get those points which keep you from getting *every* question right - do a third bank like
Consult.
Anyway, that's my rant - it's a condensed version of stuff I heard from both sales people and professors of mine who recently (within 10 years) took the step 1 for what its worth. Hope that helps
