How to study for COMLEX 1
Studying for COMLEX is knowing all your content for USMLE, adding the OMT material, and familiarizing yourself with the formatting of the question. COMLEX questions are much more vague with less verbiage for you to rule out answer choices. Many residency programs will not look at your COMLEX scores. If it is average or above average, it is a check mark. If you do poorly, it is noticed. With the onset of USMLE/COMLEX 1 pass fail and depending on what specialties you are pursuing, there is no need for you to take USMLE and some people are opting to take USMLE 1 only. I scored 600+ on my COMLEX which is above 80 percentile so here are my best tips for acing your COMLEX in a limited time.
How should I schedule my COMLEX and USMLE?
There are a few ways to do it depending on which one you want to take first. If you want to take COMLEX before USMLE, people are usually taking it before they start dedicated for USMLE (usually they are set 1 month apart). Rarely do I see people take COMLEX a few days before their USMLE unless it is due to scheduling conflicts. This is because while you are learning the OMT portion of the exam, it might interrupt the memory curve you have built for USMLE. The advantage of taking COMLEX first is that you don’t have to take two 8 hours tests so close to one another, your school has certain cut off dates for testing, and you feel confident enough about the medical content to take COMLEX first.
The most common format is scheduling USMLE and then COMLEX with 2-5 days in between. When I took COMLEX 1, I scheduled 4 days in between the two tests and with COMLEX 2, I was more confident of learning the OMT material in time that I left 2 days in between instead. So do what is most comfortable to you and based on your/others personal experiences.
What are your top resources for COMLEX?
Truelearn: this was a question bank provided by my osteopathic medical school and it had specific COMLEX and OMT style questions as well as USMLE questions. So during the entire first year, I would do these questions on and off in addition to my UWORLD questions. When you study for USMLE 1, you should be using two question banks so this was my second one. I really liked the explanations Truelearn gives for both USMLE/COMLEX banks and highly recommend it. If your school does not give you Truelearn or you feel the current resource is not helpful, bring it up with your Dean and see if they are willing to change based on student feedback.
Dirty Medicine OMM Youtube Playlist: I watched the entire playlist and took notes on this slide PDF. He does a great job of explaining all the basics and helping you prepare for COMLEX.
Onlinemeded: This is another great video source for you to learn OMM if Dirty Medicine style/lesson doesn’t explain it well for you. I use both of these resources interchangeably for both COMLEX 1 and 2. To access the videos, you just need to make a free account.
Shanonology Cheat Sheet Youtube Playlist: I have included videos I used to help me draw this cheat sheet during the actual exam. It shows all the autonomic-visceral connections and Chapman’s points for all the organs. This PDF will also show you the final cheat sheet I used on my actual exam.
OMT Lectures: I have premade charts and notes from my OMT classes that I used to review material efficiently. I compiled them well enough that I am able to use these notes for COMLEX 1, COMAT, and COMLEX 2. I have linked some useful images and charts for you to view.
Amboss: This is a reading resource for OMM with associated diagrams and charts that would be a good addition to pull information from if you already have the subscription. They also give you a few trial articles and and you can use it for the OMM ones.
Savarese OMT Review Book: IF you have time, this is a little green book that reviews the basics of OMT and has questions/answers you can practice with. I used it to supplement my content learning on specific topics I had trouble with. I have linked the PDF version for you to see.
What are your general tips?
Understand the formatting for COMLEX: It is divided into 2 blocks of 44 questions with 10 minutes of break in between and a 40 minutes lunch break. There are a total of 8 blocks. This test requires more stamina thank USMLE because it is longer with less breaks in between. There are different rescheduling rules/fees for COMLEX than USMLE.
You should not overthink COMLEX questions. They are straight forward and your gut answer is usually the correct one. Doing practice questions is how you will feel more confident and build your test taking strategies. I personally only took the required COMSAE (COMLEX practice test) through my medical school and this was a good benchmark of where I was without additional practice exams.
Don’t be too anxious about having to take both of these board exams. You are much more competent and well prepared than you think. The fact that you have to study and take COMLEX/USMLE is a true testament of the lengths you’ll go to becoming a physician.
If you have any questions, feel free to DM me on Instagram
Lub dub,
Shanon
