Strippers or Medical Question Bank?

I received my credit card bill in the mail today, and one particular item caught my attention. It was titled: "Scores! Chicago" and the price was $199.00. Now, go ahead and google it. Yep, my suspicions were correct...the first link that shows up is the self proclaimed Nation's #1 Gentlemen's Club. Now, you and I know what I paid $199.00 for, but my mother sure gave me a strange look when she saw that bill!

I think I'm dumb

After 900 questions of Qbank, I fully expected my marks to steadily rise. Instead, my hours of reading are being rewarded with decling Qbank scores. My last set? 64%, compared with 63% for the Kaplan average. Granted, some of the questions included crap like M5 AML (I thought we only needed to know M3), and one really poorly worded question about the CDC definition of AIDS (I picked CD4<200, the answer was MAC). I'm trying not to let these results get to me, but it's getting harder to ignore these poor results...

More Questions

Qbank is now 34% complete (750 questions), with an average score of 71% compared to 62% for the Kaplan average. I feel as though I've hit a wall. I get the odd high 70's, and then follow it up with a score in the mid/high 60's. The mark breakdowns swing slightly in my favour, with mid 70's to low 80's for the highest yield topics: Pathology, Pathophysiology, Pharmacology and Physiology. Actually, today I worked on the PreTest Clinical Vignettes book, which I find to be slightly harder than Kaplan. I did the first 4 blocks, with marks in the low 70's. So...there are tons of questions still to do...

Kaplan Physiology Qbank

I've decided to take a break from the normal Qbank and switch over to the Physiology Qbank, which is a separate question bank that costs $75.00 (I think). After doing a few blocks of CVS and Cell Physiology, I'm really not liking it. Maybe it's because I hate physiology, but it just seems like the questions are too math heavy and are short on the clinical side. I'm going to keep going with this for today and maybe for tomorrow, but that will probably be the last time I use it.

QBank Blues

Well after a few good random blocks, I've hit the wall with two consecutive blocks of 66%. My only consolation is that the Kaplan average is lower than that. It's actually a really cool feature of Qbank -- it gives you your score, and everyone else's score on that block. So now, despite feeling pretty low, I can at least find some solace in knowing that others are doing worse than me. After 300 random questions, my average is now 72%.

4 Blocks down

Ok, after 4 random blocks, or 200 questions, I'm really liking Qbank. The interface is nice, I've solved the mouse problems, and it's running pretty smoothly. I find that running the test in untimed mode and checking each answer as I go along saves me much time (rather than finishing the block and reviewing each question again). I run a separate timer using another program. So far, 75% average on the 4 blocks, ranging from 68% to 84%. I'm starting to understand what some people say about their exam...they walk out feeling like they failed, but end up doing ok. My first block, I really want to stop and ask for a mulligan but after finishing, I ended up with a 76%. Alright...about 1900 questions to go...

Kaplan time!

Alright, I finally put $199.00 on my credit card and it's time for Kaplan Qbank. First impression -- the interface is a copy of the new FRED style exam, but it's slightly different, and I'm having trouble blocking text and scrolling. Who really cares though? If the questions are good, it doesn't matter to me...

Behavioral Science

Well ok, one day turned into two days. It was pretty painful to get through this topic, but I'm done. BRS plus a bit of First Aid. I did the Qbook questions and I've got to say, I feel as though I'm guessing on a lot of these questions. And, despite my relative ineptitude in this subject, I'm pretty sure I disagree with at least 2 of the questions. 76% on the first block, 68% on the second block. Maybe this will require another day of review closer to the real exam. Qbank coming up next!

Pharmacology Done

Pharmacology is done. Just a quick review lasting 3 days using FA and my class lecture notes, which, as it turns out, was not all that bad. 78% on Qbook. Behavioral Science/Stats next - 1 day...tops.

Pathology Done

Phew! Just finished Pathology. It took about 10 days to finish this beast, which was a bit longer than I expected. Mostly, the problem was having the patience to finish Robbins, which wasn't just a meal, it was the full buffet including a double helping of icecream at the end. I finished Robbins with an average in the high 70's/low 80's which I'm pretty happy with. 86% on Qbook. Now its time for Pharmacology. I'm thinking 3 days tops.

Robbins Chapter 14

Ok, holy crap. Robbins Chapter 14 WBC, LN, Spleen and Thymus is killing me. I've managed to do most of the chapters before and some after this chapter with around 75-85% correct. So what did I get on Chapter 14? 49%. I want to scream, so I did, and it felt good. Next, I wanted to tear the chapter out of my book, but I decided it would do me no good. Instead, I opted to direct my sense of frustration at my pen. I got it free from the drug company anyways. I put on my favorite safety glasses (I got those free too when I bought my chainsaw) and smashed that little Fosamax pen to bits. It felt good. Incidentally, I used Kaplan notes for this section of pathology which, as it turns out, was completely useless. Go suck it Barone!