Need Tips on Studying for Comlex Step 1 (2024)

SukaNeNauka said:

Honestly I think you are in a very, very good shape to get >>600 on this exam. Keep it simple, there is not a lot of molecular/biochem/genetics/mechanisms on this exam. Memorize the basics from FA, do plenty of practice questiions and read explanations, and memorize basics of OMM. I would also not worry at all about Neuro. Keep it simple for COMLEX!!!

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I'm sorry, but I have to completely disagree w/ the bolded comment. Neuro is traditionally fairly heavy on the comlex and certainly was on my test last year. If your goal is to pass you could probably get by w/o it....but if you want to do well I would spend some time w/ the section in FA and HY Neuro

whatever you do, DO NOT, DO NOT skip neuro for the COMLEX! my version was very neuro, psych pharm, and micro heavy. OMM is also something that if you ace it will truly help you, and the book you have, OMT Review is definitley the BEST out there. I recommend you take the COMSAE maybe a week or 2 prior to the exam to get an idea of where you might score. This resource is has the most similiar content and question style to the real test that you can find anywhere, but keep in mind that it UNDERESTIMATED most SDNer's scores (by ~50 pts for many, including myself)

The Kaplan COMLEX QBank is too easy compared to the real test, IMO, but it's really the only thing out there to practice with. The questions in the back of the Savaresse book are also VERY similar and helpful. to give you some kind of comparison, I ended up with a Kaplan COMLEX QBank score of ~75% overall and got a 589/88 on the real deal.

You still have 4 weeks and that is tons of time to kill neuro and hit micro and pharm pretty hard, others may have advice on other subjects that were high yield.

Taus said:

I'm sorry, but I have to completely disagree w/ the bolded comment. Neuro is traditionally fairly heavy on the comlex and certainly was on my test last year. If your goal is to pass you could probably get by w/o it....but if you want to do well I would spend some time w/ the section in FA and HY Neuro

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I had a ridiculous amount of neuro on my test; in fact, so many similar questions that I almost wondered if there was some kind of error. Most of the questions were very straight forward, but IMHO, the Neuro section of FA may be the weakest in the book, so it's a very good idea to supplement w/ HY, Road Map, etc. I would try to be very solid on cranial nerves, bleeds, blood supply, aphasias, etc. before walking into the test.

Although it's usefulness as a predictor is questionable, I would also recommend you take the practice NBOME test, COMSAE, just to get some exposure to the format and style of the questions.

http://www.nbome.org/comsae/index.html

Make sure you know your bugs and drugs, some path, some upper/lower limb anatomy and OMM. If you get those down you should pass. I'm not saying to skip anything but you definitely DON'T want these to be your weaknesses going into the exam.

DON'T skip nuero. Start it early since some topics need repeat review to sink in.

SukaNeNauka said:

....Is FA Neuro weak? Yes, maybe it is. But, it is enough for COMLEX....FA in combination with a good question bank will prepare you very well for everything that you may encounter on COMLEX....

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I disagree. Mine was waaaaaay neuro heavy. I think I had 12 questions on the same brain bleed, and then more on tracts, nuclei, etc.

My study would be filled with bugs and drugs, anything remotely connected to the autonomic nervous sytem, neuro, OMM (know your levels like the back of your hand!!!!) anatomy of the extremities, and basic path-- probably in that order. FA is a good guide in some ways, but it can fool you because the amount of time and space it dedicates to a topic is not on par with the amount of time you need to spend on the same topics.

there are couple OMM review books..

1. OMT review (the famous green book)

2. First Aid Comlex

3. Comlex Review by LWW

I saw some good review on FA comlex..
did any one try that?
is it better than OMT Review?

rayster said:

Has anyone heard anything about the Kaplan comlex books? I haven't really heard anything, but it sounds appealing... thanks!

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When I prepared for COMLEX Level 1 in '07, Kaplan had one extra review book for OMT (which was terrible) and all the other texts were the same for the USMLE prep course.

I preferred using Simmons (though Savaresse is just as good) to cover OMT. Don't forget to memorize sympathetic/para innervations.

Each year seems to emphasize different topics. When I took it... micro, pharm (know at least 2-3 drugs for each bug!), ob/gyn and psych were really emphasized. There was a lot of Path, but it was very straight forward. Physio was a joke. I had to interpret at least 2 head CT's (very easy) and 3-4 EKG's (relatively simple, though they were hard to see... pictures on COMLEX are horrible). No biostats. Most people didn't have much biochemistry, but I had at least a dozen questions (all were easy... there is a list floating about of 10 reactions that sum up pretty much every type of biochem question you could possibly be asked on COMLEX). There are also a lot of repeat questions you'll encounter.

Terpskins99 said:

When I prepared for COMLEX Level 1 in '07, Kaplan had one extra review book for OMT (which was terrible) and all the other texts were the same for the USMLE prep course.

I preferred using Simmons (though Savaresse is just as good) to cover OMT. Don't forget to memorize sympathetic/para innervations.

Each year seems to emphasize different topics. When I took it... micro, pharm (know at least 2-3 drugs for each bug!), ob/gyn and psych were really emphasized. There was a lot of Path, but it was very straight forward. Physio was a joke. I had to interpret at least 2 head CT's (very easy) and 3-4 EKG's (relatively simple, though they were hard to see... pictures on COMLEX are horrible). No biostats. Most people didn't have much biochemistry, but I had at least a dozen questions (all were easy... there is a list floating about of 10 reactions that sum up pretty much every type of biochem question you could possibly be asked on COMLEX). There are also a lot of repeat questions you'll encounter.

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hehe exactly why i want to take the comlex after 2 weeks of studying..i can't afford to spend my time toward comlex when usmle has so much to cover.

Lamborghini1315 said:

My focus on comlex will be hammering bugs, drugs and omm...with less emphasis on every other subject. I will def not invest a great deal of time in physio, path but neuro/ob-gyn path seem to account for a good deal of points on comlex. So yea don't study it like you would for usmle if you are taking both exams..remember the key is to understand the difference in high yield material tested on both exams. Good luck!

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Ob-gyn path is high yield? I don't know what's really high yield for COMLEX except for OMT, bugs/drugs, neuro.

Doctor4Life1769 said:

Ob-gyn path is high yield? I don't know what's really high yield for COMLEX except for OMT, bugs/drugs, neuro.

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Lamborghini hasn't even taken it yet. So take his advice with a huge grain of salt. He doesn't know what he's talking about.

Like I mentioned, the high yield subjects tend to be cyclical every other year.

Ob/Gyn path (as in images/histology) is NOT high yield. However, the basics of ob/gyn such as: the menstrual cycle, the difference between various contraceptives (especially the OCP's), female development (age of menarche, menopause, tanner staging), physiology of fetal circulation... all of that IS high yield.

Terpskins99 said:

Lamborghini hasn't even taken it yet. So take his advice with a huge grain of salt. He doesn't know what he's talking about.

Like I mentioned, the high yield subjects tend to be cyclical every other year.

Ob/Gyn path (as in images/histology) is NOT high yield. However, the basics of ob/gyn such as: the menstrual cycle, the difference between various contraceptives (especially the OCP's), female development (age of menarche, menopause, tanner staging), physiology of fetal circulation... all of that IS high yield.

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huh speak for yourself...i may not have taken it but i have friends who have and i get their input as much as you like to give yours to others. I may not have worded my intentions right but the point was the emphasis on ob/gyn, sorry for any confusion.

Where is this list you speak of below?

Terpskins99 said:

When I prepared for COMLEX Level 1 in '07, Kaplan had one extra review book for OMT (which was terrible) and all the other texts were the same for the USMLE prep course.

I preferred using Simmons (though Savaresse is just as good) to cover OMT. Don't forget to memorize sympathetic/para innervations.

Each year seems to emphasize different topics. When I took it... micro, pharm (know at least 2-3 drugs for each bug!), ob/gyn and psych were really emphasized. There was a lot of Path, but it was very straight forward. Physio was a joke. I had to interpret at least 2 head CT's (very easy) and 3-4 EKG's (relatively simple, though they were hard to see... pictures on COMLEX are horrible). No biostats. Most people didn't have much biochemistry, but I had at least a dozen questions (all were easy... there is a list floating about of 10 reactions that sum up pretty much every type of biochem question you could possibly be asked on COMLEX). There are also a lot of repeat questions you'll encounter.

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1. Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD)
2. HMG-CoA Reductase
3. Dihydrofolate Reductase
4. Gamma-Glutamyl Carboxylase (Vitamin K Carboxylase)
5. Glucuronosyltransferase (Crigler-Najjar)
6. Methyl-Malonyl CoA Mutase
7. hom*ocysteine Methyl Transferase
8. Hexosaminidase A (Tay-Sachs)
9. HGPRT (HPRT) (Lesch-Nyhan)
10. Branched-Chain Ketoacid Dehydrogenase (Maple Syrup Urine)

Which reminds me. I had at least three questions about Lesch-Nyhan syndrome. Go figure.

Awesome, thank you Terp and AmyO!

Is there a running list of HYs for COMLEX I?

So I know these are HYs:
-bugs/drugs
-anatomy: especially peripheral/UE
-neuro: vascular lesions, anything else?
-ob/gyn: physiology, hormone regulation and the cycles
-biochem: know the main enzymes listed above (i.e. diseases due to deficiencies of key enzymes)
-OMT: techniques, sympathetic innervations/levels, etc
------ at this point I'm not sure about the subjects HYs below ------
-path: ??
-CMB/Genetics: Know diseases? Not sure either
-MSK: I'd guess no pathologies/diseases, gout, etc.?
-Behavioral: biostats and what else?
-Heme: Know the diseases and causes?
-Cardio: I'd guess pathologies, EKGs, what else?
-Pulm: pathologies and what else?
-GI: ??
-Derm: ??

Thanks for the help guys, this should definitely help everyone studying to take this beast in their respective time frame!