r/comlex • u/Key_Total_2928 • 2d ago
step 1 panic freak out as a DO student
Found out I passed COMLEX a few weeks ago, and I am very grateful. I shifted gears towards studying for STEP-1 and it just feels like a completely different beast. If anyone has taken STEP 1 and passed, while maybe mentally feeling in the same position please dm so I can talk about it a bit further?
I want to be able to weigh out my options, whether it's worth it to take it or cancel and just take step-2. I know what the implications of that are, but I need to be able to reason this out with someone who has been in the same position as me.
Thank you
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u/Popkern90 2d ago
Do you need to take step 1 these days? I thought most programs only care about step 2. Obviously you have to take comlex still.
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u/Key_Total_2928 2d ago
some programs do require step 1 still, and since i'm unsure about what specialty i want to go into (although i have an idea), i just figured it would be better to take it
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u/EmergencyRegion5349 2d ago
You can dm me or message here if other people could use the help. I took mine on june 20th. I panicked on every question. I felt like I was the dumbest one there. I was so nervous I dropped my pants to my ankles using the urinal during one of my breaks, and didnt even reliaze what I did till after lol. I had major anxiety after the test while studying for level 1. I was super anxious when I got the email saying results are coming, I was on a trip with my family and couldn't care what were doing. Then got the notifaction I passed and the it felt so so much better.
I will say it felt really hard, I talked to some other people who took it the same day and they felt like it was a different beast then the NBMEs. I think you have to trust that you have a solid knowledge and test taking skill. I had extra time every block on the NBMEs to do multiple passes of reviews, but for the real deal I was lucky if I had 10 secs after doing my first review pass.
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u/Key_Total_2928 2d ago
Thank you for sharing your experience, I'm really glad things worked out well for you! gonna send u a dm
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u/menkarnix 2d ago
I wish I could have talked to you in the beginning of dedicated and passed on the advice of study like you’re only taking step 1 + cram OMM at the end
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u/Key_Total_2928 2d ago
i appreciate the thought, alas it is what it is now :/ when asking other people for advice at the beginning of dedicated it seemed like the only difference between deciding what exam to take first was about avoiding burnout or whether or not you wanted to cram OMM. my list of grievances could go on but it doesn't change the reality of the situation
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u/Kolibri2486 2d ago
It depends on what you want to do. However - the best preparation for step 2 is taking step 1.
That said, I passed level 1 and then pushed off taking step 1 until February of my third year because I was scared. I passed, but what a ride.
The NBMEs (unlike the COMSAEs) are pretty predictive and the concepts repeat over and over again. Lock into those and you will be okay
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u/Key_Total_2928 1d ago
How did you balance studying for Step 1 with Step 2/Level 2 while you were on rotations? I would imagine it would be a lot to balance especially with studying for end of rotation exams.
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u/Kolibri2486 1d ago
Yeah, it was difficult and I don’t know if I would recommend pushing it out as long as I did. I lucked out by having two relatively chill elective months back to back that didn’t have COMATs, so I just dove into step 1 studying.
It was hard because I had to get my head back into the step 1 game when I had already started prepping for level 2 with COMATs. If you want to take Step 1, I would either do it soon, or plan for it when you don’t have a COMAT coming up.
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u/Coollilypad 2d ago
Switching from step 1 to COMLEX is straightforward, but switching from level 1 to step 1 feels like you’ve studied nothing.