Basics of the USMLE World Step 1 Question Bank
USMLE World has been a rapidly growing USMLE step 1 test prep
option. It has a good sized bank of questions, more than 2000,
distributed across all the important disciplines tested.
At $135 for 2-months of access, this product is positioned
between the inexpensive review books and the substantially more
expensive live review courses.
User interface
The USMLEWorld Q-bank interface is designed to mimic that of
the real computer based step 1, so it locks out other functions
on the computer, gives you access to normal lab values, a simple
calculator, allows you to mark questions, and has a place for
notes on each question. In general the system worked well without
bugs.
One slightly irritating feature is that you must have a live
internet connection to use the system. While this isn't a deal
breaker, it does mean you can't take your laptop any old place
to study. And if your wireless router or ISP gives out, you're
S.O.L.
The one interface issue that really didn't work well was the
auscultation files. Unless you play the sounds through headphones
in a quiet room you can't hear a thing. It would be nice to be
able to play the sounds through standard computer speakers.
Quality of USMLE Step 1 practice questions from USMLEWorld
In general the quality of the questions and answers was very
high, although several topics did repeat. For example, Hepatitis
B was covered multiple times, with almost the same answer blocks
for each question. Similarly, hydrochlorothiazide and its effect
on K+ and Ca2+ was covered multiple times. While these topics
are important, it seemed a little overkill and other topics got
less attention than they would otherwise.
Any question bank this large will have errors in it, but the
number of errors we found was relatively small. Based on the errors
we found, less than 1% of questions have errors - and those that
do are clear either because the figures don't match the explanation,
or the explanation doesn't make sense.
The explanations of correct and incorrect answers are throrough
and informative. I also found the images of good quality. One
example that sticks out is a light microscopic image of blastomycosis,
which would have been unrecognizable if you had to rely only on
the line drawing in First Aid for the USMLE Step 1.
Relevance to the real USMLE Step 1
I've spoken to several students who used USMLE World question
bank and found that its questions mirrored the type and content
of questions that appeared on Step 1. In particular two students
who scored in the 230+ range used this question bank along with
First Aid as their main study resources (supplemented with micro
and pharm flashcards and Robbins Pathology).
USMLEWorld Step 1 Q-bank Summary
The USMLE World Step 1 Q-bank is a good value at $135 for 2-month
access, with high-quality questions and answers and a reliable
interface.
USMLEWorld
Step 1 Q-bank
Other USMLE Resources
