As I am starting to prepare for my first shelf exam, I was wondering if any M4s had any advice for using only AMBOSS questions and not UWorld questions for shelf prep? I know that almost everyone uses UWorld and many people add on AMBOSS, but I would love to only use AMBOSS and not have to purchase UWorld. It makes me nervous to not purchase UWorld because everyone swears by it, but I also have really liked AMBOSS for the first two years of medical school, and if it is sufficient to do well for shelf exams then it would be great to not purchase UWorld! The only critique I have heard of AMBOSS questions is that sometimes they can be more "nitpicky" and throw in a ton of red herrings so they can be more difficult than the UWorld questions and even the shelf questions. However, as I have not taken a shelf exam yet I am not sure if this is true. I would appreciate any advice! Thanks!
Comments (4)
The best Qbank to use might depend more on you than the Qbank. Whichever you use, just make sure to use all of the relevant questions in the Qbank. Perhaps try AMBOSS for your first shelf, and if you don't like your results, then try UWorld.
I've historically heard that AMBOSS is amazing and a huge necessity for Shelf Exams!
Anking has a good youtube video on this...which I agree with 100%. I think Amboss Qbank is more representative of the shelf material and will help you prepare for Step 2. I think amboss does a much better job of making you a better test taker (and clinician) and their library is super helpful and convenient. I would plan to buy UW for dedicated, just to have a fresh set of questions, but I 100% think you can skip buying it for clerkships.
I think for shelf exams, I had the same effort put in doing amboss questions as my friends doing UW. Our scores weren't much different in the end, plus the convenience of the clerkship guide made amboss my main choice for shelves because I only needed one resource in the hospital.
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