The Top COMLEX Level 2-CE Study Resources for DO Students

Preparing for COMLEX Level 2 is very different than preparing for COMLEX Level 1. For Level 1, you can mostly get away with using the “standard” USMLE Step 1 resources like First Aid, Sketchy, UWorld, and Pathoma, then adding on an osteopathic review through the Savarese book and/or one of the popular COMLEX QBanks. Unfortunately, unlike USMLE, for COMLEX there hasn’t yet been “standardization” to the resources that are available for exam preparation. Nevertheless, students get good COMLEX Level 2-CE scores by reviewing clinical content, reviewing OMM content, doing practice questions, and making the most out of the available COMLEX Level 2-CE study resources.

Remember, while there is significant overlap between COMLEX and USMLE exam content and many USMLE prep resources can be used for COMLEX studying, they are different tests!!! Do not only work through USMLE Prep material and think you are going to achieve a competitive COMLEX score, especially on COMLEX Level 2-CE!

This being said, here are a couple of great COMLEX Level 2-CE Study Resources to help you achieve your score goal!

Clinical Content Review

Online Med Ed has been a huge success in the past few years for review of clinical medicine. This platform features video lectures which are easy to understand and enjoyable to watch, even after coming home from a long day in clinic or on the wards. The comprehensive curriculum covers all the clinical content on shelf/COMAT exams, and the platform is easy to navigate with well-organized headers and topics. The main drawback to this resource is the lack of utility of the question bank – the questions are more informal while the explanations are more like a discussion and are not comprehensive. Nevertheless, the videos are excellent and provide a comprehensive and user friendly overview of the highest yield topics for clinical rotations, shelf/COMAT exams, and COMLEX Level 2. In terms of COMLEX Level 2-CE study resources, Online Med Ed is a fantastic option to use to learn and acquire content that will be tested on your exam.

OMM Review

In the past few years, some newer online resource platforms focusing on high-yield OMM review have made a huge splash in the DO student community and are certainly worth a look. These newer video resources are more engaging and perhaps more high-yield than the good old-fashioned Savarese book. Below are a few of the OMM review resources that students have successfully used for COMLEX Level 2-CE review – keep in mind you just need to choose 1 of the following!

• Online Med Ed OMM

  Online Med Ed OMM was recently released in 2018, and offers 7.2 hours of video time in 25 lessons. Online Med Ed is a well-respected and established resource for clinical medicine, and their recent expansion into the OMM field has been welcomed by many DO students. 

• OMG OMT

  OMG OMT is a high yield OMM review created in 2018. Their videos became so popular so quickly that their old website crashed from thousands of students trying to access their course. Now, OMG OMT is offered as a continuous monthly subscription for just $39/month, with the option to subscribe for 1 month only. The content includes didactic videos of high yield, simple lessons, clinical videos of demonstrations on how to set up and position high yield OMM techniques, rapid review notes and tables, and practice questions in PDF format covering every OMM sub-topic. The major drawback to OMG OMT is that sometimes enrollment in the course is closed, so you’ll need to keep an eye on the website and snag a spot when you can!

• CPM OMM

  CPM OMM is another high-yield online review platform for OMM. It was created in August of 2019 and has gotten glowing reviews from many DO students. As a newer resource, however, it hasn’t been around the block as much as OMG OMT. Currently, the course is closed for enrollment and will re-open in April 2020. During this time, the course director is working on improving the content based on feedback from the 2019 season. The 2020 season is expected to include COMLEX Level 2 PE Clinical OMM videos, COMLEX Level 2 PE videos on how to pass, didactic lectures covering high-yield OMM for COMLEX Level 2-CE, as well as 10-15 OMM questions and explanations per lecture.

Practice Questions

Much like COMLEX Level 1/USMLE Step 1, UWorld is an awesome resource for COMLEX Level 2 preparation. To get the most out of this fantastic qbank, get a subscription for a year and do practice questions while on your clinical rotations in preparation for your shelf or COMAT exams, and then do the qbank again while in your dedicated study period. We also highly encourage DO students to add on practice questions from COMBANK or COMQUEST to supplement UWorld and get some practice with OMM questions. While there is a very high overlap between COMLEX and USMLE content, the difference between a good COMLEX score and a competitive COMLEX score does boils down to your Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine knowledge. As such, do not forget to work though a COMLEX specific qbank. 

Practice Exams

While taking a COMSAE practice exam prior to COMLEX Level 2 is often required by many medical schools, there have been some recent changes to the grading criteria and curves of the exams that make them less reliable score predictors. Students taking the 2019 COMLEX Level 2 found that the COMSAE practice exams were rather poor predictors of their actual scores. To address this issue, the NBOME has reportedly standardized the scores in July of 2019, so this issue may have been resolved in time for the COMLEX Level 2 2020 season.

As always, if you need help studying for COMLEX Level 2-CE, contact us and we would be happy to talk with you about if 1-on-1 tutoring might be right for you. If you need help determining if you are at risk for failing COMLEX Level 2-CE, we invite you to have a look at our COMLEX Level 2-CE exam page here and view the information under the “Why Level 2-CE Tutoring” tab.