Award-Winning COMLEX Test Prep in Washington DC

If you feel that your COMLEX test prep could use a boost, Varsity Tutors can connect you with COMLEX tutors dedicated to helping you work toward your academic goals. COMLEX stands for Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination, a series of three standardized tests that may be used to obtain a medical license in all 50 states. Collectively, these exams cover a lot of material, so trusting your COMLEX test prep to the experts is often a smart decision.

COMLEX prep generally begins by delving into the formatting you should expect on test day. The following bulleted list provides a brief outline of the exam's structure:

Examination Series Sequence

• COMLEX-USA Level 1
  • Computer based
  • Application of osteopathic medical knowledge concepts related to foundational sciences
  • patient presentations and physician tasks
• COMLEX-USA Level 2-CE
  • Computer based
  • Application of osteopathic medical knowledge concepts related to clinical sciences
  • Patient presentations
  • Physician tasks
• COMLEX-USA Level 3
  • Two-day computer based
  • Application of osteopathic medical knowledge concepts related to clinical sciences
  • Patient safety and independent practice
  • Foundational competency domains and clinical presentations

All of them are computer-based, so you might want to set aside some COMLEX prep time to familiarize yourself with the interface. The exams are also long, so you might want to build up your mental stamina during COMLEX courses so that you are more prepared for the big day. For example, the Level 1 COMLEX consists of two four-hour testing sessions with only a 40-minute lunch break in between! Preparing for that might be the hardest part of COMLEX prep.

Once you understand the exam's format, your private COMLEX class can start going over the content on the test you are studying for. Level 1 deals with basic medical science such as human anatomy and microbiology, so you may work with flashcards to help you memorize all of the pertinent medical terminology during your COMLEX test prep. You might also review active reading techniques during your individualized COMLEX course to retain more information from medical textbooks.

Level 2 is divided into two sections: Level 2-CE (Cognitive Evaluation) is a multiple-choice test comparable to Level 1, while Level 2-PE (Performance Evaluation) assesses clinical skills such as taking medical history from patients. If social skills aren't your forte, you might practice social interactions during COMLEX tutoring sessions to increase your self-confidence heading into the exam.

The Level 3 exam introduces specializations such as Family Medicine and Pediatrics, and many questions include a brief medical history to help test-takers arrive at the correct conclusion. Consider the question below as an example:

Practice Question

• A 1-year-old is seen by the pediatrician after having a seizure. The parents state the child is constantly restless but does not crawl or walk.
  Some vomiting after feeding has also been noted. The physician notes relative hyperactivity of the child with a fine resting tremor, as well as microcephaly and growth at below the 5th percentile using the growth chart.

  The child also has fair skin and light hair with blue eyes. No hepatosplenomegaly is noted, although a "musty odor" is detected. Further questioning reveals the parents did not complete the prenatal screening tests after delivery. The pediatrician orders the appropriate blood tests, suspecting a deficiency of which of the following enzymes?

  • Galactose-1-phosphate uridyltransferase
  • Homogentisate oxidase
  • Tyrosinase
  • Phenylalanine hydroxylase
  • Cystathionine synthase

The answer in bold is correct, so you might want to review Pediatrics during your COMLEX test preparation if you thought something else was right. The beauty of private COMLEX classes is that you can spend as much or as little time on each topic as you need to. Many competing COMLEX preparation products follow set curricula in a limited time frame, making them far less adaptable to an individual student's needs.

Varsity Tutors also works hard to make COMLEX prep as convenient for you as possible. Our proprietary Live Learning Platform facilitates online learning, giving you all of the benefits of working in a physical classroom without the commute! Similarly, we try to refer every student to a knowledgeable instructor who meets their scheduling needs for added convenience. We believe that you shouldn't need to schedule your entire life around COMLEX test prep!

If you have any further questions about how Varsity Tutors may be able to help you, please reach out to an Educational Consultant for more information. Let's work together toward your goals!