The 14-day OMM boards plan

A plan for the last two weeks before COMLEX. Day 1 is 14 days before your exam and Day 14 is the day before. Every step is built on what learning research says makes studying stick.

The shape of the two weeks

Behind on days? Double up on the mixed sets. The steps go in order, and the dates are a guide.

Day by day

  1. Day 1

    Sacrum

    Torsions and unilateral sacral flexion and extension.

    • 8 cold cases before you read anything.
    • Then the board sheet for the topic: the tables boards ask about, on one page.
    • Then 20 cases, with every miss coming back a few cases later until you get it.
    • Cases on sacral torsions and unilateral sacral flexion and extension.

    Topic day, 14 days before the exam

  2. Day 2

    Sacrum to L5

    The L5 that goes with each torsion, and back again.

    • 8 cold cases before you read anything.
    • Then the board sheet for the topic: the tables boards ask about, on one page.
    • Then 20 cases, about 25 percent of them from earlier days, with every miss coming back a few cases later until you get it.
    • Cases on sacrum and L5.

    Topic day, 13 days before the exam

  3. Day 3

    Fryette

    Thoracic, lumbar and cervical naming and setups.

    • 8 cold cases before you read anything.
    • Then the board sheet for the topic: the tables boards ask about, on one page.
    • Then 20 cases, about 25 percent of them from earlier days, with every miss coming back a few cases later until you get it.
    • Cases on thoracic and lumbar spine and cervical spine.

    Topic day, 12 days before the exam

  4. Day 4

    Ribs

    Inhaled and exhaled groups, key ribs and rib muscle energy.

    • 8 cold cases before you read anything.
    • Then the board sheet for the topic: the tables boards ask about, on one page.
    • Then 20 cases, about 25 percent of them from earlier days, with every miss coming back a few cases later until you get it.
    • Cases on rib dysfunctions.

    Topic day, 11 days before the exam

  5. Day 5

    Muscle energy

    Every muscle energy setup: sacrum, spine, neck, ribs and the principles.

    • 8 cold cases before you read anything.
    • Then the board sheet for the topic: the tables boards ask about, on one page.
    • Then 20 cases, about 25 percent of them from earlier days, with every miss coming back a few cases later until you get it.

    Topic day, 10 days before the exam

  6. Day 6

    Viscerosomatics

    Sympathetic levels, ganglia and the parasympathetic sites.

    • 8 cold cases before you read anything.
    • Then the board sheet for the topic: the tables boards ask about, on one page.
    • Then 20 cases, about 25 percent of them from earlier days, with every miss coming back a few cases later until you get it.
    • Cases on viscerosomatic reflexes.

    Topic day, 9 days before the exam

  7. Day 7

    Counterstrain

    Tender points and their positions.

    • 8 cold cases before you read anything.
    • Then the board sheet for the topic: the tables boards ask about, on one page.
    • Then 20 cases, about 25 percent of them from earlier days, with every miss coming back a few cases later until you get it.
    • Cases on counterstrain tender points.

    Topic day, 8 days before the exam

  8. Day 8

    Mixed set 1

    Everything so far plus Chapman points and the pelvis, weighted to your weakest topics. Due reviews first.

    • 30 cases across every boards topic, more of them from your weakest topics.
    • Anything you miss comes back a few cases later until you get it.

    Mixed set, 7 days before the exam

  9. Day 9

    Mixed set 2

    Everything so far plus Chapman points and the pelvis, weighted to your weakest topics. Due reviews first.

    • 30 cases across every boards topic, more of them from your weakest topics.
    • Anything you miss comes back a few cases later until you get it.

    Mixed set, 6 days before the exam

  10. Day 10

    Mixed set 3

    Everything so far plus Chapman points and the pelvis, weighted to your weakest topics. Due reviews first.

    • 30 cases across every boards topic, more of them from your weakest topics.
    • Anything you miss comes back a few cases later until you get it.

    Mixed set, 5 days before the exam

  11. Day 11

    Mixed set 4

    Everything so far plus Chapman points and the pelvis, weighted to your weakest topics. Due reviews first.

    • 30 cases across every boards topic, more of them from your weakest topics.
    • Anything you miss comes back a few cases later until you get it.

    Mixed set, 4 days before the exam

  12. Day 12

    Every miss

    One pass through the cases you have missed, most recent misses first.

    • Up to 50 of the cases you have missed and not yet cleared, most recent first.

    Every miss, 3 days before the exam

  13. Day 13

    Timed block

    40 mixed cases in 60 minutes. No feedback until the end, like the real thing.

    • About 90 seconds a case.
    • Do it in one sitting, somewhere quiet, with your phone in another room.

    Timed block, 2 days before the exam

  14. Day 14

    Last look

    A short set of your misses, your Anki export, then sleep.

    • 15 of your recent misses, one last time. Then your Anki export, and then sleep.

    Last look, 1 day before the exam

Why it works

None of this is new. Each step uses a study method that learning research has tested again and again. A large review of study techniques rated practice testing and spaced practice as the two most useful (Dunlosky and colleagues, 2013).

Try before you read

Trying to answer questions before you study, even when you get them wrong, makes the tested material stick better once you read it than spending the same time just reading.

In the plan: The cold cases that open each topic day.
Richland, Kornell and Kao, 2009

Answer, do not reread

Pulling an answer out of memory builds long-term retention far better than reading the same page again, in the lab and in medical training.

In the plan: Every day is cases, not pages.
Roediger and Karpicke, 2006; Larsen, Butler and Roediger, 2009

Space it out

The same amount of study lasts longer when it is spread across days than when it is crammed into one sitting.

In the plan: Earlier topics return on later days, and the mixed sets revisit everything.
Cepeda and colleagues, 2006

Mix the topics

Shuffling problem types, instead of doing one type in a block, makes practice feel harder but improves later test scores, because you have to work out which rule applies before you use it.

In the plan: The mixed sets.
Rohrer and Taylor, 2007

Misses come back until you get them

Practicing each item until you get it right, then relearning it again on a later day, gives durable retention for relatively little extra time.

In the plan: Every set, and the day of every miss.
Rawson and Dunlosky, 2011

Practice the way you will be tested

Memory works best when the way you practice matches the way you will be asked to remember. A timed block with no feedback is the closest practice gets to exam day.

In the plan: The timed block.
Morris, Bransford and Franks, 1977

Run the plan in OMM GOAT

Boards mode in OMM GOAT dates every day from your exam date, builds the cases for each day, brings your misses back, runs the timed block and exports your misses to Anki. It comes with paid access, one payment of $59 with no renewal.

Get boards modeTry 10 free cases first

References

  1. Cepeda NJ, Pashler H, Vul E, Wixted JT, Rohrer D. Distributed practice in verbal recall tasks: a review and quantitative synthesis. Psychological Bulletin. 2006;132(3):354-380. PubMed
  2. Dunlosky J, Rawson KA, Marsh EJ, Nathan MJ, Willingham DT. Improving students' learning with effective learning techniques: promising directions from cognitive and educational psychology. Psychological Science in the Public Interest. 2013;14(1):4-58. DOI
  3. Larsen DP, Butler AC, Roediger HL. Repeated testing improves long-term retention relative to repeated study: a randomised controlled trial. Medical Education. 2009;43:1174-1181. DOI
  4. Morris CD, Bransford JD, Franks JJ. Levels of processing versus transfer appropriate processing. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior. 1977;16(5):519-533. DOI
  5. Rawson KA, Dunlosky J. Optimizing schedules of retrieval practice for durable and efficient learning: how much is enough? Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. 2011;140:283-302. DOI
  6. Richland LE, Kornell N, Kao LS. The pretesting effect: do unsuccessful retrieval attempts enhance learning? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied. 2009;15(3):243-257. DOI
  7. Roediger HL, Karpicke JD. Test-enhanced learning: taking memory tests improves long-term retention. Psychological Science. 2006;17(3):249-255. PubMed
  8. Rohrer D, Taylor K. The shuffling of mathematics practice problems boosts learning. Instructional Science. 2007;35(6):481-498. DOI