COMLEX Level 2-PE Review Guide 1st Edition

This book came highly recommended from upperclassmen and professors at my school for the purpose of preparing for the COMLEX 2 -PE. The first part of the book talks about general tips on preparing for the exam, like how to write the SOAP note, making sure you don't break any of the exam rules, and how the exam is structured. The second part of the book, and the more useful part, consists of fifty practice cases you can use to run through clinical scenarios with a friend or classmate.One thing I would like to say is that this book was published quite awhile ago. As such, I would refer to the NBOME website for information on the logistics, price, and structure of the exam--this book isn't for that purpose.However, the fifty cases are great. I've met with classmates on several occasions and we have taken turns playing patient and physician. They are good cases for discussion and practice, as we've talked about how we would manage certain cases or scenarios.The one weakness in this book is that it doesn't tell you much about OMT and what techniques would be appropriate for each case other than not to use HVLA (HVLA is expressly prohibited on the exam). It would be nice if for the sinusitis case, for example, they listed a few lymphatic techniques you could use. Or for the shoulder pain scenario, they could have listed Spencer technique or scapulothoracic BLT as appropriate techniques. I would suggest supplementing this with the book "First Aid for the COMLEX" to identify OMT techniques that would be useful for the commonly encountered scenarios.However, this book is awesome for practice and I was pleased with this purchase.

This book is awesome!! This is the best book available for the Comlex-PE.The fantastic thing about this book is teaches how to actually perform the Comlex-PE from the beginning. The First Aid book is basically a list of differential diagnosis for a specific complaint and not meant for the Comlex-PE. I highly recommend anyone taking the Comlex-PE to read this book. Next go through all the included cases with a partner. Write your note in the attached paper each time. Pay careful attention to the humanistic domain. This book will coach you through taking the test and help you develop a system for going through things. It is vital to taking the exam and an absolute necessity.

Excellent guide for the Level 2 PE. Read it through, go through cases the way it tells you to, and you will most likely pass the exam the first try (like I did). Bonus points if you can go through the cases with a fellow classmate a second time.Caveat - this book still imagines the exam using a hand-written note. The current version of the Level 2 PE uses a computerized SOAP note format, so in practice I would recommended typing up the notes on the NBOME's online eSOAP note sample.

So I think I like this book. Its good for going through some sample cases and practicing SOAP notes but unfortunately there is no review of OMT or what specific OMT would be appropriate on the presenting patients. Also there are only two completed SOAP note examples in the book so the rest are patient presentations and then a list of questions that the examiner should have asked with the physical exam findings. So again, good for practicing SOAP notes and trying to remember questions to ask about certain presentations but no mention of specific OMT treatments. Thanks

This book is decent.Pros: good systematic method of approaching the encounters. Mnemonics are easy to remember and make sense. The strategies it continually goes over do come together to make a sound cohesive method to the encounter. The humanistic domain & history taking chapters are solid. The complaints in the simulated cases are a lot of 'most commons' and probably more likely to show up on your PE. The cases include a blank soap note so you can practice writing them out.Cons: I expected some OMM suggestions for complaints and there are none. I figured that if the book is aimed at the osteopathic exam then it would have a little more osteopathic emphasis. Not much in the simulated cases as far as ideas for differential/plan.I think the First Aid book is better - includes differentials and plans/workup on top of what this book offers. Use Savarese and/or Nicholas & Nicholas for the Osteopathic stuff.

I used this to prep for PE in June 2013 - I hear SOAP notes have changed from handwritten to typed, but I believe this will still be very helpful.Plenty of tips for patient interactions, organized history taking and development of differential diagnosis, algorithms for writing SOAP note as well as plenty of cases to review - works best to review with another person.

Awesome book. I read this book in its entirety on the plane to Conshohocken, PA for my COMLEX PE. It had everything I needed (besides a few pertinent osteopathic treatments I reviewed from another book). I passed and it was the main resource I used!

I was not very impressed with the book. In all honesty, I think the First Aid for USMLE step 2 CS book provides better preparation for the COMLEX step 2 PE than this book. This book makes only cursory mention of OMT. It doesn't review a single OMT technique. Except for the 1st 2 sample cases, the sample cases in the back of the book are not accompanied by a sample SOAP note (unlike the 1st Aid USMLE book which provides SOAP notes for every case). The author preaches humanistic qualities, which are pretty obvious, but is borderline offensive in the way he portrayed certain ethnic stereotypes. Many of the scenarios he mentions in his book are completely unrealistic for what would actually appear in a Step 2 PE exam (e.g. Spanish speaking patients), although perhaps the author's goal might be to prepare us for scenarios that we might face in a life in medicine beyond the Step 2 CS. This is only the 1st edition, so this book has a lot of potential for improvement in future editions.