Failed COMLEX (DO Medical Licensing)? Here's Your Recovery Plan

Pro tip: Contact the exam provider directly for their specific retake policy.

• Preparing entirely from USMLE-oriented resources and treating osteopathic manipulative treatment as a small add-on in the final week.
  Osteopathic principles, practice and manipulative treatment carries a published minimum of 12 percent on Level 1 and 10 percent on Level 2-CE. On a 320 item paper that is at least 32 questions on Level 2-CE. Give it a dedicated block early, not a weekend at the end.
• Preparing for Level 2-CE the way you prepared for Level 1.
  The foundational biomedical sciences knowledge base drops from a 75 percent minimum on Level 1 to 25 percent on Level 2-CE, while osteopathic patient care and procedural skills rises from 6 percent to 30 percent. Shift from mechanism recall to management decisions.
• Spending the tutorial adjusting fonts and colours until it runs long.
  NBOME warns that the tutorial must be completed in 16 minutes or less or the extra time comes out of your testing time. The tutorial is also the only point at which you may write on the whiteboard before testing starts, so set preferences fast and use what remains for notes.
• Going to the locker between sections to grab a snack or check a phone.
  Items in your locker may only be accessed during scheduled breaks. NBOME states that accessing your locker at any other time will be reported as irregular conduct and may trigger a review of your examination.
• Burning the break pool early because the sessions feel long.
  You get a pool of 60 minutes per exam day to spend across seven scheduled breaks. Level 1 and Level 2-CE keep you at the centre roughly nine hours, so plan the split before you arrive rather than deciding at each break screen.
• Wearing a watch, a wide hairband or removable jewellery to the centre.
  Watches are prohibited outright. Barrettes and hair clips wider than a quarter inch, headbands wider than half an inch, and removable jewellery larger than a quarter inch are all barred. Wedding and engagement rings are the only jewellery permitted.
• Assuming you can retake a passed level to raise a Level 2-CE score for residency applications.
  NBOME states that candidates who have passed an examination may not retake it to improve their score or for any purpose other than to pass a previously failed examination. Your first passing Level 2-CE score is the one programs see.
• Treating incomplete or voided attempts as though they do not count.
  Candidates are limited to four scored attempts per level and may not take a level more than four times in a 12-month period, including incomplete or voided attempts. The only exception beyond four scored attempts requires a written petition from a medical licensing agency.
• Reporting a testing problem to Pearson but not to NBOME.
  An adverse testing condition must be reported both to Pearson at the time of the examination and to NBOME within 10 calendar days following the exam. Missing the 10 day window closes the route to relief.

• Three levels like USMLE
• Includes OMM (Osteopathic) component
• COMBANK for question practice
• Many DOs take both COMLEX and USMLE
• Study OMM techniques and indications
• Similar prep to USMLE Step exams