Post by Admin on May 2, 2014 2:27:32 GMT -5
Introduction
Hello everybody…
Here I am describing my step 2 CK experience in brief, I apologize that I may not be available for answering questions.
I skipped writing about my preparation time because each one of us has his own way, and his own pace ( somebody may study a book with 90% comprehension in a week, but someone else may do it in a month with 50% comprehension )
I did step 2 before step 1. I want to reassure those who are doing 2 before 1 that you can still get a very high score. Doing 1 before 2 can make things easier, but is not a must ( this is my opinion ).
I got 266 and I am glad with that, thanks to God.
Books
• Kaplan internal medicine is nice … read it but memorize every single word in MTB 2, it is just the refined version of Kaplan.
• Kaplan pediatrics is awesome, it has everything you may ever need, a disadvantage is that it needs a lot of time and its content is not the highest yield material in the world. If you don’t have the time, do MTB 3.
• Kaplan OB/GYN is really great, I loved it, not so big, has everything you need.
• Kaplan surgery, although it is so small ,I believe it is enough.
• Kaplan psychiatry, ethics and epidemiology is great, study it.
• A friend of mine studied “ Ethics, the 100 cases you’ll most likely see on exam “ for Dr. Conrad Fischer, he said it was great, I didn’t have the time to read it.
REVIEW BOOKS :
• MTB 2 for internal medicine
• MTB 3 for Surgery, Pediatrics, OB/GYN.
• PLUS First Aid ( many people say it is not good for step 2, but I found it great and fundamental in your preparation )
Q banks:
• I did USMLE WORLD online, by subject, timed mode. Take your time to study it as UW is the most important part in your preparation.
• I did Kaplan Q bank online, timed mixed. I did 80% of it in a month, Kaplan Q bank is great and if you have time, please do it.
• Did very few blocks from USMLE Rx.
Testing experience:
Just like everyone else, I didn’t sleep so well the night before due to anxiety. This happens to everybody, so don’t let this increase your level of anxiety.
I was so anxious before the test started. Believe me, when it starts, your anxiety will fade away and you’ll be more comfortable.
The exam was tough, not easy at all, but not impossible. I would say it is a bit harder than USMLE World ( UW ) but similar to NBME. On the other hand, the questions are not super weird, they test familiar things but in a way a little different from UW.
I had some difficulty with time management, although I never had such a problem during Q banking. This is not because the questions are longer, but because I thought more about questions I didn’t know.
Drug ads and abstracts were horrible, they are very hard and consume much of your time. To avoid wasting much of your precious time on questions you are not very likely to answer correctly, skip drug ads and abstracts whenever you face them and go to next question, go back to them when you are done with all other questions in that block.
During the test, you’ll find many very very easy questions, so don’t get stunned when you see them, don’t think a 100000 times before answering them and don’t think that there must be a trick somewhere. Again, some questions are so easy.
Don’t forget the following:
• MTB 2 for Internal Medicine is a must.
• First Aid for everything (including internal medicine) is a must.
• USMLE World is the MOST IMPORTANT.
• Skip drug ads and abstracts whenever you see them.
I hope this was helpful.
Wish me good luck please!!
I wish you all the best of luck in your exams.
Hello everybody…
Here I am describing my step 2 CK experience in brief, I apologize that I may not be available for answering questions.
I skipped writing about my preparation time because each one of us has his own way, and his own pace ( somebody may study a book with 90% comprehension in a week, but someone else may do it in a month with 50% comprehension )
I did step 2 before step 1. I want to reassure those who are doing 2 before 1 that you can still get a very high score. Doing 1 before 2 can make things easier, but is not a must ( this is my opinion ).
I got 266 and I am glad with that, thanks to God.
Books
• Kaplan internal medicine is nice … read it but memorize every single word in MTB 2, it is just the refined version of Kaplan.
• Kaplan pediatrics is awesome, it has everything you may ever need, a disadvantage is that it needs a lot of time and its content is not the highest yield material in the world. If you don’t have the time, do MTB 3.
• Kaplan OB/GYN is really great, I loved it, not so big, has everything you need.
• Kaplan surgery, although it is so small ,I believe it is enough.
• Kaplan psychiatry, ethics and epidemiology is great, study it.
• A friend of mine studied “ Ethics, the 100 cases you’ll most likely see on exam “ for Dr. Conrad Fischer, he said it was great, I didn’t have the time to read it.
REVIEW BOOKS :
• MTB 2 for internal medicine
• MTB 3 for Surgery, Pediatrics, OB/GYN.
• PLUS First Aid ( many people say it is not good for step 2, but I found it great and fundamental in your preparation )
Q banks:
• I did USMLE WORLD online, by subject, timed mode. Take your time to study it as UW is the most important part in your preparation.
• I did Kaplan Q bank online, timed mixed. I did 80% of it in a month, Kaplan Q bank is great and if you have time, please do it.
• Did very few blocks from USMLE Rx.
Testing experience:
Just like everyone else, I didn’t sleep so well the night before due to anxiety. This happens to everybody, so don’t let this increase your level of anxiety.
I was so anxious before the test started. Believe me, when it starts, your anxiety will fade away and you’ll be more comfortable.
The exam was tough, not easy at all, but not impossible. I would say it is a bit harder than USMLE World ( UW ) but similar to NBME. On the other hand, the questions are not super weird, they test familiar things but in a way a little different from UW.
I had some difficulty with time management, although I never had such a problem during Q banking. This is not because the questions are longer, but because I thought more about questions I didn’t know.
Drug ads and abstracts were horrible, they are very hard and consume much of your time. To avoid wasting much of your precious time on questions you are not very likely to answer correctly, skip drug ads and abstracts whenever you face them and go to next question, go back to them when you are done with all other questions in that block.
During the test, you’ll find many very very easy questions, so don’t get stunned when you see them, don’t think a 100000 times before answering them and don’t think that there must be a trick somewhere. Again, some questions are so easy.
Don’t forget the following:
• MTB 2 for Internal Medicine is a must.
• First Aid for everything (including internal medicine) is a must.
• USMLE World is the MOST IMPORTANT.
• Skip drug ads and abstracts whenever you see them.
I hope this was helpful.
Wish me good luck please!!
I wish you all the best of luck in your exams.
