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Hi everyone,
I haven't seen it mentioned on these boards before, but I found McGraw-Hill's Family Practice Examination and Board Review book useful for Step 3. In my search for economical resource materials, I borrowed this book from the library since it also advertised itself as a resource for Step 3.
I ended up using it as my primary resource over a review text like First Aid, as I felt I absorbed more from working through the case study + question format than from just reading over text. I especially liked the detailed explanations and emphasis on practical issues (when to choose a particular treatment option and why) - many of the questions on the exam involve practical details of management such as tweaking drug regimens, which is of course good for one's clinical knowledge too. After working through most of the book, I felt fairly well prepared.
The only other books I used were First Aid (only read the CCS cases the night before, trying to memorize treatments, esp. specific antibiotics) and Blueprints CCS (bought due to positive reviews on Amazon - it was ok, not sure if I'd repurchase as I think the FA tips are probably enough). I also did all the NBME sample questions, scoring 71-79%.
Despite the two days, I felt less mentally drained during this exam than during Step 2, and the CCS cases were quite engaging to work through (they all ended early so I had almost an hour of extra break time at the end). My main suggestion is to know specific drugs and durations of treatment - there was one case I couldn't properly manage since I only knew the general class of drug, but not any specific drug names, for a condition that is treated in subspecialized clinics where I'm from. Oh well.
So, good luck, and especially if you're a specialty resident like me, consider flipping through a family practice review book in case study format and see what you think.
I haven't seen it mentioned on these boards before, but I found McGraw-Hill's Family Practice Examination and Board Review book useful for Step 3. In my search for economical resource materials, I borrowed this book from the library since it also advertised itself as a resource for Step 3.
I ended up using it as my primary resource over a review text like First Aid, as I felt I absorbed more from working through the case study + question format than from just reading over text. I especially liked the detailed explanations and emphasis on practical issues (when to choose a particular treatment option and why) - many of the questions on the exam involve practical details of management such as tweaking drug regimens, which is of course good for one's clinical knowledge too. After working through most of the book, I felt fairly well prepared.
The only other books I used were First Aid (only read the CCS cases the night before, trying to memorize treatments, esp. specific antibiotics) and Blueprints CCS (bought due to positive reviews on Amazon - it was ok, not sure if I'd repurchase as I think the FA tips are probably enough). I also did all the NBME sample questions, scoring 71-79%.
Despite the two days, I felt less mentally drained during this exam than during Step 2, and the CCS cases were quite engaging to work through (they all ended early so I had almost an hour of extra break time at the end). My main suggestion is to know specific drugs and durations of treatment - there was one case I couldn't properly manage since I only knew the general class of drug, but not any specific drug names, for a condition that is treated in subspecialized clinics where I'm from. Oh well.
So, good luck, and especially if you're a specialty resident like me, consider flipping through a family practice review book in case study format and see what you think.
