Step 2

[grayce79]

Just started studying for Step 2. Anyone else out there? It seems like all of these posts are just for Step 1! Been there, done that!

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[imtiaz]

yeah, i just did a random 50q on qbank. 68%

 

[Espion]

Woo-hoo! Step II...staring at me...like a freight train...


Eeesh.

 

[ladyj]

How is Q bank for step 2 compared to step1. I need to buy something but son't want to waste my money

 

[grayce79]

yeah, i just did a random 50q on qbank. 68%

Ya did better than me (65%)
What books are you using to study?

 

[electra]

I did use the QBank from Kaplan. I didn't think it was as good as that for Step I, but it was useful. I like the fact that you get very good explanations why something is not correct.

Blueprints Peds
Blueprints OB
First Aid for the USMLE Step II

 

[tec]

Step II comes up for me July 21st. In the mean time, I am studying for the IM shelf exam...ugh. I'm just looking forward to getting it all behind me

 

[Loopo Henle]

I am taking it July 1st I just started studying. I am using First Aid, Boards and Wards and Q-bank. I don't really know what to use, so I am kind of shotgunning it. Just took the first NBME practice test, and I was relatively happy with the results.
Moderator should make this a sticky thread!

 

[electra]

The Moderator is trying to do so. This point was brought up by another poster.

 

[Mumpu]

I looked through the archives and USMLE World had better reviews than Kaplan Qbank for Step 2. It's twice as many questions for a hell of a lot less money. I did well on Step 1 primarily using Qbank and Step-Up, so USMLE World plus Crush is my plan this time around.

 

[grayce79]

I'm taking mine on July 8, but I may end up trying to schedule it for sooner. I really want to do better on Step 2 than I did on Step 1. (I HATED study for Step 1.) Whenever I get tired of studying for Step 2, I just think "At least I'm not studying for Step 1"!
I'm using FA, Secrets, and Q Bank.
Generally, people at my school tend to do way better on Step 2. Is that how it is at most places? I'm inspired by one of the students that is one year ahead of me. She improved her score by 40 points!!!

 

[irrka]

Just starting to study for mine. i want to take it either beginning or mid july.
I'm using Crush and B+W with a question CD with Kaplans, NMS and something else in there.
oy. and there i was happy to be finally done with third year (today!!)

 

[md/mph'06]

yeah i'm taking step 2ck on june 22nd. i've been using kaplan Q-Review which i think has been pretty good. The internal medicine Q bank on there is much more difficult than the medicine Qbank. Books I've been using: primarily Crush and Boards and Wards as main reading tool with Blueprints Peds, Blueprints OB, NMS Medicine as a reference and to brush up on some things. That's it. I've got aabout 100 pages worth of notes from Q-Review and in my last week of studying, that's all I'm gonna do. Did one NBME exam three weeks ago and got a 217(boo!) . Taking the last one next Thursday. Will let u guys know how much better I've done. Ugh! But I agree that studying for Step 2 is much better than studying for Step 1!

Good luck everyone!

MD/MPH'06

 

[grayce79]

where do you get the nbme exams?

 

[irrka]

where do you get the nbme exams?

i think you pretty much download them off the nbme site. they're like $45 or something to that effect

 

[md/mph'06]

where do you get the nbme exams?

yes, go to www.nbme.org. The cost is $45 per exam. There are 2 nbme exams for step2. u pay by credit card. each exam is 4 blocks of 46 questions and you get 60min per block (total of 4 hours). They're supposed to really approximate your actual step 2 score.

Hope this helps !

 

[irrka]

ok. i'm about as motivated to study as i am to pick up plague at this point. plus it's hot as hell outside (and even hotter inside.. damn second floor heat!!) just thought i'd share that.

 

[grayce79]

yes, go to www.nbme.org. The cost is $45 per exam. There are 2 nbme exams for step2. u pay by credit card. each exam is 4 blocks of 46 questions and you get 60min per block (total of 4 hours). They're supposed to really approximate your actual step 2 score.

Hope this helps !

Do the questions include answer explanations or is it just a diagnostic test?

 

[NebelDO]

my step 2 is aug 31. really just started doing some qbank here and there(69%). we are doing kaplan at school.(watching videos) ill probably read B&W and the kaplan books plus crush, and usmleworld questions.read some opp for my comlex 2 also.

any other DO's taking both again?

 

[giznut12]

How is everyone doing on usmleworld? The questions seem very difficult. I am scoring around 65% overall. Am I doing alright?

 

[imtiaz]

ive got 900 questions down, about 425 to go. so far my cumulative is like 64% which really blows. ive run out of psych questions (76% correct), ob/gyn questions (65% correct), and surgery questions (55% correct ) most of the remaining questions are IM.

my scores have been going up just slightly with reading though. i started out with a 68% (this is the score i get most often) and have one or two 70%+ scores my highest being 74%. ive only taken random 50q blocks.

i think in the remaining 10 days or so i have left im gonna read up on trauma cause i got raped on that. the question i had for you guys is one of my friends recommended crush the boards and ive never even looked through it so i wonder if its worth reading at all. how crucial do you think this book is? right now im just going through first aid and boards & wards. i hadnt planned on using anything else.

the goal is to beat the mean. what do you think?

 

[blueMD]

Hey, I'm taking my Step 2 on July 28 and freaking out about it. Let me ask you something, someone mentioned about the NBME practice test that you can purchase from their website. I was wondering if that's the same as doing their "practice session" at the Prometric center. I'm doing that on July 7th to take the 3.5 hr practice session with my yellow permit. Please let me know, thanks!

 

[Stinger86]

Hey, I'm taking my Step 2 on July 28 and freaking out about it. Let me ask you something, someone mentioned about the NBME practice test that you can purchase from their website. I was wondering if that's the same as doing their "practice session" at the Prometric center. I'm doing that on July 7th to take the 3.5 hr practice session with my yellow permit. Please let me know, thanks!

As far as I know, the "practice session" involves the 108 questions that are free to download off the NBME site. The questions you purchase from the website are different.

Well, I just noticed that today is the 8th, so this probably doesn't apply to you anymore. D'oh!

 

[blueMD]

Well I just took the step 2 practice session yesterday and I encourage everyone to try it. The questions are the same ones as the NBME practice questions from their website but you take it at the Prometrics center. It feels like you're taking the real thing and they'll give you a score report. I would say don't look at the website questions until after you take the practice session just because it'll really show how you're doing so far.

 

[HYJunkie]

I have one quick question: will I encounter brand names of drugs on the exam? Is there a rule / common knowledge about this? Thanks.

 

[Gfunk6]

I have one quick question: will I encounter brand names of drugs on the exam? Is there a rule / common knowledge about this? Thanks.

Just generics.

 

[Oana]

Just generics.

I was rushing through ObGyn Pretest and I noticed quite a few brand names there (no, no generic in paranthesis, as one might expect). I mean, what the ****? Other than that, I thought the questions were instructive. Anybody has any thoughts on the Pretest series for Step II CK?

 

[Stinger86]

Anybody has any thoughts on the Pretest series for Step II CK?

A lot of folks on here swear by them, but I found them to be completely useless. It's up to you

 

[Oana]

A lot of folks on here swear by them, but I found them to be completely useless. It's up to you

So... I'm not trying to hijack this thread, but it goes like this: I have no ideea as to what to expect out of Step 2 CK. My medical school has a 6 years curriculum, so we were exposed to 3 years of words. There was no such thing as "Internal Medicine" subject -- rather, we went through (all of us) 8 weeks of Cardiology, 6 weeks of GI, 4 weeks of Endocrinology, etc. Combine this with a "French school" tradition of stuffing the students with impardonable amounts of minutiae, and you get a vague ideea of the medical training I have received.

My point is: how far should I dwell into details for this exam? Where exactly in the continuum between CMDT and Blueprints Internal Medicine (what's the deal with this brochure, anyway?) lies the right book, or where between Harisson's Interal Medicine Test and Kaplan Q-book lie the right test materials?

 

[Espion]

So... I'm not trying to hijack this thread, but it goes like this: I have no ideea as to what to expect out of Step 2 CK. My medical school has a 6 years curriculum, so we were exposed to 3 years of words. There was no such thing as "Internal Medicine" subject -- rather, we went through (all of us) 8 weeks of Cardiology, 6 weeks of GI, 4 weeks of Endocrinology, etc. Combine this with a "French school" tradition of stuffing the students with impardonable amounts of minutiae, and you get a vague ideea of the medical training I have received.

My point is: how far should I dwell into details for this exam? Where exactly in the continuum between CMDT and Blueprints Internal Medicine (what's the deal with this brochure, anyway?) lies the right book, or where between Harisson's Interal Medicine Test and Kaplan Q-book lie the right test materials?

The best thing to do would be to get your hands on Kaplan Q-bank or USMLEworld or the Kaplan Q-book you have. Grab most any Step 2 question book, and that's basically what the questions will be like.

Personally, I've never been a fan of Blueprints...it does seem superficial, doesn't it?

 

[indigoblue22]

For anyone who's taken the exam : do we just need to bring one form of ID (drivers lisence) to the exam (along with the orange paper)? When I tried to call my test center about something the message said two forms of ID.

Thanks so much

 

[indigoblue22]

For anyone who's taken the exam : do we just need to bring one form of ID (drivers lisence) to the exam (along with the orange paper)? When I tried to call my test center about something the message said two forms of ID.

Thanks so much

Anyone? Thanks!

 

[Loopo Henle]

For anyone who's taken the exam : do we just need to bring one form of ID (drivers lisence) to the exam (along with the orange paper)? When I tried to call my test center about something the message said two forms of ID.

Thanks so much

They only check one form of ID (your driver license), but if you have an incomplete ID without all the info they are looking for (date of birth) they will ask you for a second form of ID. I saw this happen to a guy who presented a military ID. My standard drivers license worked just fine.

 

[medlaw06]

just bring your drivers license and your school ID (just in case) and you'll be fine....aside from DOB, they also wanna see that the face matches with the picture...not the best time to grow a new beard or dye your hair in some funky color....

 

[chirish]

this is really dumb.... how do you get to the tutorial for Prometric/Fred? I wasn't planning on taking that on-site practice test, but obviously don't want to do the tutorial on the big day.

oh, and what would be the best prophylactic abx for bronchiectasis pts? I've seen conflicting things.

 

[Espion]

this is really dumb.... how do you get to the tutorial for Prometric/Fred? I wasn't planning on taking that on-site practice test, but obviously don't want to do the tutorial on the big day.

oh, and what would be the best prophylactic abx for bronchiectasis pts? I've seen conflicting things.

http://www.usmle.org/Orientation/menu.htm

I was under the impression that you don't give them any prophylactic Abx. Generally the pneumonias are actually mild. Its the hemoptysis you have to worry about. Correct me if I'm wrong?

 

[chirish]

Boards and wards says abx for adults with bronchiectasis. FA says this also, suggests erythromycin, quinolones, inhaled aminoglycosides, so I guess I will just stick with that. I thought I had seen a discrepancy....thanks though!!

On that note, do you guys have opinions about which of these books is the most reliable?

http://www.usmle.org/Orientation/menu.htm

I was under the impression that you don't give them any prophylactic Abx. Generally the pneumonias are actually mild. Its the hemoptysis you have to worry about. Correct me if I'm wrong?

 

[Espion]

You give all those Abx if they have pneumonia, but not for prophylaxis... I really don't know...I guess I think its kind of strange that they don't mention a good anti-Pseudomonal at least, since the CF kids are most likely to have this. Anyway, I'm leaving this poor dead horse alone.

I wish I knew which was best. I need a good resource for Peds. I don't care what people say, Blueprints sucks. I've found the most ridiculous, flagrant errors in that book. "Mitral regurg is the most common complication of rheumatic heart disease." "Fanconi's is associated with RTA Type 4." Just wow.

I will say this, though. Step Up Medicine is so wonderfully awesome. It is a long book, and maybe it is too "dense for the boards" but it got me through medicine and its towing me faithfully through USMLEworld. All I can say, is thank good ness I had my medicine rotation last. Unfortunately, now every other review book I look at seems woefully inadequate.

 

[Espion]

And why does it seem like every question stem have to start with a G3P1A1 23 year old immigrant from a 3rd world country who was a former prostitute, smoker and alcoholic, but now is working at a daycare to support her drug habit, 28 weeks pregnant and complaining of jaundice...and then they ask you what cancer is she at risk for?

AAARRRRRGGGHHH!


Frustration. Its not a pretty thing.

 

[chirish]

And why does it seem like every question stem have to start with a G3P1A1 23 year old immigrant from a 3rd world country who was a former prostitute, smoker and alcoholic, but now is working at a daycare to support her drug habit, 28 weeks pregnant and complaining of jaundice...and then they ask you what cancer is she at risk for?

I feel your pain... are you doing UW or Kaplan? I have been getting my butt kicked on the hepatology questions in UW, but maybe I just hurried when I was studying the liver...
I don't think I'm going to use blueprints for anything, too paragraph-y and you're right about the errors. At this point (2 weeks to go) I better just stick with my FA/BW/Kaplan notes combo. I've never even seen step up medicine. step up step 1 was good but also had errors all over.

 

[Espion]

And why does it seem like every question stem have to start with a G3P1A1 23 year old immigrant from a 3rd world country who was a former prostitute, smoker and alcoholic, but now is working at a daycare to support her drug habit, 28 weeks pregnant and complaining of jaundice...and then they ask you what cancer is she at risk for?

I feel your pain... are you doing UW or Kaplan? I have been getting my butt kicked on the hepatology questions in UW, but maybe I just hurried when I was studying the liver...
I don't think I'm going to use blueprints for anything, too paragraph-y and you're right about the errors. At this point (2 weeks to go) I better just stick with my FA/BW/Kaplan notes combo. I've never even seen step up medicine. step up step 1 was good but also had errors all over.

I'm doing USMLEworld. I'm getting my rear kicked in rheum and peds and <i>especially</i> stats/epidemiology. I know that's blasphemy and all, but I don't care how "easy" it is, I still always end up picking the wrong answer. Oy. I agree, the Step Up for Step I wasn't very good, but the Step Up for Medicine is awesome. Hopefully B&W will treat me right for the rest of the stuff.

 

[chirish]

The neuro questions on there are way detailed, too, and neuro is something I have a VERY hard time making myself study. There is not very much neuro at all in BW... think this is because neuro is not high yield for Step 2?I'm hoping the amount in BW is proportional to its importance.

 

[O'doyleRules]

Took step 2 last week -- here's what I think.

1. Read blueprints for Peds and OBGYN -- This was probably overkill, but a good review if you have time. There is lots of peds and LOTS of OBGYN on the test.
2. First Aid for step 2 -- This is a good review book, and I was glad that I went through it. You probably don't need to go through anything more than this book.
3. Kaplan Q-bank -- went through 90% of the questions. Didn't find them to be at all like the real test. Wouldn't use them again.
4. USMLEworld -- These questions are great! They get you thinking how the real boards will make you think, as step doesn't have many naming diseases or criteria -- is is more thinking about the mechanisms behind what is happening.
5. Skimmed through a little of crush -- pretty worthless book in my mind.

If you have a limited amount of time, read first aid and do usmleworld and you will be fine.

 

[medlaw06]

hey guys....the beast is approaching in 2 days....just 1 quick question...

how much do you think the "stamina factor" influences your scores....in other words, how much difference in your scores is due to stamina...just curious....

 

[O'doyleRules]

I think that it will influence the score a lot. There was one section in the middle that I tried to power through to take a break after, and I was pissed at myself for taking it as I couldn't see straight. The test is super tiring, so pace yourself and take breaks if you need to!

 

[The Pill Counter]

I used qbank for both step 1 and step 2. found that i progressed from high 50's to mid 70's by the time i finished qbank for step 1 and ended up getting 228. for step 2, my scores were stuck in the mid 60's, a few outliers, but never felt like i was getting better as was the case with step 1. I sat step 2 july 4, still waiting on results but I didn't have as good a feeling leaving the exam as i did for step 1. those who say 2 days for step 2 are full of $hit. i found it harder than step 1.

 

[medlaw06]

I think that it will influence the score a lot. There was one section in the middle that I tried to power through to take a break after, and I was pissed at myself for taking it as I couldn't see straight. The test is super tiring, so pace yourself and take breaks if you need to!

I kinda figured that, but just wanted to be certain....anyways, tomorrow is dooms-day, so I just wanted to get some last minute feedback from some giving people out there is SDN land....

for those of you who have taken the test, what would be a "nice" break schedule....5 minutes after each section and then a half an hour for lunch?...5 minute break after 2 sections?....no break first 4 sections and then 45 minutes for lunch with 5 minutes after each section after that?

I realize that each person is different, but just curious about how you did it?

 

[Loopo Henle]

I kinda figured that, but just wanted to be certain....anyways, tomorrow is dooms-day, so I just wanted to get some last minute feedback from some giving people out there is SDN land....

for those of you who have taken the test, what would be a "nice" break schedule....5 minutes after each section and then a half an hour for lunch?...5 minute break after 2 sections?....no break first 4 sections and then 45 minutes for lunch with 5 minutes after each section after that?

I realize that each person is different, but just curious about how you did it?

I took it on July 1st. I just got my scores back today. I did better than I expected (although the NBME tests were within 8 points). I took the first 4 blocks nonstop, then I took a 5 minute break. I then finished the test out. I know that sounds crazy, but I just wanted to get OUT of there ASAP. I wouldn't really recommend my method unless you take tests very fast. I had some serious eye strain by the end but I managed to tough it out. Plus I was out of there at 2:15 in the afternoon. Which was really nice.

 

[medlaw06]

I took the first 4 blocks nonstop, then I took a 5 minute break.

holy crap!!!


man...there is NO WAY I have that much stamina!!! Congrats on your score!! Good luck on your application process.

Anyone else have any input....

 

[Loopo Henle]

holy crap!!!


man...there is NO WAY I have that much stamina!!! Congrats on your score!! Good luck on your application process.

Anyone else have any input....

Good luck in the morning!! People's eyes must be too tired from taking the test to respond to you. Just fly by the seat of your pants. You will know when you need to take a break, believe me!!!