Year 3 and Step 2 Preparation

[Doctor4Life1769]

Hey all,

I was reading the Step 2 prep thread and the consensus has been:

1. Work hard during year 3
2. UW
3. Pick a main book (FA CK, Secrets, B/W, Crush, etc.)

In regards to #1, what did you all use to fully prep for shelf exams? What worked and what didn't?
-I plan to go through the appropriate topics in FA CK, B/W, Crush, and Secrets in addition to take notes from Blue Prints Peds, OBGYN, and Psychiatry. I am not sure if I should use Kaplan or Blue Prints for Surgery?!
For Medicine, I think using Step-Up for Medicine seems to be good. How is the Internal Medicine Essentials for Clerkship Students 2? Is that worth using and going through over Step Up for Medicine? Or should I use both?? Other than that, is it worth listening to Kaplan videos? If so, which sections should I listen to (i.e. obgyn, peds, surg, etc etc?)

Hopefully I can get some answers from the top scorers! Thanks all for your advice!

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[95439]

Hey all,

I was reading the Step 2 prep thread and the consensus has been:

1. Work hard during year 3
2. UW
3. Pick a main book (FA CK, Secrets, B/W, Crush, etc.)

In regards to #1, what did you all use to fully prep for shelf exams? What worked and what didn't?
-I plan to go through the appropriate topics in FA CK, B/W, Crush, and Secrets in addition to take notes from Blue Prints Peds, OBGYN, and Psychiatry. I am not sure if I should use Kaplan or Blue Prints for Surgery?!
For Medicine, I think using Step-Up for Medicine seems to be good. How is the Internal Medicine Essentials for Clerkship Students 2? Is that worth using and going through over Step Up for Medicine? Or should I use both?? Other than that, is it worth listening to Kaplan videos? If so, which sections should I listen to (i.e. obgyn, peds, surg, etc etc?)

Hopefully I can get some answers from the top scorers! Thanks all for your advice!

Hey Hey..not a 'top scorer' as I haven't taken step 2 yet (1 month away), but I can tell you that I'm constantly trying to figure out how to help out med students so they don't have to struggle like I did. Anyway, I found out WAAY too late that I could have aced my shelves (I go to a DO school which writes their own shelves so take this with a grain of salt) by just doing First Aid and USMLE World, for everything outside of family medicine. I used that combo for surgery (use the Emergency medicine section of First Aid) and Psychiatry and got a 92% on both. If I had used First Aid and USMLE World all year, I would CRUSH step 2. I'm very confident about that. As it is, I stand to do pretty well, so I'm not complaining too much. Step up is a great book - if you can find time during your IM rotations to use it then do so. But if not, just stick with the First aid sections, and do the corresponding USMLE World questions. It seems too simple, I know, but that's really all you need! USMLE World fills in all the details you'll need for step 2. Hope that helps!

 

[AFDuck]

I averaged somewhere in the low-mid 80s on the NBME shelves, which isn't bad. My strategy for 3rd year was to just pick 1 book for each subject and make sure I finished it (which can be hard to do during busy months). The blueprints books you mentioned are good, although I used first aid for psych. Step-up is ideal for medicine, I didn't quite finish it but still did well. NMS Casebook was my favorite for surgery, which was my best score. I think UW would've been good throughout the year, but I did some random questions from pre-test and that worked out fine. I don't think Crush or FA would've been very helpful during the year beyond just familiarizing yourself with it for step 2. Overall, working hard on the wards taught me the most, and to read along with that experience was great. After that busy year, step 2 prep was way less demanding than step 1.
I should mention that there are forums for each core clerkship on SDN, which would be more appropriate for other opinions on books as you go through the year. Good luck!

 

[tfom08]

I agree mostly with AFDuck. I don't think UW is necessary during the year. I thought it was better to save UW for Step 2 studying at the end of third year. If you pick 1-2 books at the beginning of each rotation and use them, that will be plenty. FA for step 2 ck is not great for shelf studying (actually, it's terrible and not nearly sufficient) and it really isn't that great for step 2 either, so I would just focus your best on the shelf exams and really learn the material during clerkships. No matter what sources you use, Step 2 studying will be made easier. Look at the rotation specific threads to find the best sources for each shelf. When it comes to step 2, definitely go with UW and to me, Kaplan notes for step 2 are great if you have time. If not, Crush or FA are ok.

 

[Doctor4Life1769]

Thanks guys for the help.

I've decided to run with the Blueprint series for all rotations except IM, Surgery, and maybe Psych.

I think for IM, I will stick with Step Up to Medicine (or IM Essentials for Clerkship Students 2?? What's your take on this? It's written by the ACP)

Surgery, was considering Kaplan and Pestana notes, but may have to take a look at NMS Casebook.
Psych, may use Kaplan or FA CK, not sure yet.

I will still plan to supplement with FA CK, Crush, and B/W if possible. Quiz myself with Pretest and UW.

I doubt I'll have the time to do that during Surg and IM (so I'll mainly just use 1 book and pre-test for those rotations).

Thanks and any other feedback is greatly appreciated!

 

[tfom08]

Thanks guys for the help.

I've decided to run with the Blueprint series for all rotations except IM, Surgery, and maybe Psych.

I think for IM, I will stick with Step Up to Medicine (or IM Essentials for Clerkship Students 2?? What's your take on this? It's written by the ACP)

Surgery, was considering Kaplan and Pestana notes, but may have to take a look at NMS Casebook.
Psych, may use Kaplan or FA CK, not sure yet.

I will still plan to supplement with FA CK, Crush, and B/W if possible. Quiz myself with Pretest and UW.

I doubt I'll have the time to do that during Surg and IM (so I'll mainly just use 1 book and pre-test for those rotations).

Thanks and any other feedback is greatly appreciated!

Use Step Up to Med, don't worry about the ACP book (had a friend with it, it's ok, Step Up was better I thought). For surgery, Pestana notes are great but not comprehensive, use NMS casebook as well. As for blueprints, I only used it for OB/Gyn, the series gets mixed reviews for some rotations but I'm sure they aren't that bad. I would still advise looking up books for each rotation and not just using one series. Not all books in a series are written by the same author, so the quality can be quite variable even though they both say "blueprints".

 

[AFDuck]

My school provided us with that IM Essentials book, but it was pretty worthless. Very superficial outline format. Stick with step-up for med as your main source. There was a question book by the ACP as well, MKSAP I believe. It was much better than the text, that may be worth using prior to your medicine shelf.

 

[cosine]

What about Step up to Step 2 CK? I heard that book is better than first aid. I was going to do this book for every rotation along with other such a Blueprint for OB.

 

[Doctor4Life1769]

I know the DIT guy suggests Step Up for Step 2, but I've not heard many ppl on SDN suggest that. The consensus seemed to be Crush/Secrets, FA, or B/W ... so I dont know a lot about Step Up. If anyone knows please chime in.

Thanks for all the advice!!

 

[95439]

I know the DIT guy suggests Step Up for Step 2, but I've not heard many ppl on SDN suggest that. The consensus seemed to be Crush/Secrets, FA, or B/W ... so I dont know a lot about Step Up. If anyone knows please chime in.

Thanks for all the advice!!

Boards and wards is good for two things: to carry with you on rotations and answer questions (usually incorrectly) on the spot, and to wipe your *** with.

 

[Doctor4Life1769]

Boards and wards is good for two things: to carry with you on rotations and answer questions (usually incorrectly) on the spot, and to wipe your *** with.

Most people here seem to advocate its use. What do you recommend then? And, did you honor all your rotations and make > 240 on USMLE Step 2 CK exam? What did you get on the exam?

 

[indo]

instead of "working hard" during 3rd year you should slack off and use your spare time studying for shelf exams and step II.

The crap you'll see on a given rotation will only represent a tiny fraction of what is on either exam.

USMLEworld is good for shelves too.

 

[AFDuck]

instead of "working hard" during 3rd year you should slack off and use your spare time studying for shelf exams and step II.

The crap you'll see on a given rotation will only represent a tiny fraction of what is on either exam.

USMLEworld is good for shelves too.

This advice has got to be the worst I have ever heard. At best, this strategy my lead to marginally improved exam scores. However, I shudder to think what kind of clinician a student with this attitude will end up being. I think 3rd year is a very important transitional time in an aspiring doc's career, and to treat it as a big exam prep session seems shortsighted. I learned a ton in my clinical work, even though it is true that during 3rd year no student will see every pathology in the world. You do see a bunch though, and its a lot easier to remember patients you've met and treated than facts out of a book. Thats not even mentioning the intangible lessons to be learned that a poor attitude will make you miss.

 

[commander]

This advice has got to be the worst I have ever heard. At best, this strategy my lead to marginally improved exam scores. However, I shudder to think what kind of clinician a student with this attitude will end up being. I think 3rd year is a very important transitional time in an aspiring doc's career, and to treat it as a big exam prep session seems shortsighted. I learned a ton in my clinical work, even though it is true that during 3rd year no student will see every pathology in the world. You do see a bunch though, and its a lot easier to remember patients you've met and treated than facts out of a book. Thats not even mentioning the intangible lessons to be learned that a poor attitude will make you miss.

Actually disagree with you because it was not that bad of an advice.
I spent too much time in the hospital for my first rotation and ended up not having much time to do any reading.
He said "use your spare time studying for shelf exams and step II" and that is exactly what I did for my second rotation. spent in the hospital as minimum amount of time as i could, It made big difference - u don't learn much by recording vitals and patient data, but rather by reading on your patients.

 

[Doctor4Life1769]

How long did it take you guys to read through Blueprints Peds? It's pretty long and dense. I've been going through it for a lil under 2 weeks (on/off) and im about 1/5 of the way done. I have a few more weeks before the rotation ends. So, I'm just curious. I've had other issues going on, but I'm trying to go back to being diligent about this. Thanks!

 

[AFDuck]

Actually disagree with you because it was not that bad of an advice.
I spent too much time in the hospital for my first rotation and ended up not having much time to do any reading.
He said "use your spare time studying for shelf exams and step II" and that is exactly what I did for my second rotation. spent in the hospital as minimum amount of time as i could, It made big difference - u don't learn much by recording vitals and patient data, but rather by reading on your patients.

He also said "slack off", so I guess its how you read the post. Now that I'm into my 4th year and have taken step 2, what really stuck with me from the 3rd year clerkships was the info I learned on the wards, not the review books I read. Best advice I have is to carry a book with you everywhere you go, so that you get reading doen throughout the day at the hospital.

I actually didn't think Peds Blueprints was all that dense, I remember knocking it out pretty quickly. I recall the ID and Cards chapters being kind of rough. ID is key, read all of that. Don't get too bogged down in the Congenital heart dz stuff, know your cyanotic dz vs. non-cyanotic and key murmurs. Overall, I did well on the peds test with that as my resource. But, like I said above, I saw tons of stuff "working hard" on the wards as well!

 

[silverstary]

how useful are the kaplan step 2 books? are they something you can use for the shelf exams as the only resource during the particular rotation? or would they be more useful for step 2?

 

[Whats_up_doc]

how useful are the kaplan step 2 books? Are they something you can use for the shelf exams as the only resource during the particular rotation? Or would they be more useful for step 2?

+ 1

 

[indo]

Actually disagree with you because it was not that bad of an advice.
I spent too much time in the hospital for my first rotation and ended up not having much time to do any reading.
He said "use your spare time studying for shelf exams and step II" and that is exactly what I did for my second rotation. spent in the hospital as minimum amount of time as i could, It made big difference - u don't learn much by recording vitals and patient data, but rather by reading on your patients.

Your sense of humor must be lodged just proximal to the tip of the stick that is in your ass.

 

[markglt]

lol, that's hilarious...

and i agree about your advice

kudos

 

[Doctor4Life1769]

Of the IM sub-specialties, which one is most heavily tested? Cardio? Would you recommend doing a Cardio rotation prior to Step 2?

 

[tfom08]

Of the IM sub-specialties, which one is most heavily tested? Cardio? Would you recommend doing a Cardio rotation prior to Step 2?

Yeah probably cards is the most tested subspecialty, but there are so many IM subspecialties, it's not like cards is a huge chunk of the test. It's definitely NOT important to take a cards rotation. Few people will, and most people will be fine. Just know how to read basic EKGs, how to treat ACS, MI, CHF, when to head to the cath lab, etc.

 

[Doctor4Life1769]

Yeah probably cards is the most tested subspecialty, but there are so many IM subspecialties, it's not like cards is a huge chunk of the test. It's definitely NOT important to take a cards rotation. Few people will, and most people will be fine. Just know how to read basic EKGs, how to treat ACS, MI, CHF, when to head to the cath lab, etc.

Thanks bro for the help and advice! I have one more question ...

Do you of anyone know about this book series?

1. Rapid Series (Medicine, Differential Dx, Surgery, OBGYN, Psychiatry, and Peds/Child Health)

2. Hands-On Series: Junior Doctors, Clinical Pharmacology, Imaging.

These seem to go into detail about scenarios, dx, management, tx ...

What do you all think about this? I may just read these, they seem much shorter and more concise than Kaplan and Blueprints ...

 

[tfom08]

Thanks bro for the help and advice! I have one more question ...

Do you of anyone know about this book series?

1. Rapid Series (Medicine, Differential Dx, Surgery, OBGYN, Psychiatry, and Peds/Child Health)

2. Hands-On Series: Junior Doctors, Clinical Pharmacology, Imaging.

These seem to go into detail about scenarios, dx, management, tx ...

What do you all think about this? I may just read these, they seem much shorter and more concise than Kaplan and Blueprints ...

No, I have never heard of those series. Doesn't mean they aren't good, but nobody I know has used them. Personally, I would suggest sticking with the proven resources discussed in the shelf specific threads in the clinical rotations forum. On the other hand, if you think they look good, you don't have too much to lose and maybe you will discover some great books that you can inform other people about. I kind of feel like which books you use don't matter as much as we like to sometimes believe. If you pick a decent book and put in the hard work required, you will excel no matter which book it is.

 

[Doctor4Life1769]

No, I have never heard of those series. Doesn't mean they aren't good, but nobody I know has used them. Personally, I would suggest sticking with the proven resources discussed in the shelf specific threads in the clinical rotations forum. On the other hand, if you think they look good, you don't have too much to lose and maybe you will discover some great books that you can inform other people about. I kind of feel like which books you use don't matter as much as we like to sometimes believe. If you pick a decent book and put in the hard work required, you will excel no matter which book it is.

Sweet, great advice. Thanks!

I wonder if it's possible to attach a file on here to show one of these.

 

[docbill]

Anywhere here anything about using FA for each rotation. This is not FA CK... but FA Pediatrics Clerckship, FA OBGYN Clerckship, FA Surgery Clerckship.. etc...

A lot of people have said Kaplan is not so good for the step 2. I thought it was great for step 1!!! ???

Also I am pondering the idea of getting UWOrld for the whole year and repeating the same questions over and over again. I think you can reset you score if you get it for more than 6 months. Is that right?