USMLE Step 2 CK Experiences – USMLE Experiences

How To Study For USMLE Step 2 CK

If you are reading this post you probably already took and passed USMLE Step 1. Congratulations if you knocked that out of the park. I am sure now you are looking for sources and study tips for Step 2 CK.

Many of you probably heard from your peers that USMLE Step 2 Ck is easier then Step 1. Well, I will tell you something that will help you better prepare for this beast.

First of all, USMLE Step 1 materials are harder but the exam is easier. In Step 2 CK, material is easy but the exam is hard. So do not take it lightly. The idea here is that, in Step 1, multiple choices has only one right answer.

However, in Step 2 CK almost all the answer choices are right but you have to pick the best one, which makes it difficult. Now let’s get to the main preparation part of this Step 2 journey.

Study Material: USMLE World + Yale G Refined Clinical Review
Study Time: 6 Months

Now let me explain how to use the above method to score high on the exam.

USMLE World Includes:

Internal Medicine
Surgery
OB/GYN
Pediatrics
Psych

Start your preparation by reading the OB/GYN section of the Yale. Just read the OB/GYN section like a newspaper. Once you are done reading it once, do the questions on the back of the OB/GYN section.

Now go back and read it again and memorize the important stuff that you need to memorize. It will take you about 4-5 days to read it twice. Once you are done reading the OB/GYN section of Yale twice, now you are ready for the USMLE World. Fire up UW and do the all the OB/GYN question. Read the question and explanation carefully.

Do not write anything in Yale’s G. Instead, type up the notes and then print it and punch hole it and put it in Yale. This way your notes will be clear and easy to modify later on.

Now that you are done with OB/GYN section. Start reading the Internal Medicine section from Yale. Read the entire IM section twice and then start with USMLE World. This should take you about 20 – 25 days.

Do not write or type any notes. Just read USMLE World like a book while doing it. Once you are done with the internal medicine section from both UW and Yale. Now, repeat the same thing for Pediatrics, Surgery and Psych.

This should take you all total about 2 months. Once you are done with Yale and UW now you are ready to take NBME 4. Do not be nervous. Go ahead and take NBME 4. It does not matter what you get.

Once you are done with NBME go ahead and start with UW again. This time mixed and timed. Do not read Yale anymore. Just focus on UW. Finish UW in 16 days. If you do 3 blocks a day you should be done in 16 days.

Once you are done with UW take NBME 6. Once you are done with NBME 6. Do UW again in 16 days and take UWSA. If you average NBME 4, 6 and UWSA score and get over 235. Go ahead and sign up the exam and you should be good to go. Good luck!!!

If you need a tutor feel free to contact me

Best Way To Prepare For USMLE Step 2 CK To Score Over 250

It’s been awhile I did not blog. But I have some good news for those who are taking USMLE Step 2 CK. If you are studying for CK or planning to study for CK I am sure you have asked your friends about which resource to use and almost everyone will tell you to read Masters The Boards (MTB) 2 and 3 with USMLE World.

Many people already scored high with these three resources. So when you try to study from these 3 resources I am sure you are thinking why isn’t there 1 book just like Step 1’s First Aid, where you can simply take notes from USMLE World on FA and keep on reviewing FA.

Not only that, you don’t even know which section to study from which MTB so at the end it becomes a mess and you will get irritated and it gets harder to review 2 books before the exam.

For those who are looking to study from only 1 source and score 240+ on Step 2 CK there is a good news. For my Step 2 CK, I only used Yale-G’s Refined Clinical Review.

It is an amazing book and the author wrote this book by combining high yield information from USMLE World, Kaplan Lecture Notes, MTBs and USMLE Secrets. Almost everyone I know who used the book scored over 240 on their CK.

It is easy to read and has almost all the high yield information from the USMLE World in a organized way. After going through the book my USMLE World scores averaged around 80. With that said, I will recommend this book to all my readers.

Now you might think I must be advertising for the book. Not at all, just like you, I also have MTB and Kaplan Lecture notes. In fact I read the Master The Boards 2 and 3, they both are amazing but missing so many information that I almost got frustrated and bought Yale-G’s Refined Clinical Review. The book is concise and to the point.

I barely have to take any notes from USMLE World because almost all the points from the UW is in the book. Not only that, after every chapter the author included about 50 – 60 questions to drill the information into your head.

Give it a shot. You wouldn’t regret it. In fact you can throw away all your other CK resources and stick to just Yale-G’s Refined Clinical Review + UW. Read the book 3 times and do USMLE World 3 times. You will for sure ace the exam. Good luck on your studies!

99/264 Step 1 and Step 2 CK

I thought I would post my USMLE Step1 and 2 CK experiences since I have
both results in my hands.

I got 264/99 in Step1 and a 250+/99 in
Step2.

if you are an averages student don’t stop reading here.

WHAT I THINK I DID RIGHT ABOUT STEP1 and 2

Time
of Step1 March
Start of preparation : December

Time of Step2:
July end
Start of prep: April end

Pray

Kaplan, Kaplan and Kaplan.
Their notes are the absolute must have.
You can buy them second hand from someone who has already been through
the course.

The web-prep videos are good in the sense that it
leaves with you a lot of visual imagery and audio cues.
What do I
mean by that?

Means when you see a question you go : Oh I remember
him drawing that on the board.. or oh yes, I can hear is irritating,
sleepy voice telling me this point over and over again.

Dr.Goljan’s audio lectures are also a must have. I heard them thrice
over by the time I sat the test. The high yields are really that. I
couldn’t believe the number of questions I got from it.

Start making flash cards from
Day1 preparation, of any information that needs to be memorized.
Especially pharma.
Carry it with you everywhere. I used to
sit in the loo and go over flashcards. Flashcards while walking down the
street.
Flashcards in the bus. If you died from studying too hard,
you better have flashcards on your person when they do an autopsy.

p.s:
for those who dont know flashcards are rectangular pieces of chart
paper about 3×2 inches. One side goes medical condition other side goes
drug of choice or whtever. Make them yourselves and save money. it uses
less memory to use flashcards than to memorise conventionally. Trust me I
did a lotta reading about this one.

USMLEWORLD don’t copy the
pirated screen captures. Spend the money and sign up at the site.
You get to assess how your studying is going. I did them in timed mode
subject wise. Then did all the ones I got incorrect in tutor mode. Read
all the qs and answers. Yes even the ones you got right. Very useful
resource (no I dont get paid to say this- no conflict of interest
either)
Step1 i got 72% – 85th percentile
Step2 i got 75% – 85th
percentile

Webpath – went through it a lot. especially serial
sections of the brain and the CT’s. helped me like nothing else. iw as
laughing at the CT’s on the exam thanks to webpath.

METHOD
IN THE MADNESS

I used to be up at around 10ish. Do sundry stuff
till 11.
In my quiet time pray and ask God to help me accomplish
whatever I needed to that day while studying.
Went straight from 11 a.m till 7.30p.m. –
one 30 minute break for sandwiches and a 15min power nap.

Dinner
and family time from 7.30 p.m 10p.m

Then from 10 p.m to
midnight used to do the USMLEWORLD qs (I took one month subscription,
starting one month ten days before the exam.)

Used to fool
around on all these USMLE forums from midnight to 2 am. Didnt bother
studying in this shift coz I would have to repeat it anyways.
I
picked up a lot of decent tips and encouragement from these forums.
Which is why Im taking time to write this.
Dosent mean to say that
all of you should spend 2 hrs a day on internet. I used to also listen
to the Goljan lectures at that time.

Sundays off. Saturdays half
day off. Weekdays and Saturdays, no TV. Not even a little.

Before
the last ten days appear on the scene you should have finished going
through your notes twice first time slowly getting a big picture and
understanding, second time memorizing and making up mnemonics. You
should also be done with your USMLE WORLD and listening to the Goljan
lectures.

Do the above and you should beat my score. I dont care
what type of student you are. I played Age of Empires 3 and wasted a
otta time on step1 and played warcraft and wasted a lotta time on Step2.
But God gives grace.

ADDITION April ’09
Passed CS, took
Step3 got a 92. Studied for only five days; thats probabily why.

Matched
at a University program in the south in Internal Medicine; would have
matched at a University program in Surgery (how i know is it was no.3 on
my ROL and it had one unmatched place) but I didnt rank it higher than
med coz i didnt want it.

I thank God for his favour and grace
upon my life as such.

I pray that ya’ll suceed at whatever you
work hard at.
-Seven Fingers

I also forgot – STEP 1 FIRST
AID FOR BOARDS NEEDS TO BE ON YOUR TABLE ALL THE TIME!!!! its very good –
with menomnics and other stuff. i used an old one someone passed on
.thx dr.s and dr.r