I think the game plan behind studying for CK should be different than step1. Namely you should focus way more time on doing practice questions and much less on reading….muuuch less. I still ended up using
two text books…..first aid ck and crush step 2. Crush i read as quick as possible and first aid i didn't finish reading once through until a night before my exam. When it came down to it I was nervous the night before
the exam because I didn't think I prepared enough, however, taking it was wasn't too bad. I didn't get a score back yet but I felt like most questions were fairly straight forward and that usmleworld questions were
more than adequate in their difficulty level compared to actual step 2 questions. There was a very small amount of step 1 material….aka proteins dna and transcription but you obviously can't prepare for that
and if you do you are really wasting your time! Other than that I thought it seemed more fair than most of the third year shelf exams. The hardest part about it in my opinion was the length….it is long and so are
the questions. This is definitely a test were efficiency and stamina win over anything else. Some ppl did get screwed on this exam in terms of poor computer performance….screens freezing and animated videos
not working so be wary of that but hopefully by the time future class years take they will have fixed that. Their computers at the test center in buffalo are older looking than computers at my freshman year of collegge
in 2000. lastly, don't give yourself more than a month for this exam and if you are good at hammering away studying i would say no more than 2 weeks. i TAed gross anatomy the month i took it and I'm so happy
I had something else going on bc solely studying for the exam would be brutal. I usually spent about 3 hours a day studying…if i was lucky and definitely didn't do much at all on weekends…..even the weekend
before my exam. In comparison, I spent at least 7-10 hrs a day studying for step 1. Much of the time I did questions and used the tutor mode on usmleworld bc i felt like it was the most efficient way to study. I
also had my first aid in front of me and when a question offered valid teaching points I would just look it up in first aid and jot some of them down. I only finished like 700-800 questions on usmleworld, which
looking back on it seemed to be more than enough. I felt like after doing 500 questions, the concepts started repeating themselves. Overall, don't worry about this exam and DO NOT TAKE IT BEFORE SEPT
if you are satisfied with step 1. Obviously it feels good to do well on step 2 and believe me if you paid attention during third year you will be fine.
From wikipedia: "Preparative work for Steps 1, 2, and 3 respectively are 'two months, two weeks, two pencils'.
I agree with BuffFan08, that studying for Step 2 CK is very different from Step 1. Your shelf exams and clerkship experience build your foundation for CK and, in contrast to Step 1, step 2 requires few, if any, general review books.
My book of choice was Step2 secrets, which I also used for some clerkships, but I didn't have time to finish reviewing it for CK . So, my main learning tool, as well as for most others, was the USMLE World question bank. I was able to complete 80% of the questions in one week with review of the answers. I learned a TON from USMLE World and I felt adequately prepared, except for the few random Step1 questions for which you cannot and should not prepare, and did very well on CK (went up 11points from Step1!). So one to two weeks is definitely plenty of time to prepare, even during a light rotation.
It is also encouraging to know that virtually everybody's score improves on CK!
Also, there is no need to purchase NBMEs - save your $ for interview traveling!
As for when to take Step 2CK? the best time is before interview season. If you want to get it out of the way (i.e., July/August) and are confident that you can break even or increase your score from Step 1, take it before you submit your application so that programs can see your score and it will boost your application, particularly for more competitive programs. I think that September/October are also good months to take it so that you have some time to relax after 3rd year/enjoy summer, or focus on your sub-I, but also getting it out of the way before you travel and your schedule becomes erratic. I took it in October and felt that I learned a lot during the few months of fourth year, but it wasn't too far away from my 3rd year rotations.
Dr. Nielsen will recommend that you take it as soon as possible, before you forget are out of test-taking mode, forget everything you learned in 3rd yr, and senioritis becomes totally debilitating!
(account deleted) 09 Feb 2009 21:12
Q: What resources to use?
A: Depends on your foundation:
1. Average to Strong Step 1, decent to awesome shelf scores: USMLE World +/-Step 2 Secrets
2. Little rusty, not feeling that confident: Above + First Aid
3. Looking for a big improvement from Step 1 to 2: Above could be sufficient, maybe add Case Files
Q: Why so few resources?
A: Because much of your learning takes place throughout clerkships and most of your review should be practice questions.
1. USMLE World - MOST important, the primary learning tool, format virtually identical to real thing, and definitely had deja vu on many questions (either the UW question writers were psychic or somebody memorized actual test questions for UW)
2. Step 2 Secrets or Crush Step 2 (similar books, the difference is that Secrets is in question format) - quick overview, high yield, hone in on major points - note that it is NOT comprehensive
3. First Aid Step2 CK - I did not personally use this, but I have heard that in contrast to Step 1, this is not as comprehensive and not as helpful, but it is still the most "comprehensive" book. You will still do most of your learning from UW questions.
Q: How much time to allocate for studying?
A: Depends on your foundation:
* Average to Strong Step 1, decent to awesome shelf scores: 1-2 wks (some people claim to have only spent 3 days), definitely can be done during a light rotation (don't need to take a whole month off for this)
* Little rusty, not feeling that confident: 2-3 wks
* Looking for a big improvement: take a month off, do UW twice.
Q: When to take CK?
A: The most optimal time is July (early 4th year while you are still in test-taking mode) through October (before interview season). Personally, I felt too burned out after 3rd year, wanted to enjoy summer, and learned a bunch after a sub-I and took it in October (though I wish I got it out of the way earlier). Studying for anything during traveling and irregular schedule of interview season is a set up for failure i.e., postpone test. Most programs don't interview during holidays so that's a possibility. January is an undesirable time because you'll be out of test-taking mode and have senioritis.
Hope that helps and good luck!
(account deleted), 09 Feb 2009 21:12
