What's the consensus on IM shelf review sources?

[78222]

People at my school told me MKSAP was the way to go. However, after reading some threads on here, I've heard people talk about how useless MKSAP was for prep.

So what is it? MKSAP? UW? Case Files? Pretest?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Ypo.]

MKSAP was the consensus around here for questions, but not for review.

For review, I think it's kind of a tossup. I ended up using step-up.

 

[BigRedBeta]

I used MKSAP as my question source - I was pretty pleased with it.

My school has an extensive lecture series, an hour a day for the entire clerkship, and I used Step Up and Blueprints to prepare for the lectures. Blueprints did a good job on the major topics like chest pain, and dyspnea, but was sorely lacking when it came to the slightly less common stuff - liver disease (ie ascites and SBP), a lot of the rheumatic conditions, STI's and some of the cancers - so Step Up really is where I'd tell you to spend your money.

 

[vtucci]

I am not a fan of MKSAP. I did the questions but found them useless.

I loved USMLEWORLD and also used Step Up, First Aid, Case Files (less Step Up than others).

 

[leagueelbow]

MKSAP + Case Files + UpToDate (for any clinical questions) = success for me

 

[G0S2]

MKSAP and UW with UW being the best for the shelf by far.

 

[domer621]

Pocket Medicine + UW

 

[yohimbine1]

I can't decide whether to order First Aid or Step Up. My IM clerkship starts in early July.

 

[ambiguous]

So I'm about to start my 3rd year clerkships and I'm slightly confused in regards to how to study. Are you just reading cover to cover from page 1 of one of the recommended review books and then towards the end of the clerkship, just do a ton of questions from MKSAP or UW? Or are you reading the review books according to the patient cases youre actually working on in your clinic? Sorry for the noob question

 

[Law2Doc]

So I'm about to start my 3rd year clerkships and I'm slightly confused in regards to how to study. Are you just reading cover to cover from page 1 of one of the recommended review books and then towards the end of the clerkship, just do a ton of questions from MKSAP or UW? Or are you reading the review books according to the patient cases youre actually working on in your clinic? Sorry for the noob question

There are proponents of each. No way to answer which is going to work best for you.

 

[EternalMD]

Ideally you would want to use a question bank that mimics the actual shelf. After having medicine and using MKSAP, i realized that its a great tool to learn up to date medicine (well fairly up to date), but its not indicative at all of what the real exam will be like. Even the Kaplan 50q blocks don't mimic it well either. I hadn't used UW but from what my friends said, it was gold. You can learn a lot from MKSAP so it might not be bad to go through if you have extra time to do questions (as I said earlier, not like the shelf)

 

[Bostonguy19]

So just a quick question. When people refer to UW, are they doing the q's for Step 1 or for Step 2? I realize I may be the only one confused about this, but my shelf is only a few weeks away and I am getting a little nervous.

 

[G0S2]

So just a quick question.* When people refer to UW, are they doing the q's for Step 1 or for Step 2?* I realize I may be the only one confused about this, but my shelf is only a few weeks away and I am getting a little nervous.

Step 2

 

[joe6102]

Step 2

it's so money for the im shelf.

 

[yohimbine1]

Which subscription option do you all purchase for UW, a yearlong one? Is it useful for other shelf exams though?

 

[lilnoelle]

what do you guys think of USMLE Consult as a question bank for Step 2 and various shelf exams?

 

[eviljafar]

Which subscription option do you all purchase for UW, a yearlong one? Is it useful for other shelf exams though?

any advice on this?

 

[DragonWell]

Which subscription option do you all purchase for UW, a yearlong one? Is it useful for other shelf exams though?

I asked the same question over here and the response was:

Yes I used the UW yearlong subscription. It is well worth the investment.

 

[yohimbine1]

I think I had seen that response...I was still wondering though, do you really use it for the other rotations and find it as helpful on the shelves? It's not a big deal to me if I crush the shelves or honor rotations, I'm just looking for high yield resources to save time since I like to study most efficiently. The money's not a huge deal as it pales in comparison to tuition and sleep over the course of the year.

 

[78222]

I just took it and all I can say is...OUCH! That was a hard test! I did MKSAP, Case Files, and quite a few UW questions. I don't feel that anything helped me all that much. Basically it came down to remembering stuff from Step I and being able to speed read.