Acing USMLE Step 2

[RunwayModel]

I just wanted to consolidate as many sources as I could regarding USMLE Step 2 to get 240+ to make sure that I have everything and that everyone can just look at this one thread.

I am assuming these are the subjects for Step 2 since there are shelf exams in these subjects: Internal Medicine, OB-Gyn, Pediatrics, Surgery, Psych, Family Medicine, and Clinical Neurology.

BOOKS FOR USMLE STEP 2

My two options are

1.

Comprehensive and Question Books:
First Aid for USMLE Step 2
Boards and Wards
NMS USMLE Step 2
Crush the Boards
USMLE Step 2 Secrets
Prescription for the Boards
Kaplan Qbank
Platinum Vignettes for USMLE Step 2
All Pretest series

Internal Medicine: NMS Internal Medicine
OB-Gyn: Blueprints in OB-Gyn
Pediatrics: Blueprints Peds
Surgery: ?
Psychiatry: BRS Psychiatry
Family Medicine: ?
Clinical Neurology: ?

2.

Kaplan Lecture Notes for Step 2 with videos. lol As always any advice is appreciated esp. those who aced the exam as well as those who are nice enough to help the young and lost.

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[musicman1991]

I've never met anyone who did all those material so if you can all off #1 you should pass but no one can guarentee any score. I took the test on Saturday and feel like I did not pass and I studied most of the material you listed. Most of the test questions are not in any of those books!

 

[eyestar]

hey!
what do you mean by none of the questions are in any of those books? my test step2 is next week man!!

 

[mjl34]

i took it about a month ago and got 250+

I studied for roughly two weeks mostly from the following sources

First Aid for USMLE Step 2
Crush the Boards (read it twice)
USMLE Step 2 Secrets (basically a shorter version of Crush the boards)

a few questions from Qbank.

The test was long and I didn't feel terrific about it, but if I didn't know the answer I didn't stress about it.

You'll do fine - all you need is a 182 and you're golden. Anything more means you studied too hard

 

[musicman1991]

You'll see what I mean. This is my breakdown:

1/3 of questions are in Q-bank, 1st Aid etc. I rememberd 80% of the questions from the text.

1/3 of questions are basedfrom detailed portions of Boards and Wards (i rememberd some of them). I.e. two dieases, exactly the same but differ by a small thing like one gives lymphadenopathy and one doesn't.

1/3 of the questions are from ???????

Note: when i say they are BASED on the material. They somehow twist it so there are 2-3 reasonable choices and you guess from them. That's what's frustrating about the test.

 

[bankingdom]

One word....

www.usmleworld.com

It's bootleg, but from what i've heard, and seen personally, it's just like the real thing.

My opinion....kaplan q-bank too easy

From the grape vine --> you should be getting 65-70% in kaplan q-bank
Getting 50-60% in usmleworld
and above 500 in the nbme practice questions and you will def break 85-90 on the real thing

Again, this is grape vine stuff, make your own conclusions.

 

[Blade28]

One word....

www.usmleworld.com

It's bootleg, but from what i've heard, and seen personally, it's just like the real thing.

Why is this bootleg? You still have to pay for it.

 

[scootad.]

is it necessary to read both crush & secrets? are they essentially the same w/ much overlap? can you read only one of those and be OK?

also if either crush or secrets is fine do you need to supplement w/ first aid?

basically, is secrets + boards/wards + qbank sufficient?

 

[eyestar]

Hi!
I want to ace the test hence I am trying to finish q-bank as much as I can. but some of the questions are easy. what frustrates me is that when I get questions wrong, I am too lazy to read the explanations and I think I know it but when I take another test and the same topic comes back to haunt me because I get it wrong again!!!
I think the hardest topics are cardio and Gi. Does anybody know if there are epi questions on the test(q-bank doesn't have any)

 

[eyestar]

A 55yr-old lady comes in for a routine physical (annual exam) No sig PMH, normal pap smear and mammo during last annual exam. What is the next step to do in this pt?
1) mammo
2) pap smear
3) UA
4)chest x-ray
5) Bone scan

 

[musicman1991]

pap

and you should read the explanations. can't help your score if you are too lazy to read the material. q-bank is not for testing yourself it's for learning from your mistakes.

 

[Gauss]

One word....

www.usmleworld.com

It's bootleg, but from what i've heard, and seen personally, it's just like the real thing.

My opinion....kaplan q-bank too easy

From the grape vine --> you should be getting 65-70% in kaplan q-bank
Getting 50-60% in usmleworld
and above 500 in the nbme practice questions and you will def break 85-90 on the real thing

Again, this is grape vine stuff, make your own conclusions.

I seriously do not know of anyone that remembers their Q-bank score and can correlate that with their USMLE score. Q-bank is not predictive of scores, it is not designed to be. It is an educational tool as is that usmleworld thing.
Speaking of which "group of 5 doctors with excellent USMLE scores (99,97 -- 98,98 -- 99,95 -- 99,96-- 99,99)"
5 docs vs an institution like kaplan? I need more data on this

 

[bankingdom]

I seriously do not know of anyone that remembers their Q-bank score and can correlate that with their USMLE score. Q-bank is not predictive of scores, it is not designed to be. It is an educational tool as is that usmleworld thing.
Speaking of which "group of 5 doctors with excellent USMLE scores (99,97 -- 98,98 -- 99,95 -- 99,96-- 99,99)"
5 docs vs an institution like kaplan? I need more data on this

Blade -> by bootleg i meant it's really slow sometimes and you get like 20 GI or cardio questions in a row on some blocks. It is not a refined as kaplan q-bank.

Gauss -> As i had mentioned this was what I heard from the grape vine, and not meant as concrete fact. And from personal experience and the experience of a couple of friends is that USMLEWorld questions are far more in depth and def make you think more. Kaplan honestly was more regurg and simple stuff, even though they did have quite a few good questions as well. Just my experience that i'm sharing. Enjoy and good luck on your exam!

 

[RunwayModel]

bump...bump...

 

[RunwayModel]

Last time bump..

 

[QuietSylph]

is it necessary to read both crush & secrets? are they essentially the same w/ much overlap? can you read only one of those and be OK?

also if either crush or secrets is fine do you need to supplement w/ first aid?

basically, is secrets + boards/wards + qbank sufficient?

Crush and Secrets cover very similar material. I advise making your selection based on whether you prefer the prose format or the Q&A format.

I used Boards & Wards, QBank, and a little bit of NMS, Appleton & Lange, and Crush. B&W and QBank were the best study aids. Never used First Aid because I didn't like its organization - it seemed so hit and miss. I ended up with a 246 on Step 2.

Ultimately, though, I think if you've done well in your clinical rotations, you won't need to use many review books. If you've not done as well, then you probably need a more intensive means of studying (e.g., Kaplan Notes).

 

[joaquin13]

Hello,

I was hoping to get more input on using USMLEworld or Qbank. Any other opinions on that matter? I am looking into purchasing either one of them very soon (I plan to take Step 2 in August).
Help!!!

 

[c132]

pap

and you should read the explanations. can't help your score if you are too lazy to read the material. q-bank is not for testing yourself it's for learning from your mistakes.

Actually I don't think you're right in saying pap. I think the current recommendations is to get a pap every 2-3 years if you haven't had an abnormal pap, providing you are in a monogomous relationship.

However it is recommended that you get an annual mammo no matter what!!!

The correct answer is mammo

 

[joaquin13]

bump

I was wondering...I need to do well on Step 2. USMLE world or Qbank? THANKS!!! I just want others opinions on people who did either.

 

[blahblahblah]

Hello all,
I think mammo is the right ans too. But anywho I was wondering what people think of perscription for the boards. I like the format of the book. It focus's on the management side of diseases, which is what step 2 is about right? I'm wondering if it's a good book to use for boards.
Let me know what you think.

 

[RunwayModel]

Bump

 

[Yosh]

I would go with yearly Mammo too

 

[kas23]

Mammo...and that question about "Perscription for the Boards," I would like to know that too.

 

[asianpride]

bump

 

[undecided05]

so if I'm scoring between 75-80% on Q bank, does anyone know what that correlates to on Step II? I already understand that there are going to be +/- for everyone. But thanks anyways.