Advice

I heard from a lot of people that First-Aid for Step 2 (unlike it's Step 1 counterpart) is not all that great. I've heard lots of good things about Crush the Boards for Step 2 though... but you know USMLE Step 2 Secrets IS THE EXACT SAME THING, just in question and answer format! I have them both and I compared 'em... they are virtually identical in content. So I would personally go with the Secrets book. The NMS questions are supposed to be the gold standard for Step 2.

From my experience and what I've heard from others, ALL practice quesition sources tend to be more diffiicult than the real exams (Step 1 and Step 2). IMHO if you were to memorize the Secrets book and carefully do the NMS questions you'd definitely pass and maybe even do better than that. Good luck.

 

People at my school say that First aid for step 2 isn't worthwhile, and the Prescription for Step 2 is like First AId was for step 1. I'm planning on waiting a few months for the new prescription for the boards comes out. I actually bought FIrst aid for step 2 and I like it, it's a similar format to step I. Has a lot less info though.

 

I think the most important thing to consider now is the fact that you have 10 days left. I don't think it'd be wise to start on something new at this point. IMHO the most high-yield thing you can do at this point is to MEMORIZE Secrets inside & out, and then if you have time, finish up the NMS questions.

Incidentally, I heard an interesting tidbit about Brochert... the author of both the Step 2 Secrets and Crush the Boards. Some dude told me that Brochert was a med student not too long ago himself, and he supposedly has a photographic memory. He allegedly took the Step 2 exam, and then went home and wrote down every single question that was asked of him, and he passed this out to all of his friends. Supposedly he got into some kind of trouble for this by the NBME. Anyway, Secrets and CTBs are supposed to be his published versions of this...

You know unlike Step 1, I think that some quality last minute (e.g. last 10 days) cramming for Step 2 can make a big difference. Good luck!

 

LOL! Do it bro .

 

Hornet and Cuts,

I have a question. I am basically doing Secrets / First Aid / Q Bank for the main studying along with supplementation from blueprints, but I was planning on doing NMS like the last 4 or 5 days before the exam as a wrap up. Can I get through this and is there a lot of new info in NMS or will it hit the same topics as I will have covered with the other sources I used.

I am taking a month off to study and relax, and man is it nice.

Thanks for the advice. I was naieve about step I and busted tail studying too much text and not enough question.

I will not be fooled again.

You proably think I am derm with this regimen, ha ha, just a humble future pediatrician.

Thanks bro

 

IMHO, what you're using now are all great sources. Memorize Secrets and First-Aid while concurrently doing Q-bank. I'd take a little more time for the NMS mcqs if at all possible... maybe more like 7-8 solid days... so you'll have time to re-look up stuff that seems unfamiliar. I haven't yet started doing mcqs, so I can't comment on the content of the NMS ones. Good luck!

 

Hey Hornet,

All I did was First Aid and Q-bank and did pretty well (not amazing but damn good). I never used secrets so I can't say if a second read is worth it. I can say that a quick glance through First Aid would be worth it. Its pretty superficial in some parts but most of the stuff you already know and the book helped me remember these topics better.

As for Q-Bank, getting around the 60%-65% range should get you above a 230. Its not consistent for everyone, though. I've heard of some people on the USMLE board with much different correlations than this.

 

Hornet: I think that the contents of First-Aid and Secrets are by an large the same. Remember that the Secrets book is actually identical to Crush the Boards... only in a question & answer format. So you have to ask yourself two questions...

Do you prefer the layout/"feel" of First-Aid or CTB/Secrets?

Do you learn/retain better by simply reading (recognition memory) or by having to answer questions (recollection memory)?

The latter is clearly superior to consolidate info into one's knowledge base, but it's more time consuming. Seeing as you only have a week left, you might wanna stick with getting through First-Aid. Then, if you have time, try and finish up Secrets.

Good luck bro.