Books to use for Step 2

[95439]

I'm a 3rd year med student and am wondering what books I should be using throughout the year and during crunch time to study for Step 2. So far, I've bought First Aid CK for Step 2, Boards and Wards, and Harrison's (I'm on an internal medicine rotation). What books are close to being 'mandatory' for the Step 2 exam? I also plan on buying the USMLE world Qbank, although I've heard that is better used closer to exam time, rather than throughout the year. Does anyone have an educated opinion on the "Blueprints" series? Also, how does Step 2 compare to Step 1? It says in Boards and Wards that you should spend 2 months studying for Step 1 and 2 days for Step 2. That seems like an exaggeration....is it? Does Step 2 cover material from Step 1 (i.e. should I also use First Aid for Step 1 to study for Step 2)? I know this is alot of questions, but it doesn't seem as though there's a lot of direction given as to how to study for Step 2, and I don't want to waste my time studying material I don't need to know. Any advice would be appreciated, thank you!

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[Babycatcher2B]

I'm a 3rd year med student and am wondering what books I should be using throughout the year and during crunch time to study for Step 2. So far, I've bought First Aid CK for Step 2, Boards and Wards, and Harrison's (I'm on an internal medicine rotation). What books are close to being 'mandatory' for the Step 2 exam? I also plan on buying the USMLE world Qbank, although I've heard that is better used closer to exam time, rather than throughout the year. Does anyone have an educated opinion on the "Blueprints" series? Also, how does Step 2 compare to Step 1? It says in Boards and Wards that you should spend 2 months studying for Step 1 and 2 days for Step 2. That seems like an exaggeration....is it? Does Step 2 cover material from Step 1 (i.e. should I also use First Aid for Step 1 to study for Step 2)? I know this is alot of questions, but it doesn't seem as though there's a lot of direction given as to how to study for Step 2, and I don't want to waste my time studying material I don't need to know. Any advice would be appreciated, thank you!

I'd say get rid of the Harrison's for medicine and buy Step Up to Medicine. It was great for the medicine shelf and awesome for studying for Step 2. Blueprints was great for Ob/Gyn and somewhat helpful for Psych. For the other subjects I'd say use the Case files series. However, I used the Blueprints clinical cases series which I liked better than the Case files series but was really all the same.

 

[lord_jeebus]

The only thing I would call mandatory is a subscription to USMLEWorld. If you did well on your shelf exams, this will get you all the way to a great score. The books you have are good supplements and I wouldn't buy any more. I actually used the same combo - B&W, First Aid, USMLEWorld, in retrospect I would ditch one of the two books and focus on questions.

The only topics that come back from Step I are biostats/epidemiology and ethics. You will obviously still need to know the very basics of mechanisms of disease and popular drugs (eg. that metoprolol is a beta blocker) but nothing worth unearthing your Step I books for.

You will also not get any questions that would be out of place on your shelf exams - so by the time 3rd year is over you should have a very good idea of what to expect.

 

[95439]

The only thing I would call mandatory is a subscription to USMLEWorld. If you did well on your shelf exams, this will get you all the way to a great score. The books you have are good supplements and I wouldn't buy any more. I actually used the same combo - B&W, First Aid, USMLEWorld, in retrospect I would ditch one of the two books and focus on questions.

The only topics that come back from Step I are biostats/epidemiology and ethics. You will obviously still need to know the very basics of mechanisms of disease and popular drugs (eg. that metoprolol is a beta blocker) but nothing worth unearthing your Step I books for.

You will also not get any questions that would be out of place on your shelf exams - so by the time 3rd year is over you should have a very good idea of what to expect.

Does it matter that I go to a DO school where they write their own shelves? (I know, I know....I don't understand it either). Thank you both for the advice, please keep it coming, I'm going to buy step up for medicine today! If the shelves I take are similar to the real thing, are their any additional books I should buy to study just for those? Also, are the Goljian Step 2 CDs as useful as the Step 1 CDs were?

 

[Babycatcher2B]

Does it matter that I go to a DO school where they write their own shelves? (I know, I know....I don't understand it either). Thank you both for the advice, please keep it coming, I'm going to buy step up for medicine today! If the shelves I take are similar to the real thing, are their any additional books I should buy to study just for those? Also, are the Goljian Step 2 CDs as useful as the Step 1 CDs were?

The key to doing well on Step 2 is to study like crazy during your 3rd year. Then when its time to study for Step 2 you can get USMLE World. It has AAAAAAALLLLLLLL the content of the real test. READ READ READ during your third year.

 

[bigdan]

Agree with all above. In my utopia:

1) Most ideally, I'd have gotten a Step 2CK review book at the start of 3rd year. Read whatever core text/review book you like, then read from the CK review book the night or two before the shelf or in-house exam, or whatever the hell they make you take. That way you get familiar with the layout (not important) and can make your own notes and corrections (important).

2) Step Up to Medicine is, IMHO, the single best academic purchase that I've made in medical school. Robbins will always be on my office shelf, 'cause I think having it is a rite of passage, but Step Up was - by far - the most relevant book. Get it.

3) You can learn from USMLEWorld (heretofore "UW") during the year - it's a great tool. I had two IDENTICAL questions (no **** - I mean someone must either write for both USMLE and UW) on my Step 2 exam that I saw in UW. If you have the money, do UW all third year, and then do it again during your study time for Step 2.

4) I should've studied in a more efficient manner for Step 2. The only good thing I did that I would recommend again is I went thru Step Up, one section at a time; I took a sheet - and limited myself to one sheet only - of notes of things that I did not remember or did not know. None of that "DM is dx'ed with a fasting glucose of >126..." - that **** should be memorized after 3rd year. But if there was some nuance, I'd write it down. Then, on the last two days, my only study was UW incorrect questions and this "Sheet O' Notes" of the stuff that I didn't remember. Boom.

Anyways, enjoy 3rd year (which I loved) and good luck with the exams.

Best,

dc

 

[lord_jeebus]

Does it matter that I go to a DO school where they write their own shelves? (I know, I know....I don't understand it either). Thank you both for the advice, please keep it coming, I'm going to buy step up for medicine today! If the shelves I take are similar to the real thing, are their any additional books I should buy to study just for those? Also, are the Goljian Step 2 CDs as useful as the Step 1 CDs were?

Yes, that is lame and probably puts you at a disadvantage.

I wouldn't bother with Goljan, although I haven't used it.

 

[95439]

First off, you guys are awesome. Thank you so much for the advice and again, please keep it coming. Second, here's my basic plan based on some thinking and what I've learned from you guys (please critique as deemed necessary):

1) Study throughout the year (which I planned on doing anyway)
2) Books to use - definitely First Aid Step 2 CK, Step Up to Medicine, Boards and Wards. Probably the blueprints series for shelf exams.
3) USMLE World USMLE World USMLE World (Is Kaplan completely inferior?)

Another question...do we need to know pharmacologic brand names and/or dosages for the Step 2?

Thank you guys again!

 

[drbetty]

First off, you guys are awesome. Thank you so much for the advice and again, please keep it coming. Second, here's my basic plan based on some thinking and what I've learned from you guys (please critique as deemed necessary):

1) Study throughout the year (which I planned on doing anyway)
2) Books to use - definitely First Aid Step 2 CK, Step Up to Medicine, Boards and Wards. Probably the blueprints series for shelf exams.
3) USMLE World USMLE World USMLE World (Is Kaplan completely inferior?)

Another question...do we need to know pharmacologic brand names and/or dosages for the Step 2?

Thank you guys again!

definitely not tested on brand names or dosages. you do need to know particular instances for preferred routes of administration (PO vs. IV). but if the USMLE was advertising drug brands, that would suggest that sponsoring by pharmaceuticals, and maybe the test wouldnt cost so much!

 

[KillingMeSmalls]

First off, you guys are awesome. Thank you so much for the advice and again, please keep it coming. Second, here's my basic plan based on some thinking and what I've learned from you guys (please critique as deemed necessary):

1) Study throughout the year (which I planned on doing anyway)
2) Books to use - definitely First Aid Step 2 CK, Step Up to Medicine, Boards and Wards. Probably the blueprints series for shelf exams.
3) USMLE World USMLE World USMLE World (Is Kaplan completely inferior?)

Another question...do we need to know pharmacologic brand names and/or dosages for the Step 2?

Thank you guys again!

You could probably stand to stick to a single book when it came to studying specifically for step 2. Really, the single most important thing is a q-bank of some kind. I used Kaplan, not UW, and blew the test away. Three other people at my school that I know of also used Kaplan, and also aced CK. In my opinion, either bank is fine to use. Just make sure you at least finish all the questions. There's nothing wrong with doing twice, even though you may remember some answers, as long as you take your time and think about it. Yeah, C is the right answer and you remember that, but think about why it's the right answer.

 

[eforest]

I have a qbank that I plan to use throughout third year- during second year I had Kaplan for the entire second half and did fine on step I. I'm using a similar approach to step II.

 

[95439]

You could probably stand to stick to a single book when it came to studying specifically for step 2. Really, the single most important thing is a q-bank of some kind. I used Kaplan, not UW, and blew the test away. Three other people at my school that I know of also used Kaplan, and also aced CK. In my opinion, either bank is fine to use. Just make sure you at least finish all the questions. There's nothing wrong with doing twice, even though you may remember some answers, as long as you take your time and think about it. Yeah, C is the right answer and you remember that, but think about why it's the right answer.

Did you guys find that your scores on your shelf exams correlated with how well you did on Step 2? Also, case files or blueprints, which is better? Thanks again!

 

[funshine]

hey guys,
just bumping the thread for people taking the Step II this spring.

So, I have only one rotation left in third year (surgery) and I've set aside my first 6 weeks of 4th year to study for the Step II. I will be taking the big exam in April 09. I scored the national average 222 for my Step I so I'm really hoping to improve on that for Step II. I'm aiming for 240+ and want to do everything I can not to screw it up this time!

I've not done very well during 3rd year (my shelf exams are all around 70) despite trying to study from pre-test, casefiles, step up medicine, etc. I think I need a lot of repetition to internalize something, and I just didn't have the luxury of time during 3rd year. I'm starting surgery in January and I'm hoping my studies for surgery will also pay off later during Step II.

Anyway, I'm wondering if anyone has further advice to add for this thread? It's been super-helpful so far, and I've already started using USMLEWorld except my scores seems to be getting lower, from 65% to 40% after 500 questions 😱. So, I don't know what that's about!

I'm also curious about the rave reviews Step-Up to Medicine has received. I got it during my medicine rotation and tried using it as much as I can, and agree it has a WEALTH of information, but despite it being in outline format, I find it really hard to gather what's important and actually internalize the concepts being presented. Am I alone on this one? How many times are people reading Step-Up? B/c I've read certain sections several times and each time, it still seems pretty new to me!

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Anyone else taking the Step II in Spring 09?

 

[LadyGrey]

I didn't buy Step-Up Medicine until I was studying for Step 2, but I should've -- it's as good as everybody is saying.

I hate hate hate Blueprints. Case Files were great for my (DO) shelf exams. I generally went through the book at least twice during a rotation. (Most of my shelves were NBOME, some were written by the department).

However, the structure of Case Files (which is really a lack of structure) makes it suck for focused month-before sort of board studying. Topics are too scattered throughout the book for easy review. And they're looong. Trying to get through one book at a sitting is easily an all-day endeavor, and not the best use of your time. So I planned to use them for Step 2 studying but mostly didn't. I used Step-Up Medicine and Crush (which I was disappointed in). I looked specific stuff up frequently in "real" texts when I had a question or a discrepancy between, say, Qbank and Step-Up.

Questions are important. But FWIW, I didn't finish the Kaplan Qbank for either Step 1 or 2, and still did well. So if you can't/don't do that, it's not the kiss of death some here say it is.

 

[LadyGrey]

Crush is okay, but there are a lot of errors/ out of date info. If you're pretty solid you can probably catch them, but I was disappointed by the book overall.

 

[OddNath]

I didn't use Crush, but did use Step 2 Secrets (which is supposed to be the same material?) and highly recommend it. Even after the test, I was looking stuff up there and found a bunch that I missed. I would recommend Secrets along with UWorld and Step Up to Medicine.

 

[Sonny Crocket]

I didn't use Crush, but did use Step 2 Secrets (which is supposed to be the same material?) and highly recommend it. Even after the test, I was looking stuff up there and found a bunch that I missed. I would recommend Secrets along with UWorld and Step Up to Medicine.

Step 2 secrets is the best damn book I read in medical school period.

 

[Terpskins99]

I didn't use Crush, but did use Step 2 Secrets (which is supposed to be the same material?) and highly recommend it. Even after the test, I was looking stuff up there and found a bunch that I missed. I would recommend Secrets along with UWorld and Step Up to Medicine.

Same author, same information, just outline format instead of question/answer.

I also recommend Step up to Medicine and UWorld.

 

[BillyRubinstein]

Take a look at Toronto Notes.....it's a great book for Step 2 that not many people know about. It's VERY comprehensive. I've been using it throughout rotaitons along with a year subscription of UWorld. Toronto Notes is a very thick book, because it goes into great detail on a few surgical subspecialties (like Neurosurgery, ENT, Optho...etc) that I don't believe are very well represented on Step2....still good to know though since a few Q's on subspecialties are bound to pop up. You can get Toronto Notes at Amazon or B&N.

 

[NJMD]

How about the Kaplan home study series? Do you guys recommend those? I am starting 3rd yr soon and will primarily use these throughout the year and then UWorld.

 

[5639953]

I thought first Aid Step II CK is supposed to be good. Is FA better than Crush or secrets?

 

[astronomylover]

Thanks for all the great posts guys!

I was wondering what about the book Step up to Step 2 who are the same creators as Step up to Medicine but more condensed and with more than just IM subjects like surgery and obgyn etc.? I was thinking of using this for step 2 since first aid is kinda iffy. Thanks guys 🙂

 

[estrogenic]

so which Step Up are you all recommending? Step Up to Medicine or Step Up to USMLE 2?

 

[SOUNDMAN]

so which Step Up are you all recommending? Step Up to Medicine or Step Up to USMLE 2?

I'm using step up to medicine, First Aid for USMLE II, and a little B&W on the side with UW of course.

 

[JanetteBournes]

I'm using step up to medicine, First Aid for USMLE II, and a little B&W on the side with UW of course.

Didn't use Step Up.

Didn't use FA for Step 2 (I preferred Crush)

Definitely didn't use B&W (way too indepth)

Lots of UW is the right way to go along with some Crush.

 

[Bazile]

I've really enjoyed reading your posts instead of studying, or should I say cramming, for step 1. I've vowed this will never happen again and therefore I was curious on the opinions out there in cyberspace (insert nerdy emoticon here) on the Step Up to Step 2 book (not the internal medicine one.) thanx.

 

[pdp2001]

study your ass off for third year. IM - step up or casefiles. Surgery - kaplan notes. Peds - FA. OB and neuro - blueprints. EM - casefiles. FM - swanson's.

for step 2 - pick either secrets or crush (same author, diff formats) and supplement that easy as cake read with FA for the sections you are crappy at. and do as much UW as possible. that's it. you already know this s**t, but the test itself focuses on management and diagnostic steps. (the way they do it on the wards is somehow NEVER the right answer)

 

[Coxsuckie Virus]

Hey,

I just wanted to let y'all know that I have Crush Step 2 on EBay right now for pretty cheap. It's $1.52 currently and shipping is $4 so if you're interested post a bid, it ends in 6 hours and I dont foresee it getting to be expensive.

Here's a Link:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110365545689

Hope someone who will use it gets it. It helped me!

 

[strawberryfield]

anyone know when there might be a new version of Step 2 Secrets? Second edition is from 2004...seems like there should be something new brewing, I might wait, if it's soon. anyone? 😕😉

 

[maybepsych]

I'm wondering the same thing.

anyone know when there might be a new version of Step 2 Secrets? Second edition is from 2004...seems like there should be something new brewing, I might wait, if it's soon. anyone? 😕😉

 

[neilc]

Hey everyone!
This is a new blog site, with tons of information for med studs! www.medstudprep.com
Lots of info there, as well as a store with excellent prices and recommendations for books, supplies, etc…
But, the best is the free USMLE and residency advice. Check it out! Also, feel free to contribute articles or advice, contact me via the site.

 

[TonyDaTigrUprct]

Has anyone used Rapid Review Path by Goljan to study for step 2? there's tons of pathophys and clinical presentations, or are the other review books more than enough (Step-up to Med, Secrets)?

 

[95439]

Has anyone used Rapid Review Path by Goljan to study for step 2? there's tons of pathophys and clinical presentations, or are the other review books more than enough (Step-up to Med, Secrets)?

I loved Goljian for Step 1...I still listen to his step 1 cd's before rotations (i.e. Ob/Gyn), but for step 2, it's just not focused on the exam itself. All the questions on step 2 are basically management...Goljian goes into that a little bit on step 1 but not enough for it to be worth it (this goes for his book and his CDs)..also, Goljian's step 2 cd's are crap (sorry Goljian). They're disorganized and he goes off on twice as many tangents as for step 1.

I've pretty much decided (thanks to you guys and months of semi-studying/questions) that I'm going to stick with First Aid, annotate it with USMLE world questions, and pretty much just use that. I might re-open Step Up to Medicine if there's time, but I'm not too worried if there isn't. Thank ALL of you again for your advice, it's helping me become a doctor and I'm forever in your debt!

 

[pballa24]

anyone know when there might be a new version of Step 2 Secrets? Second edition is from 2004...seems like there should be something new brewing, I might wait, if it's soon. anyone? 😕😉

I second this question. Anyone know of an update??

 

[JonnyWise]

Someone posted a few months back that an update was scheduled for release around August 2009. I forgot how they said they knew. Something about knowing someone that worked at the publishers(?). I am too lazy to try and find the thread now.

Either way there is no way of knowing for sure.

 

[LuluPink]

I was also wondering if Step Up to Step 2 is decent. It is much slimmer than Step Up to Medicine which makes me smile. 🙂

 

[Clemson Doc]

I was also wondering if Step Up to Step 2 is decent. It is much slimmer than Step Up to Medicine which makes me smile. 🙂

I recently purchased Step Up to Step 2 based solely on the recommendation of Dr. Jenkins (who does the Doctors in Training course for Step 1, and is doing a course for Step 2 this summer). He has thoroughly researched the Step 2 review materials, including commercial courses, and likes Step Up to Step 2 the best. He did say that no book is a complete resource, but that Step Up to Step 2 is excellent and the closest thing to a gold standard. He recommends pairing that with a good question bank, such as USMLE World. He also said that Step 2 Secrets is a really good book to use if you have time. This three-pronged approach is exactly what I will be doing.

So far, I like Step Up to Step 2. It seems like a thin book, but there is a LOT of info in it (the font is small, and they do a good job condensing info into tables and figures). I still have Crush and First Aid to look at if necessary, but thus far I feel like Step Up to Step 2 has everything those have and more. People who used Step Up to Step 1 last or Step Up to Medicine (I did not) will probably appreciate the familiarity of the book's organization/layout.

If anyone else is using Step Up to Step 2, or has used it in the past, I would like to hear your thoughts.

 

[Powel6016]

Any new thoughts on books? Will be taking my step 2 this summer.

What is the ultimate review book for step 2 that brings everything together? For step 1 it was FA. How about for the step 2? I heard step up to step 2.

 

[whatnext86]

I too am wondering about Step up to Step 2. Anyone use it? Any success?

 

[HarMegido]

anyone know if a new step-up to medicine is coming soon? the most recent one is 2nd edition from 2008. thanks

 

[Beamer128]

anyone know if a new step-up to medicine is coming soon? the most recent one is 2nd edition from 2008. thanks

Not anytime soon; according to the publisher, it comes out every 4 years or so. But a new version of Step Up to Step 2 is coming out, so if you were going to get that, I'd hold off for a bit.

EDIT: nvm, there's no new edition of Step Up to Step 2, it was a misprint on the LWW website

 

[Knicks]

Hey guys, need your input:

I went through Secrets and made notes of necessary info (ie: things I didn't know and/or things I needed to brush up on).

Did the same with the Kaplan notes.

Also went through all of UW.

Didn't touch FA, though.

I will be taking this test again unfortunately and I was wondering, should I get Step Up to Medicine or should I get Step Up to Step 2?

another question:

As aforementioned, I didn't touch FA; Should I? Is it worth doing so?


Thanks, and looking forward to your responses.

 

[Knicks]

^^ ANYone?