CS without having taken all clerkships

[Gute]

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I'm considering dates for taking CS, would it be a bad idea to take it before doing Family Medicine and Emergency Medicine? I want to get the test out of the way, and I also want to pass it on the first try. I'm an American student going to an American MD school by the way.

 

[lord_jeebus]

I don't think either of those clerkships is essential for CS. The most useful thing is whether or not you've seen patients in some sort of general clinic setting.

 

[Frugal Traveler]

Emergency medicine would be great to have for the exam, but it is by no means a requirement to pass.

Your main objective is to pass... and most people do so easily (I'm keeping my fingers crossed for my score ).

I agree with the above... as long as you have seen patients and can perform a PE... then you can take it.

Get either the First Aid Step 2CS book or the Kaplan Step 2CS book. Both have their pros and cons... pick the one based on your learning style.

 

[MacchinaDaCaffe]

I agree with jeebus above. The Step 2 CS is geared towards an outpatient setting and you'll also see some situations that might be seen in an emergency room. However, I don't think taking family medicine or emergency medicine clerkships are absolutely essential for the test - assuming of course that your school has a halfway decent clinical skills/physical diagnosis course. If your school does practice CS exams sometime during 3rd year then you're even better set.

If you're thinking of doing this exam without doing ED or family med then I would recommend going through first aid CS and focus especially on routine musculoskeletal complaints and abdominal/cardiac emergencies. Other than that, just remember to wash hands, offer the patient a drape, do whatever you can to make them comfortable and go over with them what your impressions and plans for further workup are and you should be set. Oh yeah, remember to speak English too.