easiest way to 99 on CK?

[rahulb]

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so for a good test taker who crammed and nailed a 99 on step1, what's the least stressful way for a repeat on CK?

first aid + uworld was more than enough in the past, and initial browsing through the FA CK book is a bit overwhelming, especially without having completed all cores.

i'm thinking that working through a ton of questions (10000+) will be enough, but it seems that there is a lot of reading and memorization required. i've become a bit amotivational about the amount of effort i'm willing to put in, but have managed to pick up a ton of info from surgery + IM. anyone in a similar situation willing to share some input?

CS is also in the back of my mind, but since it's pass/fail i think i can manage simply with experience from ED admissions. i'll probably thumb through the FA CS text but i haven't ordered it yet. time frame is 3 months for CS and 4 for CK.

😍

 

[Frugal Traveler]

Plenty of threads on this... use the search function.

 

[docspock]

first aid for ck is a little extensive, ck isnt as "**** hits the fan" kind of exam as step 1 was...read secrets 2-3x, crush 2x (im aware that the author is the same and the info is pretty much the same but just presented differently, it helps bc the info is on point and just reinforces the info very well) and Uworld as much as your little heart desires...and you rock that 99 buddy...good luck

 

[lord_jeebus]

Study hard for your shelf exams, and all you need is 1x through UW. Review books not needed for this one.

 

[FreakofMeds]

All you need is a long detailed read of ALL OF UW and the explanations. Read the explanations, understand them, refer to more detailed materials concerning concepts you don't understand in the explanations. It's imperative that you also understand why the wrong questions are wrong.

Once done, do an NBME (2 or 4), if all is well, do the test. Took me 3 1/2 weeks. Well above the 99 threshold.

 

[thedrjojo]

all US medschools/residencies care about the 3 digit score, not the 2 digit score... I don't know why the caribbean schools and other IMG's have an obsession with the 2 digit score.

just my random rant. Otherwise, UW and Crush works good

 

[FreakofMeds]

all US medschools/residencies care about the 3 digit score, not the 2 digit score... I don't know why the caribbean schools and other IMG's have an obsession with the 2 digit score.

just my random rant. Otherwise, UW and Crush works good

I don't know why this is being repeated over at SDN in a matter-of-fact way, but not from my experience.

Almost all Internal medicine programs, when asked about their criteria and cutoffs for IMGs, post their cut offs in TWO digit scores, not three digit scores. When I actually went on the interviews(14 of them), many of the "interviewers" from faculty and PCs thought the two digit score was a percentile, some even thought it was a percent! Rarely have I ever seen anyone interested in my three digit scores, although it is not that high (250ish for CK). Then again I did not go to top-tier programs, but I did go to many mid tier university programs with AMGs constituting the majority in those programs.

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that most IMGs apply to relatively non-competitive fields, like Internal medicine, peds, family medicine or psych, and most of those programs are rarely interested in three digits much higher than the 99 threshold (238ish). I guess when it comes to Derma and Ortho and Ophtalmo, PDs are more aware of the more competitive high three digit scores.

 

[thesauce]

I don't know why this is being repeated over at SDN in a matter-of-fact way, but not from my experience.

Almost all Internal medicine programs, when asked about their criteria and cutoffs for IMGs, post their cut offs in TWO digit scores, not three digit scores. When I actually went on the interviews(14 of them), many of the "interviewers" from faculty and PCs thought the two digit score was a percentile, some even thought it was a percent! Rarely have I ever seen anyone interested in my three digit scores, although it is not that high (250ish for CK). Then again I did not go to top-tier programs, but I did go to many mid tier university programs with AMGs constituting the majority in those programs.

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that most IMGs apply to relatively non-competitive fields when it comes to AMGs, like Internal medicine, peds, family medicine or psych, and most of those programs are rarely interested in three digits much higher than the 99 threshold (238ish). I guess when it comes to Derma and Ortho and Ophtalmo, PDs are more aware of the more competitive high three digit scores.

I just can't believe this. Not only does it not make sense mathematically (they have your avg and std dev right on the score report), but it doesn't even make intuitive sense. Does some middle of the road IM program really think that they're only getting applications from people above the 75th percentile (the passing score)? Wouldn't it seem suspicious that there isn't even one applicant below that mark? What are they doing with the 3-digit score? Just ignoring it?

 

[FreakofMeds]

I just can't believe this. Not only does it not make sense mathematically (they have your avg and std dev right on the score report), but it doesn't even make intuitive sense. Does some middle of the road IM program really think that they're only getting applications from people above the 75th percentile (the passing score)? Wouldn't it seem suspicious that there isn't even one applicant below that mark? What are they doing with the 3-digit score? Just ignoring it?

Don't ask me about their logic, whenever I came across one of those that thought it was a percentile, I let it pass. 😀

That was not even the worst. One guy even thought I did my steps in the 90s because of the two digit...

 

[thesauce]

Don't ask me about their logic, whenever I came across one of those that thought it was a percentile, I let it pass. 😀

That was not even the worst. One guy even thought I did my steps in the 90s because of the two digit...

I would've done the same, but I still can't believe they would think that.

 

[Instatewaiter]

Study hard for your shelf exams, and all you need is 1x through UW. Review books not needed for this one.

+1

I felt I needed a book but it may not be necessary. Step 2 is a lot less daunting than step 1