. . .have you considered withdrawing from the Match for this year? There is no way that programs would receive your score before they rank you if you re-take the exam in early January. I just took Step IICK on Monday, and they said allow 6 weeks for them to even transmit the score to you, and then there is a further short lag before they transmit them to residency programs. Considering that, even in a less-competitive field like Psych, you are unlikely to be ranked highly by a program if (as far as they know) you haven't passed Step II and barely passed Step I. You could always risk trying to find a place in the Scramble, but unless you bring up your Step II score dramatically (which will be hard to do if studying is interrupted all throughout January due to residency interviewing), you may not get a spot. Then, upon re-application next year, you would have to list on your Match application that you were an unsuccessful Match applicant previously, which many programs view as a major black mark. Although it sucks to have to postpone residency for a year, it could make you a much stronger applicant: by withdrawing now you won't have to list yourself as a previous failed Match candidate, you could devote the next year to psych research (which would go a long way towards counterbalancing the weaknesses of your application) and you could concentrate on getting the best Step II score possible without the added stress of worrying about residency placement.
I don't mean to be a downer, but be careful that some posts here don't give you false hope. Realistically, for right or wrong, USMLE scores are a major factor that ALL residency programs look carefully at, because many believe they are the best predictor of success on board certification exams after residency. Programs are not going to overlook your scores just because your letters of recommendation say you are a nice, compassionate person...a strong knowledge base is essential to all fields of medicine. Because of your scores, you will not be a competitive applicant to many programs (that is just a fact). You have a LONG career ahead of you--make sure that you are not making long-term sacrifices (such as being stuck out in a Scramble match spot in Wyoming!) for short-term gains.
As far as advice for the Step IICK itself, I would echo the advice of others. The USMLEWorld questions were great, although much harder than the actual exam. Be sure to take them with a legal notepad in hand, read the excellent answers THOROUGHLY and write down everything you didn't know. After doing all 2100 questions, I had 24 pages of notes from this resource. I also briefly used the Crush the Boards, but it was a bit simplistic. The book is good, though, for fleshing out your knowledge base and acquainting you with the "buzzwords" frequently used on the Boards (e.g. "patient from Brazil"=Chagas disease, "former shipyard worker"=asbestos exposure, etc.). I didn't use the NBME practice exams, but I keep hearing that they are a good reflection of what is actually on the test. Finally, ask yourself what is the real reason you keep doing poorly on these exams. Are you running out of time during the sections? If so, take the exam with a stopwatch next to you and practice with a big book of questions (like the NMBE USMLE Step II question book) until you are down to 1 min, 10 sec per question. Do you get anxious taking the test? Talk to your med school study counsel bureau for test taking advice. Is your knowledge base lacking? Flesh it out using a book like the BRS Pathology book (still the best book I have read in med school).
Whatever you decide, best of luck with both the Step II exam and the residency interview process!
