First Aid Step2CK vs Step Up to Step 2

[SlaveOfTCMC]

Can anyone comment on these two resources?


Personally, I am sticking to tried and true First Aid, but everyone in my school seems to want to go to Step Up

I used Step up to Step 1 as an ancillary resource and I found it less than satisfying

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[kryptik]

From my experience yesterday doesnt matter which you use. UW with either first aid or step up + your clinical experience through 3rd year is more than enough, so browse through both books and go with the one whose format or layout you prefer. I personally used step up.

Another subtle point i would like to add is, the mnemonics in step up suck, so if you rely heavily on them you may want to go with FA

 

[DrVanNostran]

From my experience yesterday doesnt matter which you use. UW with either first aid or step up + your clinical experience through 3rd year is more than enough, so browse through both books and go with the one whose format or layout you prefer. I personally used step up.

Another subtle point i would like to add is, the mnemonics in step up suck, so if you rely heavily on them you may want to go with FA

What % of info what would say is in Step up than is NOT in World? After doing world about 1.5x, I feel that World+Secrets may be more than enough? Step up is nice because you can go through everything systematically, but I'm not sure if really adds anything new?

 

[b-real]

From my experience yesterday doesnt matter which you use. UW with either first aid or step up + your clinical experience through 3rd year is more than enough, so browse through both books and go with the one whose format or layout you prefer. I personally used step up.

Another subtle point i would like to add is, the mnemonics in step up suck, so if you rely heavily on them you may want to go with FA

I agree with pretty much all of this. I don't have any experience w/ FA step 2 (heard it was a letdown in comparison to FA step 1). I went w/ step up and UWorld. This was sufficient to do very well (~ 20 points above average). Step 2 is a longer exam than Step 1, but it seems easier to do well.

 

[DrBowtie]

How do the Peds/Psych/OB sections compare between the two? Step Up to Medicine is what I've been using for the other sections.

 

[kryptik]

What % of info what would say is in Step up than is NOT in World? After doing world about 1.5x, I feel that World+Secrets may be more than enough? Step up is nice because you can go through everything systematically, but I'm not sure if really adds anything new?

Secrets + UW is more than enough like you said. All the review books pretty much contain same material so you really cant go wrong as long as its used with UW. If you've been doing Secrets + UW and have been doing good on practice exams you are fine.

 

[kryptik]

How do the Peds/Psych/OB sections compare between the two? Step Up to Medicine is what I've been using for the other sections.

about the same, comes down to which format you prefer. Step Up has a peds section after every system whereas FA has a separate Peds chapter, but again the difference is not much.
Step up to medicine is a great book to build knowledge, i used it for my medicine clerkship and has a lot more than you need for the test.

 

[Dawkter]

There is a new version of FA slated for release in April 2012. Looks like there is not a new version of Step up to Step 2 coming out so the current version is going to be 5 years old. Tough situation if you are going with DIT and are forced to use an old book when a better one could be on the horizon.