General 3rd yr Book Poll

[LeLu]

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Which book to study along the year or for shelves?

 

[Depakote]

The only thing I've used consistently in every rotation has been UWorld for Step 2. This is a true gem and I have no regrets whatsoever about springing for a 1 year subscription.

Otherwise, the best material really changes from clerkship to clerkship. You'll want to use surgery specific materials to study for surgery, medicine specific for medicine, psych specific for psych. The broad USMLE Step 2 review books just don't give you the depth you'll need for the shelf you're prepping for and aren't a good use of time, IMO.

For more details on the specific resources for specific shelf exams, check out the various shelf exam threads. They're pretty helpful in terms of figuring out which resource to use for which clerkship/shelf.

 

[ACSurgeon]

The only thing I've used consistently in every rotation has been UWorld for Step 2. This is a true gem and I have no regrets whatsoever about springing for a 1 year subscription.

Otherwise, the best material really changes from clerkship to clerkship. You'll want to use surgery specific materials to study for surgery, medicine specific for medicine, psych specific for psych. The broad USMLE Step 2 review books just don't give you the depth you'll need for the shelf you're prepping for and aren't a good use of time, IMO.

For more details on the specific resources for specific shelf exams, check out the various shelf exam threads. They're pretty helpful in terms of figuring out which resource to use for which clerkship/shelf.

I agree about using USMLE world for the shelf exams. I got a 6 month for my medicine/surg rotations, and I did significantly better on these shelf exams. I'd also recommend not overwhelming yourself with too many references. 1-2 books. Case files is popular, mainly because it's a concise review, with many mini-quizzes, and best of all, it's small enough to fit in your white coat. A second more comprehensive book will be needed (step-up to medicine, blueprints for anything, first aid for some rotations, etc)