How difficult is Step 2 CS for an IMG?

[Lothric]

Hey guys,

I'm a medical student from Sweden planning to do step 2 CS in the future.

Now, there was a chance for me to do 8-12 week rotations in the US as part of the exchange agreement my school has with some US school. The plan would have been to do CS after these rotations, but to make things short this is no longer an option for me and hence, my only chance of experiencing the US clinic is gone.

I'll be doing step 2 CS without the US clinic experience. My question is: How negatively affected will I be because of this? Obviously, I will be preparing theoretically through recommended resources just like I will with step 1 and CK.

Thoughts on this? Maybe I'm overestimating this difficulty...

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[mohhaider]

Hey guys,

I'm a medical student from Sweden planning to do step 2 CS in the future.

Now, there was a chance for me to do 8-12 week rotations in the US as part of the exchange agreement my school has with some US school. The plan would have been to do CS after these rotations, but to make things short this is no longer an option for me and hence, my only chance of experiencing the US clinic is gone.

I'll be doing step 2 CS without the US clinic experience. My question is: How negatively affected will I be because of this? Obviously, I will be preparing theoretically through recommended resources just like I will with step 1 and CK.

Thoughts on this? Maybe I'm overestimating this difficulty...

I took mine 8 years ago
But my wife took hers last year and I went through the process again with her . The CS exam is not difficult but not easy and people with great scores in USMLE exams had failed because simple mistakes . Reading a book about this test may be 10% or less . The most important thing is the practice with study partners if you have good medical knowledge, you probably don’t need the book . It is the practice. What city you live in Sweden ? I have been to Gotenberg and Stockholm before . Good luck in your test .

 

[Lothric]

I took mine 8 years ago
But my wife took hers last year and I went through the process again with her . The CS exam is not difficult but not easy and people with great scores in USMLE exams had failed because simple mistakes . Reading a book about this test may be 10% or less . The most important thing is the practice with study partners if you have good medical knowledge, you probably don’t need the book . It is the practice. What city you live in Sweden ? I have been to Gotenberg and Stockholm before . Good luck in your test .

Thanks for your answer!

When you say practise, do you refer specifically to the rotations that I will be missing? If not, then it's fine as I should be able to practise here at home on my (human) friends, right?

The question is specifically about the 8-12 week rotations in the US that I will be missing and their importance for my performance in CS. This does not exclude all practise as I should be able to do some practical examinations here in Sweden.

 

[mohhaider]

Thanks for your answer!

When you say practise, do you refer specifically to the rotations that I will be missing? If not, then it's fine as I should be able to practise here at home on my (human) friends, right?

The question is specifically about the 8-12 week rotations in the US that I will be missing and their importance for my performance in CS. This does not exclude all practise as I should be able to do some practical examinations here in Sweden.

Rotations will help but what I meant is the practice with other CS taking examinees , those will give you feedback and improve your performance siginficantly . Where are you taking the test ?

 

[Lothric]

Rotations will help but what I meant is the practice with other CS taking examinees , those will give you feedback and improve your performance siginficantly . Where are you taking the test ?

I'm actually far away from the test. I just tend to think about the future and the challenges that lie ahead. Step 2 CS will be relevant for me in like 3 years from now.

Ok, so I should be fine with study partners for step 2 CS. Apparently, it will work through skype as well and you don't need to meet in real life. You think this will be enough (i.e., no need for meeting in real life to practise)? Obviously, I will practise on family members as well even though they don't work within the medical field.

So to summarize: By using theoretical resources, practising with others through skype and practising on family members I should pass step 2 CS even though I've never experienced the US clinic. Does this sound reasonable?

 

[mohhaider]

I'm actually far away from the test. I just tend to think about the future and the challenges that lie ahead. Step 2 CS will be relevant for me in like 3 years from now.

Ok, so I should be fine with study partners for step 2 CS. Apparently, it will work through skype as well and you don't need to meet in real life. You think this will be enough (i.e., no need for meeting in real life to practise)? Obviously, I will practise on family members as well even though they don't work within the medical field.

So to summarize: By using theoretical resources, practising with others through skype and practising on family members I should pass step 2 CS even though I've never experienced the US clinic. Does this sound reasonable?

My advise :
Do not underestimate the test .
Practise with skype and real people and accept feedback from colleagues .
You don't need US real clinic experience to pass the test .
Before the real exam , if you can practise with people taking the test at least for 5 days ( I know for sure that you can find too many students taking the CS in Hoouston )
Make sure that your typing speed is good enough .
My wife passed with no US clinic experience , I finished mine in 2010.

 

[quincyfuturemd]

I don't have my score back but from my own test day experience, doing all my rotations in the US, and what I've gathered from others the US experience may only be beneficial to you in terms of being familiar talking to American people/patients. The way you perform in CS is standardized and not how you will perform in a US clinical rotation. Watching some examples, practicing your note using the template and timer on the USMLE website, and practicing on real people using FA will teach you how the test wants you to perform.

Edit: Also you're not overestimating the difficulty. The test is tough for everyone and the passing score was just raised late last year. It's easy to make alot of little mistakes during a day long exam with time pressure. No one knows how many little mistakes makes a fail as well so you want to be as safe as possible by preparing well.

 

[HER2neu]

Definitively if you have the chance of being exposed to any clinical experience within the states before taking CS is better than nothing, however, if you don’t have the opportunity to attend to a clinical rotation, that doesn't necessarily mean a huge negative impact in your performance, as an IMG myself and a person who failed the test recently perhaps I’m not in the best position to give an advice on how to succeed, but I can tell you one of the things that I learned, first to all, to recognize what are the expectations you should meet to pass this test, on base of those expectations identifie your weaknesses and work very hard in overcome them as though your life depends on it. I don’t know who you’re but if you feel you need US clinical experience to addresse your weaknesses without any doubt go for it.

 

[Lothric]

I don't have my score back but from my own test day experience, doing all my rotations in the US, and what I've gathered from others the US experience may only be beneficial to you in terms of being familiar talking to American people/patients. The way you perform in CS is standardized and not how you will perform in a US clinical rotation. Watching some examples, practicing your note using the template and timer on the USMLE website, and practicing on real people using FA will teach you how the test wants you to perform.

Edit: Also you're not overestimating the difficulty. The test is tough for everyone and the passing score was just raised late last year. It's easy to make alot of little mistakes during a day long exam with time pressure. No one knows how many little mistakes makes a fail as well so you want to be as safe as possible by preparing well.

Hi and thanks for your answer!

When you say "practicing on real people using FA [...]" do you refer to any living human or to other CS-taking med students?

It will honestly be hard for me as a Swede to find others in my country preparing for CS, so if I'm going to practise it'll be on people without a medicine-background and with people through skype. You don't see a problem with the fact that I'm not studying with a live partner (not skype) that's taking step 2 CS?

But based on your reassuring comment, it should not be difficult to pass step 2 CS for an IMG just because I lack US clinical experience assuming I prepare everything else well. I hope I drew this conclusion correctly from your comment!

 

[quincyfuturemd]

No problem. I'll be more helpful when I actually know if I passed. I think it's good to have someone who's passed see how you do a case or two to make sure your method is ok (even if it's over skype), but in terms of practicing different types of cases I think you can easily do that on your own with any person who's willing to pretend to be a patient.