How do I prep for Step 3?

[asmallchild]

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So I studied like mad for Step 1 using multiple books and multiple questions. Did well.

Step 2 wasn't as high pressure for me. I had a couple of textbooks although I will admit going through them was cursory at best. I did use USMLEWorld and completed >50% and thought it helped greatly. Did well.

Now I'm curious, what's the advice for Step 3? Are there books to go through? Just questions? A combo?

Thanks for the help, had my dean guide me through Steps 1 and 2 and just realized I'm finally on my own in terms of test prep. (As I'm a prelim, most of my categorical colleagues aren't planning on taking Step 3 until the final year of their residency)

 

[asmallchild]

Anyone?????

 

[FirstMANdown]

Anyone?????

Hey asmallchild,

I am not the greatest test taker but I was able to pass the Step 3 beast with a 196(80). What worked for me was 2 month prep time using Premier Review notes only, and using UW and Kaplan qbank online and revising my notes as I went along. I read PR notes about 3-4 times and did UW CCS cases 2x through. 1 1/2 weeks before test date I took the UW assessment. Predicted a 202 and actual was 196. Not a bad correlation. Hopes this helps. Good luck!!!

 

[asmallchild]

Hey asmallchild,

I am not the greatest test taker but I was able to pass the Step 3 beast with a 196(80). What worked for me was 2 month prep time using Premier Review notes only, and using UW and Kaplan qbank online and revising my notes as I went along. I read PR notes about 3-4 times and did UW CCS cases 2x through. 1 1/2 weeks before test date I took the UW assessment. Predicted a 202 and actual was 196. Not a bad correlation. Hopes this helps. Good luck!!!

thanks for the advice!

 

[asmallchild]

Hey asmallchild,

I am not the greatest test taker but I was able to pass the Step 3 beast with a 196(80). What worked for me was 2 month prep time using Premier Review notes only, and using UW and Kaplan qbank online and revising my notes as I went along. I read PR notes about 3-4 times and did UW CCS cases 2x through. 1 1/2 weeks before test date I took the UW assessment. Predicted a 202 and actual was 196. Not a bad correlation. Hopes this helps. Good luck!!!

out of curiousity, is there anyway to just obtain the premier review notes?

the mp3s + the notes are rather pricy!!

 

[asmallchild]

Hey asmallchild,

I am not the greatest test taker but I was able to pass the Step 3 beast with a 196(80). What worked for me was 2 month prep time using Premier Review notes only, and using UW and Kaplan qbank online and revising my notes as I went along. I read PR notes about 3-4 times and did UW CCS cases 2x through. 1 1/2 weeks before test date I took the UW assessment. Predicted a 202 and actual was 196. Not a bad correlation. Hopes this helps. Good luck!!!

good tip on the question bank too. I'll probably stick with UW.

I've found Kaplan to not only be inferior, but more expensive in comparing what they offered for Step 1 and Step 2.

 

[rolling wheal]

Kaplan's Master the boards for two weeks, read through it once. Also did maybe 10-15 of usmleworld CCS cases and passed fine with a 209. It's an easy test, you just need to brush up on "what's the next step" And by the way, I generally am not a fan of Kaplan products. This book was good though.

 

[rox]

So guys I'm reading through FA Step 3 and they seem to have like 100 cases. I'm trying to compare these cases with the ones in the free official sample. In the sample they seem to focus only on major tests and medications. However, FA seems to include a lot of tests and counseling and things for follow up. So I was wondering, should I just stick to the common and straight forward tests and meds?

Also, regarding the MCQ's, I have always been under the impression that they are usually tough and long. I tried 2 blocks, they were not that tough and I scored well (71% and 81%) just counting on my preparation for Step 2 CK 3 months ago. I felt they were general and less detailed than CK. Any input?

 

[asmallchild]

Kaplan's Master the boards for two weeks, read through it once. Also did maybe 10-15 of usmleworld CCS cases and passed fine with a 209. It's an easy test, you just need to brush up on "what's the next step" And by the way, I generally am not a fan of Kaplan products. This book was good though.

thanks

looks like i'll go with kaplan's master the boards and then uw questions

 

[bullgator]

i started with kaplan's master the boards book and put it down after reading through two chapters (surgery and peds).
i found many errors - some grammatical and others medical.
what scared me most was the thought of potential errors i wasn't picking up on.
i switched to first aid that afternoon

this wouldn't have been a big deal for step one (for which i studied for 7 weeks) or step 2 (4 weeks), but studying for step 3 as an intern limited my available study time to 5 days (one week off minus 2 days for the test) and so that error-laden book cost me 20% of my study time

i guess other people used that book with success. and there are certainly a few errors in every edition of first aid

moral of the story - spend some time researching your study aids before sitting down to read... it could save you 20% of your study time.

 

[pineyard]

i started with kaplan's master the boards book and put it down after reading through two chapters (surgery and peds).
i found many errors - some grammatical and others medical.
what scared me most was the thought of potential errors i wasn't picking up on.
i switched to first aid that afternoon

this wouldn't have been a big deal for step one (for which i studied for 7 weeks) or step 2 (4 weeks), but studying for step 3 as an intern limited my available study time to 5 days (one week off minus 2 days for the test) and so that error-laden book cost me 20% of my study time

i guess other people used that book with success. and there are certainly a few errors in every edition of first aid

moral of the story - spend some time researching your study aids before sitting down to read... it could save you 20% of your study time.

hi bullgator,
first aid is not sufficient to pass on step 3 unless you are in your resident year. Kaplan master the boards is great, there are some errors here and there. Someone on the forum recommended combining Archer video lectures with master the boards. I have been doing this and finding very good results. Have you seen Archer video lectures? This is a superb resource for both internship and step 3. I am happy to see that all ward related problems in internship are well explained in Archer. I even took over my resident in some cases which felt great. I am in similar position and can understand the work load. Not much time to prepare and they want us to pass here before completing the first year 🙁

 

[asmallchild]

thanks for all the tips guys

gonna go with kaplan's master the boards until december

then maybe another book (crush or step up are available at my local bookstore) for january

and UW questions january and february

with a target date of Step 3 at the end of february

sounds like a plan!

 

[cgk]

hi bullgator,
first aid is not sufficient to pass on step 3 unless you are in your resident year. Kaplan master the boards is great, there are some errors here and there. Someone on the forum recommended combining Archer video lectures with master the boards. I have been doing this and finding very good results. Have you seen Archer video lectures? This is a superb resource for both internship and step 3. I am happy to see that all ward related problems in internship are well explained in Archer. I even took over my resident in some cases which felt great. I am in similar position and can understand the work load. Not much time to prepare and they want us to pass here before completing the first year 🙁

How do you obtain the Archer Video Lectures? Are they that good?

 

[Eta Carinae]

This has been my strategy so far:

first off, I had time off to study for this test- which you most likely won't need.

Been out of clinical medicine for close to a year and lab ratting it out, so I REALLY need a refresher.

1. Used FA Step 2 CK because

i. I had notes from studying for Step 2 in it
ii. I was more familiar with it
iii. it had much more information than FA step 3
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2. Also had FA Step 3 for the CCS cases and the Ethics section

3. UWorld QBank x 2weeks everyday for about 6-8 hours per day.

i. strictly in tutor mode
ii. Did not acknowledge percentile scores
iii. annexed my FA with notes from the explanations
​

4. 4-5 cases per day from both UWorld CCS and FA step 3 CCS

5. Run, bike and/or swim DAILY for 2 hours a day- absolutely as essential as studying.

We'll see what comes of it.