How good is Crush Step 2?

[Legion560]

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I got this from Amazon a couple of days ago and it seems a little meager for step 2. That being said, its way easier to read than FA step 2. Everyone swears by this book, so I dont know. Any current step 2 takers care to comment?

 

[Skip Intro]

I got this from Amazon a couple of days ago and it seems a little meager for step 2. That being said, its way easier to read than FA step 2. Everyone swears by this book, so I dont know. Any current step 2 takers care to comment?

Good for pointing in you the right direction topics-wise, but too superficial. I took the test on Friday and, when I got home, I specifically went back through "Crush" to see what info they'd reported for certain specific questions that I was asked but wasn't sure about. In many instances, the details in Crush were "one layer too shallow", and the test wanted you to demonstrate you had a deeper understanding of the subject matter.

When I began studying for Step 2, I also had heard a lot of people saying Crush was "right on the money". In my case at least, it was not nearly enough. And, IMO, if you solely rely on that book to get you through your Step 2 studies, you're not going to do that well come test time.

-Skip

 

[nradsoit3]

I wouldn't be surprised at all if the USMLE test designers are actively going through popular books like this one and specifically asking questions that are NOT directly stated in it. Sort of like the whole Antibiotic vs. Development of Bacterial Resistance thing with test designers and book writers trying to outdue one another. This also reminds me of one of my high school English teachers who would buy a copy of Cliff Notes on an upcoming novel that was to be tested only to ask questions that were NOT in Cliff's. She was a smart bugger and burned a lot of her students that wouldn't read the book. Also, with "USMLE grade inflation" the last couple of years as a result of better test prep books and online forums like this one, I wouldn't be surprised at all if this was the case and why the USMLE is getting more "in depth" and simple regurg of factoids is no longer seen as it once was. In another ten years, USMLE could be a real biotch to study for.

 

[Blade28]

I used Crush Step 2 and Boards & Wards. That, and lots of QBank.

 

[Skip Intro]

I wouldn't be surprised at all if the USMLE test designers are actively going through popular books like this one and specifically asking questions that are NOT directly stated in it. Sort of like the whole Antibiotic vs. Development of Bacterial Resistance thing with test designers and book writers trying to outdue one another. This also reminds me of one of my high school English teachers who would buy a copy of Cliff Notes on an upcoming novel that was to be tested only to ask questions that were NOT in Cliff's. She was a smart bugger and burned a lot of her students that wouldn't read the book. Also, with "USMLE grade inflation" the last couple of years as a result of better test prep books and online forums like this one, I wouldn't be surprised at all if this was the case and why the USMLE is getting more "in depth" and simple regurg of factoids is no longer seen as it once was.

Good point. Could very well be true.

In another ten years, USMLE could be a real biotch to study for.

In my opinion, it already was! 👎


-Skip

 

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One more thing...

Most of my friends who said it was a "piece of cake" took the test over the summer, mostly in July through early August. I wonder if they are rolling-out a bunch of new questions based, in large part, on what nradsoit3 surmised above?

Either way, beware. At least for me, this test was no walk in the park like I was lead to believe it was going to be. You can never be "overprepared".

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[ParisHilton]

One more thing...

Most of my friends who said it was a "piece of cake" took the test over the summer, mostly in July through early August. I wonder if they are rolling-out a bunch of new questions based, in large part, on what nradsoit3 surmised above?

Either way, beware. At least for me, this test was no walk in the park like I was lead to believe it was going to be. You can never be "overprepared".

-Skip

I heard about this "summer theory" as well. I personally think that most are worried after taking the exam, but once people find out they passed, they tend to downplay the difficulty of it. "Oh don't worry - you'll be fine. It's not that bad at all." I don't think there's some conspiracy where USMLE people look at the calendar and put all the easy questions in the summer and harder questions later on.

 

[Skip Intro]

I heard about this "summer theory" as well. I personally think that most are worried after taking the exam, but once people find out they passed, they tend to downplay the difficulty of it. "Oh don't worry - you'll be fine. It's not that bad at all." I don't think there's some conspiracy where USMLE people look at the calendar and put all the easy questions in the summer and harder questions later on.

Who knows? I know a few people who walked out of the test, way before they got their scores, and said it was easy. One friend who fits that bill, in fact, scored a 228/93. Then again, I know another guy in my class who had similar feelings as me, and he scored a 244/99 on the thing.

Both of those folks took the test in the first week of August.

No one really knows, when it comes down to it, and we're all admittedly speculating. What's clear is that the NBME is very secretive about how they construct the tests, and how they ultimately derive your score.

Having said all of that, I'd still say there was a good 25-30% of that damn exam that would have left some of the better attendings I've known scratching their heads. Maybe everyone gets those questions wrong, on the whole, so they don't really count against you. Who knows? But, that's what I'm hoping.

I would highly advise people not to blow this test off as easy by any stretch of the imagination; that's the bottom line.

-Skip

 

[Blade28]

Definitely don't blow it off. Haven't said that, because it draws upon lots of your (practical) knowledge obtained throughout third year, you don't have to study 2 months for it (unlike Step 1). 2 weeks is plenty for most people; of course, that's 2 weeks of straight studying, not during a tough sub-internship or anything.

 

[Skip Intro]

Definitely don't blow it off. Haven't said that, because it draws upon lots of your (practical) knowledge obtained throughout third year, you don't have to study 2 months for it (unlike Step 1). 2 weeks is plenty for most people; of course, that's 2 weeks of straight studying, not during a tough sub-internship or anything.

Yeah, you're right. I agree that it tests a lot of practical knowledge, and I saw a ton of good cases during clerkships. But, some of the stuff was just so off-the-wall. And,I had the past two weeks off during which I studied pretty much non-stop. Definitely was not enough...

I'm not trying to really scare anyone or anything. I just want to make sure that people know my experience was not typical of my colleagues, and this test was a LOT harder than what I was prepared mentally for.

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[andwhat]

I wouldn't be surprised at all if the USMLE test designers are actively going through popular books like this one and specifically asking questions that are NOT directly stated in it. Sort of like the whole Antibiotic vs. Development of Bacterial Resistance thing with test designers and book writers trying to outdue one another. This also reminds me of one of my high school English teachers who would buy a copy of Cliff Notes on an upcoming novel that was to be tested only to ask questions that were NOT in Cliff's. She was a smart bugger and burned a lot of her students that wouldn't read the book. Also, with "USMLE grade inflation" the last couple of years as a result of better test prep books and online forums like this one, I wouldn't be surprised at all if this was the case and why the USMLE is getting more "in depth" and simple regurg of factoids is no longer seen as it once was. In another ten years, USMLE could be a real biotch to study for.

I get the strong feeling that it already is a biotch.. IMO, the best student in my class just took it and felt like it was ridiculous in difficulty... nothing really tested from any review sources, maybe less than half of his test was from those standardized materials, and the material was there, but the questions were way off. I know that he studied really hard for it too.. whats going on?? who knows.... somebody up there is getting a hearty laugh out of this right now though probably... we could very well be the new experiments.. pretty much everywhere I go on the net these days, there is atrocious feedback regarding USMLE Step II, exam takers and occasionally even people who got back their results... what is going on... who knows... 🙁
Adam Brochert (author of secrets and Crush Step II) really needs to see whats going on fast....

 

[scootad.]

maybe this has something to do with the movement to have Step 2 become a requirement for students before they apply for residencies, in a sense becoming another Step 1 for residency programs to torture us with. Because if it achieves the status of Step 1 it couldn't possibly remain as straightforward as it has been in the recent past, or then everyone who studied at all for it would ace it, thus diluting its importance and making it useless as a valuable discrimator.

I am so relieved I am one of the last classes to have Step 2 not really count for anything!