MD/PhD 3rd Year / Step II Study Advice

[tubulin]

Hi,
I'm an MD/PhD returning to 3rd year next year. It's been so long since I was last in med school I've forgotten a LOT. I have a fair amount of time this year to study, and I am looking for advice about good prep materials for 3rd year and Step 2. I was thinking about doing Kaplan High Yield videos + Step Up to Medicine now to prepare for 3rd year, and saving qbanks for 3rd year prep for Step 2. I was wondering if Kaplan On Demand might be better for me than High Yield given that I have a year to prepare, or if maybe it's overkill. Any advice about how to prepare for 3rd year would be much appreciated! Thanks!

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[Relaxis]

Onlinemeded dot org videos >> Kaplan videos. Very relevant for shelf exams and useful practical info.

 

[mpl9smith]

Second that, I like Onlinemeded too, but questions are always good to do, keep them on your phone for when you're on rotations.

 

[ExcaliburPrime1]

As a fellow MD/PhD student, my advice is:

1. Don't worry about studying for med school during your PhD years. Put maximum effort into getting your dissertation done.
2. If you will not follow that advice, I highly recommend reading the "Case Files" books. They are fairly short, easy to read, and full of useful information for the floors. There's one for pretty much every clerkship, just pick one and start there.
3. I would recommend against serious study involving doing questions, but if you insist, getting UWorld for Step 2 CK is the best strategy from a question bank perspective.

Good luck. That first clerkship after the PhD can be difficult, but you remember more than you think you will.

 

[psylocke]

Onlinemeded dot org videos >> Kaplan videos. Very relevant for shelf exams and useful practical info.

I've never come across onlinemeded until your post... I've been using the Kaplan step 2 videos and I don't feel they are adequate at all. My first shelf is coming up next week, thankfully I still have time to give onlinemeded videos a pass.

 

[URHere]

Another MD/PhD here.

Assuming you won't be taking CK until at least the end of MS3 year, don't worry about that now. Do whatever specific studying you need to do for your clerkships as you go. Honestly, I have found that First Aid for Surgery/Psych/etc was more than sufficient for most shelves. Step Up to Medicine is also excellent. As for the patient interaction part of things, do you have a clinician you could go and round with 1-2 times/month? That will make all the difference in not sounding like a ***** because you've forgotten what S1/S2 are in the middle of rounds. Seeing patients occasionally is 1000x higher yield for you than studying at this point in the game.

When the time comes for CK, you'll know significantly more from your clerkships, and if you're anything like me, UWorld and First Aid/MTB will be more than enough.