MKSAP vs. UWorld for IM Shelf

[studyingforever]

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Which would you recommend for the shelf?Uworld has more questions, so I'm thinking about going with that. I see there are diff versions of MKSAP...which one is ideal? Thanks

 

[pseudoknot]

Both. MKSAP 3 is harder than 4. The real questions are closer to 4 or somewhere in between, but 3 is good for learning.

 

[Instatewaiter]

Agree 100% with pseudo.

Do USMLE world + MKSAP 3. If you have time do MKSAP 4

For a book- I liked step up to medicine

 

[obiwan]

there is also the kaplan step 2 qbook which has i think about 10 50 question tests for IM... i did mksap 3 for IM but i don't think i got as much out of that for the questions but i did use the qbook for the other clerkships and i really liked it

ditto with the step up to medicine.... excellent book

 

[PistolPete]

I have internal medicine first up 3rd year. Any particular tips you guys want to give for someone like me who will be taking the medicine shelf early on? Will MKSAP 3/4 + Uworld be enough? How difficult will it be to get >83 so early on?

 

[obiwan]

I did medicine first and I don't know if you're referring to raw score of 83 or 83th percentile but either way, i did MKSAP 3 and some pre-test questions and read step up to medicine which was good enough for my rotation and would have been good enough for your school also... a raw score of 83 would probably be about 90th percentile give or take

IMO, the type of questions that you see on nbme shelfs are slightly more advanced than what is given on step 1 except the stems are ridiculously long so on your first test pacing is probably your biggest challenge

 

[studyingforever]

Thanks...Is the MKSAP available online or just in book format?

 

[Doctor4Life1769]

I have my shelf on Friday. I haven't done too many UW questions (~ 20-25) and a few other random questions. I've only had 4 weeks for the IM shelf. I'm on inpatient IM. I've just had enough time to finish Step up to Medicine cover to cover (finished it end of this week). For this last week, what do you guys recommend doing? Should I use exclusively Kaplan QBook or UW or what? Thanks guys/gals!

 

[ropeadope1983]

I have my shelf on Friday. I haven't done too many UW questions (~ 20-25) and a few other random questions. I've only had 4 weeks for the IM shelf. I'm on inpatient IM. I've just had enough time to finish Step up to Medicine cover to cover (finished it end of this week). For this last week, what do you guys recommend doing? Should I use exclusively Kaplan QBook or UW or what? Thanks guys/gals!

You won't be able to get through much of UW in a week. Try this though: Go through all the IM questions without reading or answering the questions. ONLY study the "Essential Objectives" that come at the end of the answer explanations for each question. Think of it as a rapid high-yield cram session. I tested the concept and I can average (at a leisurely pace) about 10 questions every 3 minutes by doing this (and I'm amazed at how high yield those little blurbs are!!!). If you are committed to doing this you could probably get through all the IM questions twice (especially if you don't go at a leisurely pace). You obviously won't get as much out of this as you would going through each question from start to finish + answer explanations, but that's not on the table for you at this point (unless you are content with getting through about 10-20% of the questions...who knows how many of that 10-20% will actually make its way to your shelf exam???). My school gives me a lot more time to prepare for the IM shelf than your school does so I will be doing 100% of UW IM, MKSAP3 and MKSAP4, and once I'm done with that I'll be taking my own advice that I'm giving you right now (plus I'll be reading StepUp as many times as possible...yeah, my school DOES give me that much time).

Hope this helps! Best of luck regardless.

 

[obiwan]

i think what you can do is take 2 kaplan qbook tests at a time and give yourself the 2 hours or whatever you're allowed for the test to mimic test situations and then read the explanations which will give you 4-5 days worth of studying covered

 

[Adelaide Nick]

Step up medicine is spot on for this exam. One of the Mksap books and some USMLE world to keep your mind fresh is more than enough, if you know step up cold, i.e. the proper diagnostic tests in order and most appropriate treatment strategies along with disease etiologies (all explained perfectly in step up), you will have a great shot at making honors for this shelf. I just took the exam a few weeks ago and this strategy worked very well for me.

 

[Doctor4Life1769]

Step up medicine is spot on for this exam. One of the Mksap books and some USMLE world to keep your mind fresh is more than enough, if you know step up cold, i.e. the proper diagnostic tests in order and most appropriate treatment strategies along with disease etiologies (all explained perfectly in step up), you will have a great shot at making honors for this shelf. I just took the exam a few weeks ago and this strategy worked very well for me.

Yeah, if you had more than 4 weeks.

I had just enough time to read the book, but certain things are muddied. I'm supplementing now with FA Step 2CK (I didn't like Crush as it seems more relevant for USMLE rather than the details needed for the IM shelf). I'll also try to do both as suggested (run through the UW Essential highlights and do about 2-3 QBook IM assessments). Sigh ... hopefully this works out and I don't fail 🙁