MTB: Internal Medicine

[BelieveTheHype]

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Saw that CF released the IM book in the MTB series this month. Since most people are using MTB 2 CK solely for the IM portion of their Step 2 CK prep, anyone give this book a look? May possibly be a replacement for MTB 2? Wish I had a B&N close by to give this book a skim, and there are no reviews on Amazon.

Edit: Other than the MTB: Internal Medicine, he also has "Master the Wards: Internal Medicine Clerkship" (which is also apparently relevant for Step 2 CK according to the few reviews)...Does this guy ever sleep? He is pumping out books like a factory.

 

[MrBeauregard]

Does this guy ever sleep? He is pumping out books like a factory.

Because they all contain minute variations on essentially the same content, give or take a few small details.

And he makes LOTS. OF. MONEY.

 

[drk]

I wonder how much he actually makes. His MTB series is also part of Kaplan Publishing so I assume they take their heavy cut. Also, A LOT of the MTB Step 2 is word for word straight from Kaplan L.N., whether its Surgery, Pedia, I.M, etc. Looks like they just took all the high yield from their LN made it into 1 consolidated book(awesomeness), put on their most famous teacher's name/face on the book and published it as a 1 stop book to compete with F.A. Also since many of the people who read the Kaplan L.N. are FMG's who are just printing out/copying pirated copies its an avenue to start generating more revenue, for Kaplan that is.

All that said, he's a great teacher and his passion comes through starting from the Foreward and throughout the book, same about his lectures. He deserves every penny.

 

[futuredoctor10]

I have not given this book a look. From Amazon, it looks like this book is for IM residents preparing for their boards (ABIM exam). As a result, I would imagine it is likely too in depth for Step 2 CK?

 

[BelieveTheHype]

I have not given this book a look. From Amazon, it looks like this book is for IM residents preparing for their boards (ABIM exam). As a result, I would imagine it is likely too in depth for Step 2 CK?

People are using Step Up To Medicine for Step 2 CK too though, which is comparable to MTB: IM. Regardless, I went ahead and ordered MTB 2, MTB 3, and Master The Wards: Internal Medicine Clerkship: Survive Clerkship & Ace the Shelf today. The latter book seemed portable according to the reviews, and basically allows me to blitz through the IM portion for quick review. Since IM makes about 60-70% of the total pool of questions, I definitely don't want to skim in that area. Take all this advice with a grain of salt though, since I just started looking at what is "good" Step 2 CK prep materials since like 2 days ago, so I don't consider myself a reliable source for info. When I compared SUTS2 to MTB series online via book preview, it felt like MTB was much more geared towards the Step 2 CK exam with "What's the next best step?", "What's the best treatment?", etc which I heard Step 2 CK loves to ask, and honestly seems clinically relevant. I guess this is the unique aspect of the MTB series, which sets it apart from many of the other Step 2 books. Plus it seems like the "new" STUS2 version is not a proper update, but rather a photoshop job with the same text and errors from many, many years ago. Plus, worst case scenario, if I feel like I need someone to guide me on the MTB books, I can watch the videos that goes along with the book (which is partly taught by Fischer apparently), which I would much rather do than watch the monotone DIT videos. Go enjoy an expensive dinner with my cash, Fischy.

 

[futuredoctor10]

People are using Step Up To Medicine for Step 2 CK too though, which is comparable to MTB: IM. Regardless, I went ahead and ordered MTB 2, MTB 3, and Master The Wards: Internal Medicine Clerkship: Survive Clerkship & Ace the Shelf today. The latter book seemed portable according to the reviews, and basically allows me to blitz through the IM portion for quick review. Since IM makes about 60-70% of the total pool of questions, I definitely don't want to skim in that area. Take all this advice with a grain of salt though, since I just started looking at what is "good" Step 2 CK prep materials since like 2 days ago, so I don't consider myself a reliable source for info. When I compared SUTS2 to MTB series online via book preview, it felt like MTB was much more geared towards the Step 2 CK exam with "What's the next best step?", "What's the best treatment?", etc which I heard Step 2 CK loves to ask, and honestly seems clinically relevant. I guess this is the unique aspect of the MTB series, which sets it apart from many of the other Step 2 books. Plus it seems like the "new" STUS2 version is not a proper update, but rather a photoshop job with the same text and errors from many, many years ago. Plus, worst case scenario, if I feel like I need someone to guide me on the MTB books, I can watch the videos that goes along with the book (which is partly taught by Fischer apparently), which I would much rather do than watch the monotone DIT videos. Go enjoy an expensive dinner with my cash, Fischy.

Fair enough. My only question is whether the Step Up to Medicine is as comprehensive as MTB IM is? I think the fact it says "prepare for ABIM boards" on MTB IM is what makes me wonder about its utility for Step 2 CK (since ABIM is even beyond the Step 3 level). That being said, I may be wrong and would be interested to hear your feedback on how the MTB IM book compares to SU2M.

 

[BelieveTheHype]

Fair enough. My only question is whether the Step Up to Medicine is as comprehensive as MTB IM is? I think the fact it says "prepare for ABIM boards" on MTB IM is what makes me wonder about its utility for Step 2 CK (since ABIM is even beyond the Step 3 level). That being said, I may be wrong and would be interested to hear your feedback on how the MTB IM book compares to SU2M.

I have no experience with both, thus I honestly couldn't give you an honest opinion about it. Keep in mind though SUTM is almost 100 pages bigger than MTB:IM. Both can interchangeably used for the ABIM, although probably won't be sufficient for that exam. Regardless, both books have the ability to be previewed on Amazon, so I recommend you check out a few topics and formulate your own judgement. The top review on Amazon regarding says the following about SUTM:

**not enough about [B]_management_[/B]. The most important aspect of clinical rotations is learning the correct sequence of steps in managing a condition ("What is the next best step?"). This book contains little information about that. There are some flowcharts, but it's really not enough.

I think this is a huge glaring black hole in the SUTM/S2 series, is they don't focus on the management too well, which is one of the strengths of the MTB series. Regardless of all this, I went with the "smaller" IM book by Fischer: Master the Wards Internal Medicine Clerkship: Survive Clerkship & Ace the Shelf -- which I felt would be the best use of my time and concise enough to review the IM portion fast after going through MTB 2 & 3. Let me know what you decide. 👍

 

[futuredoctor10]

Thanks for your reply. Interesting that the MTB IM is 100 pages shorter than SU2M.

I will try to pick up a copy to at least check it out (more than online preview allows).

I agree that the Step Up series does not have enough about management, which is why I am not using them for the Step 2 exam.