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- Oct 22, 2006
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First things first, PASS.
Admittedly, not as exciting as a high Step 1 score (or even a high Step 2 CK store for that matter)
And certainly not as exciting as hopefully matching into the field of my choice.
But I figured it would be nice to share some tips regarding Step 2 CS.
I realize I am an AMG and English is my 1st language so it would really require some talent on my part to fail it, but there are those who do need the extra help.
I highly recommend First Aid for Step 2 CS. If nothing else, it gives you a basic outline on what you should be doing. I will concede the cases themselves are a bit more complex than what you will actually see on Step 2 CS. As an AMG, I wasn't worried enough to launch a full scale study plan for CS. But I did spend 10 mins a night reading over portions of FA for Step 2 CS in the month preceding my exam. Cumulatively, I'm sure it still adds up to quite a decent amount of preparation
I spent the vast majority of my time on the history (~60-75%) as it was a huge point of weakness for me on my in-school CS practice run. I would highly recommend having a good system for proceeding through a history INCLUDING a thorough review of systems. This was something that was advertised as unimportant at my school. I would say it's the best way at picking up the little points on the exam.
Performing a physical isn't one of my strengths which is why I rushed through most of them. I felt the CS graders were certainly more lenient than those at my in-school exam. I think it's more a matter of whether you cover the actual physical exam rather than if you did it 100% correctly. Things like reassuring the patient, aiding the patient, washing your hands prior to exam, warming your stethoscope, etc... etc... are all more important than the actual physical itself (IMO)
Finally, we get to the note. I would recommend starting from the bottom first. I feel a disproportionate amount of points are probably granted to the assessment and plan portion of the note. And since it does require a bit of thought, you may want to put on your thinking cap at the beginning of the process rather than at the end when panic sets in.
I felt (at least during my exam) the cases in CS were intentionally set up to be a bit ambiguous to help with the A&P portion of your note. For instance, patients who seem like they might have classic RUQ pain with +Murphy's sign for cholecystitis will also mention epigastric pain radiating to the back so that you can list pancreatitis in the assessment portion as well as its entailing plan.
Hope this helps! (I'll admit to being worried about this exam but like everyone reassures you, it really is quite tough to fail it as an AMG)
Admittedly, not as exciting as a high Step 1 score (or even a high Step 2 CK store for that matter)
And certainly not as exciting as hopefully matching into the field of my choice.
But I figured it would be nice to share some tips regarding Step 2 CS.
I realize I am an AMG and English is my 1st language so it would really require some talent on my part to fail it, but there are those who do need the extra help.
I highly recommend First Aid for Step 2 CS. If nothing else, it gives you a basic outline on what you should be doing. I will concede the cases themselves are a bit more complex than what you will actually see on Step 2 CS. As an AMG, I wasn't worried enough to launch a full scale study plan for CS. But I did spend 10 mins a night reading over portions of FA for Step 2 CS in the month preceding my exam. Cumulatively, I'm sure it still adds up to quite a decent amount of preparation
I spent the vast majority of my time on the history (~60-75%) as it was a huge point of weakness for me on my in-school CS practice run. I would highly recommend having a good system for proceeding through a history INCLUDING a thorough review of systems. This was something that was advertised as unimportant at my school. I would say it's the best way at picking up the little points on the exam.
Performing a physical isn't one of my strengths which is why I rushed through most of them. I felt the CS graders were certainly more lenient than those at my in-school exam. I think it's more a matter of whether you cover the actual physical exam rather than if you did it 100% correctly. Things like reassuring the patient, aiding the patient, washing your hands prior to exam, warming your stethoscope, etc... etc... are all more important than the actual physical itself (IMO)
Finally, we get to the note. I would recommend starting from the bottom first. I feel a disproportionate amount of points are probably granted to the assessment and plan portion of the note. And since it does require a bit of thought, you may want to put on your thinking cap at the beginning of the process rather than at the end when panic sets in.
I felt (at least during my exam) the cases in CS were intentionally set up to be a bit ambiguous to help with the A&P portion of your note. For instance, patients who seem like they might have classic RUQ pain with +Murphy's sign for cholecystitis will also mention epigastric pain radiating to the back so that you can list pancreatitis in the assessment portion as well as its entailing plan.
Hope this helps! (I'll admit to being worried about this exam but like everyone reassures you, it really is quite tough to fail it as an AMG)
