USMLE Need Step 2 CK advice

[staks]

It took me 8+ months to finish reading Step-Up to Medicine (SUTM) and First Aid for Step 2 CK (all sections except IM topics). I perused them, adding lots and lots of annotations to ensure I understood every disease properly. I have also done ~20% of UWorld (sadly, my scores were only around 50%).

SUTM was so dense that by the end, I wasn't able to recall all the major points for every disease.

What should I do from here on out if:
a) time is not a factor? (and I can study full-time)
b) time is a factor (to finish in 2-3 months)? (and I can study full-time)

In addition to doing a block or two of UWorld daily, should I:
a) Re-read SUTM and FA?
b) Re-read SUTM and FA + make summary notes for each disease?
c) Read Master the Boards (1st edition) to more explicitly learn the next best step/treatment/etc.?
d) Read USMLE Step 2 Secrets to cover the major points of diseases?
e) or some other choice (please describe)

Also, for UWorld, should I:
a) take notes of whatever I didn't know into SUTM
b) take notes of whatever I didn't know into my SUTM and FA summary notes (if choice B was chosen above)
c) take notes of whatever I didn't know into a new MS Word document (and should I arrange by organ system or chronologically?)?
d) not take notes
e) or some other choice (please describe)

I am very anxious, as I feel like I haven't retained the SUTM material that I spent SO LONG reading. I took my time because I want a 250+. But I could really use some guidance at this juncture. If you did well on the exam, I would be extremely grateful for your advice. Thank you.

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[zany_brainy]

Phloston posted his study plan and exam experience, so I'd recommend reading over that. As for what resources to use, I'd drop step up to medicine and FA. Focus on UWorld and if you want another resource, do another Qbank like Kaplan or Rx. I really like Kaplan so I'd suggest that. My plan is UWorld + Kaplan Qbank + UpToDate as needed. Focus on learning UWorld as much as possible, as it is the most current resource out there that is constantly being updated.

As for taking notes, I'd read the explanations in UW then take brief notes. Typing all the explanations out takes way too long, so focus on understanding the concept and then type out a brief note so you can review it later.

 

[staks]

Phloston posted his study plan and exam experience, so I'd recommend reading over that. As for what resources to use, I'd drop step up to medicine and FA. Focus on UWorld and if you want another resource, do another Qbank like Kaplan or Rx. I really like Kaplan so I'd suggest that. My plan is UWorld + Kaplan Qbank + UpToDate as needed. Focus on learning UWorld as much as possible, as it is the most current resource out there that is constantly being updated.

As for taking notes, I'd read the explanations in UW then take brief notes. Typing all the explanations out takes way too long, so focus on understanding the concept and then type out a brief note so you can review it later.

Thanks for the reply zany_brainy. My concern is I'm forgetting features of syndromes, treatments, etc., which is why re-reading or reading a resource was part of my plan. But because SUTM is so dense, I thought using one of the other resources I mentioned (MTB or Secrets) should be used instead, just to cover the bullet points. However, I'm not sure if this is a waste of time and/or looking at new books would be good (because it's condensed and I can see the disease from a different angle) or bad (shouldn't look at new stuff or it's a waste of time). As for taking notes from UWorld, I only write down things I didn't already know (which is sometimes most of the explanation) -- but I always summarize it (I don't copy verbatim).

 

[zany_brainy]

Phloston says in his study guide that MTB is good to learn basic things about a disease, but not good for steps in management. So if you are having trouble remembering some syndromes and disease associations, I don't think it would hurt to flip through MTB, but I wouldn't memorize their treatment steps. Again, I definitely recommend going through Phloston's study guide. He goes into what resources he thinks are good/bad and why.

 

[WJ22]

My preparation for CK was simple... FWIW I am no genius and I got a 265... I also took most of this time off so I had full days free...

I started reading MTB and realized I was wasting a ton of time reviewing things I already knew (ie the ENTIRE PAGE on the signs and symptoms of thyroid disease).

I began to ask myself... what method of study would be the most effective use of my time?

The answer was simple: UWORLD... for about 6 weeks all I did was UWorld questions, usually about 2 blocks daily... I spent about 3-4 hours reviewing each block and taking notes... I reviewed those notes the next morning before starting more question blocks... I planned getting thru 2 rounds of UWorld but ended up only having time for 1 round, plus repeating all my wrong questions.

ANYTHING that was unclear in to me in the UWorld explanations or that I simply needed to brush up on, I turned to Step Up to Medicine or UpToDate, and (shame on me) sometimes Wikipedia.

I took NBME practice tests (don't remember which ones exactly) before starting to study (~6 weeks prior to the test date) got something like a 240, then 3 weeks prior to my test date and got about a 250, then took UWSA about 5 days prior to my exam and got a... you probably guessed it... EXACTLY a 265... I also had a buddy who took the UWSA about a week before his exam and got the EXACT same score on his actual exam as he did on his UWSA... and from anecdotal evidence on these message boards that really doesn't seem that uncommon. I really believe UWSA is the best true predictor of how you will do so I recommend saving it as your final practice test.

So ya... my advice would be to use UWorld for all it's worth, study the explanations, and use other resources like SUTM and UTD to clarify things or brush up on things that you feel shaky on.

I have a friend who I was able to convince to use this strategy, and he scored in the 250s... Most people are hesitant because they believe it is essential to use some sort of comprehensive review book as their main study source... I am telling you it is NOT essential... FOCUS ON UWORLD... I really believe it will save you a significant amount of time, and your score will not suffer... hope this helps... best of luck to you.

 

[Transposony]

No extra amount of reading will help you to score that 250+
Get the general idea from MTB, management from UTD and practice those skills with UW, Clinical science mastery series & NBMEs.
Pick a really knowledgeable professor from your med school and learn to think like him/her.
"What would Dr. XYZ do given this clinical scenerio".
Some of the Step 2 CK questions can be a crapshoot and thinking like a professor might be the only way to answer some questions which no book can teach you.

Hope this helps.

 

[staks]

My preparation for CK was simple... FWIW I am no genius and I got a 265... I also took most of this time off so I had full days free...

I started reading MTB and realized I was wasting a ton of time reviewing things I already knew (ie the ENTIRE PAGE on the signs and symptoms of thyroid disease).

I began to ask myself... what method of study would be the most effective use of my time?

The answer was simple: UWORLD... for about 6 weeks all I did was UWorld questions, usually about 2 blocks daily... I spent about 3-4 hours reviewing each block and taking notes... I reviewed those notes the next morning before starting more question blocks... I planned getting thru 2 rounds of UWorld but ended up only having time for 1 round, plus repeating all my wrong questions.

ANYTHING that was unclear in to me in the UWorld explanations or that I simply needed to brush up on, I turned to Step Up to Medicine or UpToDate, and (shame on me) sometimes Wikipedia.

I took NBME practice tests (don't remember which ones exactly) before starting to study (~6 weeks prior to the test date) got something like a 240, then 3 weeks prior to my test date and got about a 250, then took UWSA about 5 days prior to my exam and got a... you probably guessed it... EXACTLY a 265... I also had a buddy who took the UWSA about a week before his exam and got the EXACT same score on his actual exam as he did on his UWSA... and from anecdotal evidence on these message boards that really doesn't seem that uncommon. I really believe UWSA is the best true predictor of how you will do so I recommend saving it as your final practice test.

So ya... my advice would be to use UWorld for all it's worth, study the explanations, and use other resources like SUTM and UTD to clarify things or brush up on things that you feel shaky on.

I have a friend who I was able to convince to use this strategy, and he scored in the 250s... Most people are hesitant because they believe it is essential to use some sort of comprehensive review book as their main study source... I am telling you it is NOT essential... FOCUS ON UWORLD... I really believe it will save you a significant amount of time, and your score will not suffer... hope this helps... best of luck to you.

Thanks for the reply. You seemed to have started with a better foundation than me: 240 is a very comfortable score to start out with! I went through UpToDate for very many diseases while reading through SUTM. At this point, I feel like I just need to grasp the high yield, since SUTM was dense with low yield information.

When you read UWorld, did you take notes? And how do you organize those notes?

 

[staks]

Phloston says in his study guide that MTB is good to learn basic things about a disease, but not good for steps in management. So if you are having trouble remembering some syndromes and disease associations, I don't think it would hurt to flip through MTB, but I wouldn't memorize their treatment steps. Again, I definitely recommend going through Phloston's study guide. He goes into what resources he thinks are good/bad and why.

I went through Phloston's super-long study guide. This guy seems like a genius. The fact that he could even recall so many questions from his exam is absurd. Some people just have an outstanding memory. I work better with reasoning so I can derive an answer on the fly -- I'm a terrible memorizer. I wonder if he just used multiple QBanks because he already had a great foundation. From his write-up, it seemed like Step 1 information was still fresh in his brain -- that's not the case for me at all.

I'm still leaning towards spending an hour or two a day going through SUTM and just jotting down a few important points for each disease. And then spending the rest of the day doing practice questions, and then adding to my "important point" list with anything I don't already know from UWorld explanations. Of course, I'm not sure if this will truly be feasible since going through SUTM seems like a time-consuming and tedious task. But I thought I'd try for a day or two. Honestly, I want to hear advice from someone that didn't start with the best foundation but still managed a 250+. Both Phloston and WJ22 began their studying with a substantial amount of knowledge going in.

 

[Transposony]

I want to hear advice from someone that didn't start with the best foundation but still managed a 250+. Both Phloston and WJ22 began their studying with a substantial amount of knowledge going in.

I started out with an NBME score of 221 and scored 250+ which is what UWSA predicted.
IMHO Phloston's Step 2CK study guide is right on the money.
Also, see my post above.

 

[WJ22]

Thanks for the reply. You seemed to have started with a better foundation than me: 240 is a very comfortable score to start out with! I went through UpToDate for very many diseases while reading through SUTM. At this point, I feel like I just need to grasp the high yield, since SUTM was dense with low yield information.

When you read UWorld, did you take notes? And how do you organize those notes?

Yes, as I mentioned in my 1st post I read the explanations for each question and then took notes... usually like 2-3 bullet points just to get the main idea, but spent some additional time and paper space on topics I was particularly unfamiliar with (mostly Ob/Gyn and endocrine stuff lol)... I reviewed the notes I took once or twice that night, then reviewed them again the next morning before starting my 2 blocks of questions just to make sure I had remembered most of the info. I highlighted all the factoids that I was either really not getting, or that I felt were particularly high-yield. The only notes I ever ended up reviewing again after that were those that I had highlighted.

Also, the friend I mentioned above who used this same approach and ended up in the 250s had gotten in the 210s on Step 1, and scored in the 220s on his first NBME. Basically, I really believe that this study approach will work for anyone who made it past Step 1 and attended clinical rotations. I really believe that unless you, for instance, in a question you can't figure out that someone with tachycardia, heat intolerance, and goiter has hyperthyroidism, you are better off leaving MTB totally out of your study plans, and using SUTM just as a resource for things you feel you need to brush up on.

And you say you are a terrible memorizer... then why take the time to try to memorize a bajillion notes you will have transcribed from carefully reading through SUTM? To me, it sounds like you would be wasting a lot of precious time. If you are a bad memorizer, doesn't it make MORE sense to focus your time and energy on critical thinking and "reasoning and deriving answers on the fly (your words above)" by doing UWorld questions?

I'm not trying to tell you how to study, just trying to give you my take. I too was VERY concerned and nervous about not using a comprehensive review book as my main study source... but like I said in my first post: what method of study would be the most effective use of your time and increase your score the most in the limited time you have to prepare?