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I am trying to schedule my step 2 CS immediately after 3rd year to get it over with. Any advice regarding time to prepare for the test? Also, what resource did you use to study/prepare?
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my prep time for step 2cs: 0 hours, 0 minutes and 0 seconds. I passed as well as all of my friends who spent the exact amount of time studying for this test as I did... 
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scholes said:
You may want to do a search as I recall other threads discussing this. The most people seem to do is go through FA. If you're really Type A on a ledge, you could practice with a friend.
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scholes said:
Disclaimer - I havent taken CS yet but....
I am going through FA - a very quick read. The most helpful thing sofar has been my wife (a great standardized patient). They have 25 practice cases at the end of FA, and I think just for the timing etc it is good to go through those. You could go through them with a classmate in a day most likely. The exam seems to be set up to favor those with knowledge about the exam as much as knowledge about medicine so.... know what they want you to do! I will let you know about my success / god forbid failure.
Many or most US med students could and do pass this test without studying.
That being said, I paid $1000 plus a train ticket to take this exam, so just to make sure I would not have to do this again , I read the first two sections in First Aid for CS, which are good for getting a sense of what the test will be like, and also for going over the "script"/format that you are expected to follow, as well as sample "challenging" questions that the SPs may (and do, in my experience)ask.
I also skimmed the minicases section to get a sense of the type of scenarios used on the test.
I felt this was adequate preparation, and I passed. I spoke with other students who did not prepare at all, and some were more nervous after the exam b/c they went in cold and were thrown by a few things at first. Now I'll bet they also passed - however, the stress-level during and after the exam may be lower for those who were at least familiar with the format and expectations.
Best of luck.
That being said, I paid $1000 plus a train ticket to take this exam, so just to make sure I would not have to do this again , I read the first two sections in First Aid for CS, which are good for getting a sense of what the test will be like, and also for going over the "script"/format that you are expected to follow, as well as sample "challenging" questions that the SPs may (and do, in my experience)ask.
I also skimmed the minicases section to get a sense of the type of scenarios used on the test.
I felt this was adequate preparation, and I passed. I spoke with other students who did not prepare at all, and some were more nervous after the exam b/c they went in cold and were thrown by a few things at first. Now I'll bet they also passed - however, the stress-level during and after the exam may be lower for those who were at least familiar with the format and expectations.
Best of luck.
