Step 2 CS: is studying for only a few days enough?

[bigdogrob4284]

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Hey I'm sure this has been asked a bunch of time but I haven't seen any more recent threads and I have seen tons of posts on here by people that honestly sound like total weirdos so I just wanted to clarify something.

For Step 2 CS, most of the 4th years above me say that they only studied for a few hours to maybe 3-4 days for this test. Is that really all that is necessary?

I'm taking the test on a Thursday. I'm planning on studying Saturday and Sunday before, then I have a family med elective on Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday that is only half days in which I'm planning to study in the evenings. I'm doing this family med elective as kind of a warm up for step 2 CS. Then just fly out Wednesday night to my test site. Does this plan sound OK? FYI I'm a 3rd year US med student that is reasonably competent lol.

Thanks.

 

[Ismet]

I started skimming FA 1 week before but took it more seriously for 3 days before the test. I passed comfortably. Grab FA for Step 2 and start quizzing yourself on the cases. If you can easily get through a couple cases, coming up with a differential and initial plan, then you probably don't need too much time to prep.

 

[Morzh]

I probably put in a solid 2 hours of prep for CS the day prior reviewing the major general broad differentials for the most common chief complaints, plus watched the intro video on the USMLE website so I would know what to expect. I had no awkward checklists in my head on exam day, and instead I focused entirely on "doing exactly what I've been doing for the past 18 months". I asked the questions and performed the exams I would have done on real patients. I smiled, maintained a calm demeanor, and always summarized at the end of the interview. Then on the computer I worked backwards - first filling out what tests I wanted to order, second coming up with a few differential diagnoses and supporting data. Then I spent the rest of the time typing a concise HPI, making sure to include all of the supporting data for the differentials I listed below. I had plenty of time left over to fine tune. I passed in all categories with "higher performance" bars.

Did I think of some minor mistakes I made afterwards? Yep. But this is a minimum competency exam, perfection is not your goal.

So the answer to your question is yes, generally minimal prepwork will be just fine... as long as you meet a few prereqs:

- You are a 4th year student who has already had a traditional third year rotating through all the core clerkships (doing family med right before the exam is perfect!).
- You were generally successful third year.
- You were generally successful on your school's practice OSCEs.
- You have somewhat normal social rapport skills and aren't extremely nervous/awkward.
- Your rotations were in the United States and you are comfortable with American culture and social cues.
- You speak English fluently - I hate to say it but it was kind of a confidence boost on exam day when I showed up to the testing facility and couldn't even have normal chit chat with one-third of the other test takers because their English is so hard to understand. Remember - this exam used to be for IMGs only... but they made it a requirement for everybody in the 90s "to be fair" or whatever.