Step 3 plan for a weaker student

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I'm in my first elective rotation and seniors have said this is a good time to start studying for step 3.

Unfortunately, I'm really struggling to determine what to do.
I know Uworld Qbank is a must and just bought it. But I'm worried it might not be enough for me.

Just some background, I struggled to just pass Step 1 and Step 2 CK. Step 1 I studied 2 full months dedicated and got a 199. Step 2 CK I studied almost 3 full months dedicated and got a 223.

With the limited study time in my intern year and knowing I won't get any dedicated time (just 2 weeks vacation in May), I'm really concerned about taking and passing step 3.

As of now the optimal times I'll have to study over the next year
Next 3 weeks-Behaviour and development elective
4 weeks in January for my primary care elective
2 weeks in March for my endocrine elective
2 weeks in May during my vacation
4 weeks in June for my ID elective
Planning to take sometime in July or August.

My PD will see if they can put a lighter elective month in July to give some extra study time as a buffer in case I need it.

Other than my 2 weeks vacation, all of these other weeks will still require me to do call and go int every day for clinic but the hours will be reasonable.

Some people mentioned re-doing Step 2 questions if my base knowledge might be weak (as my low Step 1/2 scored indicate) but I'm afraid I won't have time to go through Step 2 Qbank along with the Step 3 Qbank in the time frame and I want to make sure I give adequate time to do the Step 3 Qbank.
I tried Master the Boards for Step 2 and did not like it, it was just bullet points without any detail...good if you know the topic and want to refresh, but probably not for someone like me who has a generally weaker knowledge base. Any other resources I should try outside of Uworld Qbank if my knowledge base is lacking and I need something a bit more thorough but still manageable on an interns schedule? Like Kaplan, First Aid, or Secrets?

I heard biostats, and CCS are good ways to gain points and can make or break an exam if borderline. What is the best way to prep for CCS and biostats? Are the ********** workshops worth doing? USMLE Step 3 Course
They also do Pay Per View Review videos for the multiple choice part of the exam. Are these videos worth going through?

Any other suggestions or things I should know? How did you guys balance Step 3 studying with clinical duties? I come home exhausted and am scared I won't be able to keep up with questions and such.


Thanks for listening!

 

[DisorderedDoc417]

I think part of the problem with long-term studying is that you're not getting the pattern recognition part of the test down. I would say you need 4 weeks. Use UWORLD QBANK and UWORLD CCS Cases (interactive + pdf example cases). The other resources for this examination are not optimal and going back to step 1/2 is a waste of time. The fact that you did much better on step 2 (more clinical relevance) should be a boon to your confidence. For stats: do the UWORLD questions, write down every equation you see in UWORLD (theres like.... maybe 8-10 of them?). Commit them to memory if you don't conceptually understand them. Voila. You'll do a great job on the biostats. As for CCS -- I was so scared about this section that I began having anxiety and losing sleep prior to day 2. I'm a psych resident with no great medicine experience. If you have any medicine experience you will do well. Heck, I did well and I was certain I blew it. The practice cases on UWORLD are sufficient. But you need to practice them! UWORLD, on both portions, overtrains you. The cases on test-day will be mostly bread and butter that you recognize with a few weirdos thrown in for good measure. Don't worry about that. Just do what you would do in the hospital when that happens (ie: Order a few basic tests, consult the specialty you need help from). Practice CCS from the beginning, do not hold off. I would guess you'll be in the 220s again. FINAL CAUTION: Don't let the UWSA practice test get you down if you take it -- it poorly represents the exam and my score was more than 40 points less than my final score on exam day. In short, it is stupid. Do it anyways to read the questions explanations.

Best of luck!