Step 3 preparation

[GATO]

I have a question about preparation for Step 3.
I read FA Step 3, Crush Step 3, Blueprints CCS once, and read Boards & Wards when I took Step 2 CK (I need to read it again). I played with CCS from USMLE Orentation Materials. Now I am working on NMS Step3 (Good!) and Strong Medicine. After that, I will study Premier Review home kit, take USMLE World, and USMLE 123.com (CCS). I bought Swanson's Family Practice Review. But I am wondering if I need to read Swanson's.

I'll appreciate any suggestions.

Gato.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[andwhat]

I have a question about preparation for Step 3.
I read FA Step 3, Crush Step 3, Blueprints CCS once, and read Boards & Wards when I took Step 2 CK (I need to read it again). I played with CCS from USMLE Orentation Materials. Now I am working on NMS Step3 (Good!) and Strong Medicine. After that, I will study Premier Review home kit, take USMLE World, and USMLE 123.com (CCS). I bought Swanson's Family Practice Review. But I am wondering if I need to read Swanson's.

I'll appreciate any suggestions.

Gato.

[[/I

I suggest continue doing what you are doing. Perfect study materials.

 

[sade]

you are right on track. If you have ample time read Swanson cover to cover if your short of time read geriatrics & sports medicine. Some advice to read epidemiology too.

For CCS try the 1 day CCSWORKSHOP its usually 10hours long costs $79 and worth every cent. Dr. Red explains and corrects your every move.
www.ccsworkshop.com

Best of luck.

 

[sacrament]

I have a question about preparation for Step 3.
I read FA Step 3, Crush Step 3, Blueprints CCS once, and read Boards & Wards when I took Step 2 CK (I need to read it again). I played with CCS from USMLE Orentation Materials. Now I am working on NMS Step3 (Good!) and Strong Medicine. After that, I will study Premier Review home kit, take USMLE World, and USMLE 123.com (CCS). I bought Swanson's Family Practice Review. But I am wondering if I need to read Swanson's.

I'll appreciate any suggestions.

Gato.

Did you have a lot of difficulty passing Step 2? If so, then the above is appropriate. If, on the other hand, you did fine on Step 2, then the above is probably overkill. I know very few people who studied for more than a week (in the evenings after work) for Step 3, and none of them have failed it.

 

[FirstMANdown]

Did you have a lot of difficulty passing Step 2? If so, then the above is appropriate. If, on the other hand, you did fine on Step 2, then the above is probably overkill. I know very few people who studied for more than a week (in the evenings after work) for Step 3, and none of them have failed it.

Agreed.

 

[andwhat]

you are right on track. If you have ample time read Swanson cover to cover if your short of time read geriatrics & sports medicine. Some advice to read epidemiology too.

For CCS try the 1 day CCSWORKSHOP its usually 10hours long costs $79 and worth every cent. Dr. Red explains and corrects your every move.
www.ccsworkshop.com

Best of luck.

Swanson cover to cover may not be time or energy efficient. Alot of details are left out of Swansons, its a specialty oriented exam at times. You can do fine on the primary care section of the examination, but reading Swanson cover to cover may leave you wasting precious time esp if in residency.
Best and BY FAR for ccs is
USMLE Consult. www.usmlesteps123.com its great ccs practice, even though it is not the exact software. It is awesome.

 

[GATO]

Thank you for all kind replies.

I am an IMG. I took Step 2CS in August, and am waiting for the result. I passed Step 2 CK at the first attempt, but the score is 76. I read the threads about Step 3. I am really nervous to take Step 3 because they say that it is much harder than Step 2 CK. That's why I am planning to study it with a lot of materials. The reasons I will take Step 3 before residency are as follows:

1. I am going to Pathology residency. I would like to take it while my memory is fresh.
2. I have enough time until the residency although I am working in the research field.
3. One program sent me an e-mail. They will give priority for interviews to the applicants who are medical students graduating in 2008 or 2009; or are presently interns in a transitional or other specialty residency program; or are international medical graduates before 2007 who have passed the USMLE Step 3 examination; or are other USA-licensed physicians who have decided to enter Pathology.
Might be too late to study now to take it.

Gato.

 

[goody]

thank you sade for your input! I dint like usmlesteps123.com, its no way useful in scoring high on CCS. I was earlier planning on attending Premier reviews CCS workshop but i think its a little too expensive and i have to go NY for that now. I understand CCS is a key to pass this exam. Will give Dr.Red's ccs workshop a try because i have heard a lot of great things about it from friends. I will also will practice uw interactive ccs software 25 cases as well as read the rest of UW cases. Do you recoomend anything else, Sade? please let me know, your help is greatly appreciated

 

[andwhat]

thank you sade for your input! I dint like usmlesteps123.com, its no way useful in scoring high on CCS. I was earlier planning on attending Premier reviews CCS workshop but i think its a little too expensive and i have to go NY for that now. I understand CCS is a key to pass this exam. Will give Dr.Red's ccs workshop a try because i have heard a lot of great things about it from friends. I will also will practice uw interactive ccs software 25 cases as well as read the rest of UW cases. Do you recoomend anything else, Sade? please let me know, your help is greatly appreciated

yeah you love it or you hate it usmlesteps123.com -- but theres no other practice software out there that can allow you to hone your skills and try yourself. I felt like that initially also, but definitely definitely its a way to score high on ccs, even though the software is not the exact same. You just have to stick with it. Theres tons and tons of money making gimmicks out there, but I think that you should stick to things that are established.

 

[andwhat]

dear "andwahat"
No offense intended but I tried usmlesteps123 and i din't think its anywhere close to the real software. Sometimes you feel stuck and i dint get a good feedback either from my friends! anyway, i will definitely try ccsworkshop.com because it's an interactive live session with mock practice - there is indeed, some one sitting there to guide you through the process and if you google "ccsworkshop" there are several posts on various forums that its very useful
thank you for your suggestions, its just my opinion. I am not an expert in these. You may choose whichever you want

no no no no offense at all whatsoever dude! Just stating what helped for me, and again this was indeed years ago, so maybe there are other better quality materials out there for step 3 ccs now. Back then that was the best, because it was interactive, and you could practice on it. Trust me PRACTICING it makes you MUCH faster and confident on exam day. If you sign up for any help on ccs, which you probably do not really need in the first place if you are a resident, then be sure to practice on your own also.

 

[Benign_foodtube]

Hey you guys-- As far as Step 3 goes, and besides the CCS part, what are the best review resources, and what is the best QBank in your opinion(s)?

I have heard good things about USMLEWorld, and a lot of people trust Kaplan. I think Kaplan may be overkill for me. I plan on studying for 3-5 months for it, and I'm not sure where to start.

Any heads-up would be greatly appreciated.

 

[FirstMANdown]

Hey you guys-- As far as Step 3 goes, and besides the CCS part, what are the best review resources, and what is the best QBank in your opinion(s)?

I have heard good things about USMLEWorld, and a lot of people trust Kaplan. I think Kaplan may be overkill for me. I plan on studying for 3-5 months for it, and I'm not sure where to start.

Any heads-up would be greatly appreciated.

I think a good way to start if you are planning to study 3-5 months for this exam is to start with the basics. 1.) Read Kaplan step 2ck IM, Peds, and Ob-gyn books-these 3 are by far the 80% bulk of step 3 ck questions that can be asked. 2.) I would read Premier review notes and fill in the blanks with UW step 3 qbank and Kaplan step 3 qbank. 3.) For the preparation of the ccs part of step 3 which is essentially 20% of your step 3 scoring should start with UW CCS cases. 4.) Then I would practice on the NBME CCS 5 cases on disk, this is more to familiarize your self with various commands and being more comfortable with "moving the clock" forward. 5.) Once you feel comfortable with this then I would go to USMLE consult 123 and do all the CCS cases. Program is not exactly the same as the NBME program but, being able to work up each and every case will definitely blast rocket you a higher score on the actual step 3 ccs portion of the exam. I strongly believe that even with a weak background in general medical knowledge these steps will almost certainly help you pass the step 3 exam and maybe even score high!!!
Remember though, in this game we call medicine nothing is guaranteed. I hope this helps you. Good luck and keep us updated on how things are going!!