Step 3 really not too bad

[DCMDtobe]

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Ok, step 3 really isn't too bad. I was nervous because I didn't study much at all, but I'd say most of us could walk in there after only reading the "orientation" material in First Aid and still pass the thing.

There were a ton of questions that would never be found in USMLE World or First Aid. A lot of questions that patients might commonly ask you but that no text book would ever cover. At first you think, "what the hell is this." But with careful reading of the prompt and then by eliminating the obviously wrong answer choices, you work your way to the right answer.

It doesn't feel like your studying has paid off, but you get to your goal anyway, which is a passing score.

Test-taking skills and common sense will get you a long way. Same holds true for the CCS section.

Two months, two weeks, two pencils (prep for step 1, step 2, step 3).

 

[nevercold]

Two months, two weeks, two pencils (prep for step 1, step 2, step 3).

They gave me laminated paper and two dry erase markers. I didn't get to use my own pencils.

 

[nutmegs]

I have to agree. I read some of Crush (the peds and ob-gyn, mostly) and did some questions (not really enough to count as studying...) and I passed easily. I felt like the questions were in a lot more depth than was covered in the Crush, but it did serve as a reminder on some of the basic diseases. A lot of the questions pissed me off (what is the most important factor in prognosis, what is the most likely outcome at one year, wtf??) but I just picked answers and it worked out well. Good luck to everyone!

 

[DCMDtobe]

Got my score back. Did well enough. Not as good as step I, but a fair bit about the mean.

I did half of USMLE World, read the OB and Peds sections of First Aid, and sort of oriented myself to the format of the cases. That's it.

Felt like I had a lousy test day and still got by in decent shape.

If I were to do it again, I would spend more time on preparing the cases -- mainly learning the format and how to move through the cases. Ordering a pulse ox and heart monitors was new.

For the multiple choice questions, studying for several days more wouldn't have helped. Studying for two months more probably would have, but what's the point. I just wanted to pass.

Good luck to you all.

 

[maverick173]

do you guys recommend doing the whole usmle world?

 

[maverick173]

What do you recommend for CCS? UW has new set of 25 cases that are interactive? is it like real practice, are they scored? I also heard of an online CCS workshop referred to as Dr.Red's CCS workshop from some friends. has any one taken it? any thoughts?

 

[tenacious11]

Felt FA cases[Cases at the back of First Aid] and USMLE CD[A Must! Practice the format] were good resources.
-Reg CCS cases:
a)practiced some cases on USMLE Steps 123 for practice.
b)A principle i found useful:
Formulate orders and management plan based on initial history and DD.If unstable patient first orders then exam[:BPmonitor,Oxygen,Cardiac monitor,Pulse oximetry,Intravenous access,Normal saline,Elevate foot end of bed] .If stable patient do exam first.At the end do not forget to Counsel patient.

 

[zzeyfzz]

So USMLE World CCS cases run just like the three practice cases that come on the USMLE practice CD. You can put in your orders and manage the case with the software and then when time is up, there are three pages that tell you what you should have done and the order you should have done them. So there's no scoring, but you get to practice your CCS software skills. And besides the 35 or so CCS, cases, there are a another 60 or so cases that are written up for you to read through.