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Studying for step 3
Started by Poety
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Boards & Wards, and did all the Kaplan book questions. Also, there's a prep book (can't remember the name--someone will know) that has Clinical Case Scenario prep--it's a thin little book, like the Vignette books--well worth a read. Definitely save time to practice with the CCS format with the practice tests. I did much better on Step 3 than 1 or 2--the CCS part is actually kind of fun, and by the 2nd day, you're ready for something different!
Like Step 2, Step 3 is essentially Virtual Medicine Clinic From Hell. Very career-affirming.
Like Step 2, Step 3 is essentially Virtual Medicine Clinic From Hell. Very career-affirming.
Kaplan & First Aid.
I haven't used USMLEworld but I heard a lot of good things about it.
Lots of this is personal preference. Anecdotally I found Crush & Strong Medicine for USMLE III not very effective (though I know several who disagree) because it was too little information, and much of the Appleton & Lange stuff useless.
I was doing questions from A&L USMLE Step II-Internal Medicine book and was getting about 60% of the questions wrong and I thought I was a dead man (at that time I only had a month left before the exam). I then had several IM doctors check out the questions and they told me they couldn't answer half of them either. The book was too hard--& it gave me the biggest mind screw (I almost had a panic attack--I thought I was prepared then this book made me think I was dead).
Some words of advice: Don't gun for the exam if you don't have to, especially if you're a first year. I felt I learned a heck of a lot of medicine after doing my med rotation, and then applying that knowledge to what I did in inpatient psychiatry.
2nd--if you're gunning for USMLE to get a liscence for moonlighting--wait & think. Are you ready to do moonlighting? I didn't think I was ready to do so until the end of my 2nd year. I'm still not doing it now because I didn't take Step III yet (I'm planning on Nov)--but in hindsight--no way was I prepared to do it my first year-especially if doing the moonlighting means you're on your own.
I haven't used USMLEworld but I heard a lot of good things about it.
Lots of this is personal preference. Anecdotally I found Crush & Strong Medicine for USMLE III not very effective (though I know several who disagree) because it was too little information, and much of the Appleton & Lange stuff useless.
I was doing questions from A&L USMLE Step II-Internal Medicine book and was getting about 60% of the questions wrong and I thought I was a dead man (at that time I only had a month left before the exam). I then had several IM doctors check out the questions and they told me they couldn't answer half of them either. The book was too hard--& it gave me the biggest mind screw (I almost had a panic attack--I thought I was prepared then this book made me think I was dead).
Some words of advice: Don't gun for the exam if you don't have to, especially if you're a first year. I felt I learned a heck of a lot of medicine after doing my med rotation, and then applying that knowledge to what I did in inpatient psychiatry.
2nd--if you're gunning for USMLE to get a liscence for moonlighting--wait & think. Are you ready to do moonlighting? I didn't think I was ready to do so until the end of my 2nd year. I'm still not doing it now because I didn't take Step III yet (I'm planning on Nov)--but in hindsight--no way was I prepared to do it my first year-especially if doing the moonlighting means you're on your own.
I used USMLE world, Crush Step III, and familypractice.com has quite a few radiographic images with questions and explanations that helped somewhat. I've been reading Boards & Wards on and off for the better part of 4 years (during rotations) and did lots of Kaplan Qbank questions from the book.
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