Taking Step 2 CK before doing clinicals?

[Finelines]

Is it possible to do Step 2 CK before doing your clinical years? I should be getting my Step 1 results next Wednesday and there is a slight possibility that I might choose to do 6 months of 3rd year in the UK (I'm a British student who goes to a carib med school btw) but the start date would be in October, so I was just wondering if I could prep for and take Step 2 in 7 weeks. The other option would be to try and get involved in as much research as possible.

Hope that makes sense, thanks for any input.

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[tfom08]

Take a practice NBME and see where you are at. My gut reaction when I saw the question was "no, that is a bad idea" but hey, nobody can say what your do or don't know at this point, so take one and find out.

 

[Bitsy]

Step 2 CK is primarily based on diagnosis and treatment, which are things you can pick up from reading but clinical rotations will help these things stick in your brain. Also, they like to ask questions such as which diagnostic test is best for xyz and will list at least 3 diagnostic tests you can use to diagnose xyz but want the best answer out of all of those. I personally think most students need clinical rotations to score their best on this exam, but I don't know what kind of student you are personally. If you have significant healthcare experience as a PA or NP, then you might not need to take the Step 2 CK after your rotations but if you are coming in with just volunteer or no clinical experience, I don't think it is a very good idea. Good luck!

 

[Instatewaiter]

I'd strongly recommend against it.

 

[PurpleHaze]

I'd strongly recommend against it.

I'd have to agree. A lot of the reason why it takes less time to study for step 2 CK is that you've learned so much of it on rotation, so it's really a review. When you've taken care of 20 COPD patients on medicine, it's a lot easier to remember what drugs to give, etc. However, if you have a lot of clinical experience and want to try to do it beforehand, I agree with the above poster about taking a NBME and seeing where you are before taking the exam.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

 

[Finelines]

Thanks guys, I'm going to try to get involved in research and start reading textbooks to prepare me for clinicals!