MOST HELPFUL SOURCES and the ONLY 5 sources I recommend:
1.) FA Step 1 & Medical School Step 1 knowledge material as reference.
2.) UW2, do that 2-3 times. Read ALL explanations AT LEAST TWICE. Read ALL educational OBJECTIVES AT LEAST 3 times.
This is coming from someone who is not a genius. So if you can read it once or twice and get it, more power to you.
3.) Clinical Mastery Series and Self Assessments.
4.) MTB 2 CK (Since all of my UW, NBME, Clinical Mastery Series, and UWSA notes were in it) and MTB 3 was also helpful for me a tad since I am a relatively new to clinical rotations. Also throw in Pestanas Surgery Notes.
5.) Pholston's PDF (Probably should give this a thorough read once or twice before you even start studying.)
THIS IS AN EXTENSIVE SUMMARY OF WHAT I DID, I USED A TON OF RESOURCES IN THE FIRST MONTH OF MY PREP WHICH WAS NOT NECESSARY:
Sources I used:
1.) MTB 2 & MTB 3
2.) UW qbank
3.) Rx qbank
4.) USMLE Step 2 Secrets
5.) First Aid Step 1
6.) Pestana's Surgery notes
7.) Clinical Mastery Series
8.) NBMEs & UWSA
How I studied:
1.) Read MTB 2 twice, finished Rx qbank, and then took my first NBME and failed it.
2.) Started UW along with reading MTB 2 third time and reading MTB 3 for the first time. Made notes on anything I did not know and anything I found important. Read ALL explanations even for the ones I got right I put all notes into MTB 2.
Took my second NBME, score went up 25 points.
3.) Read MTB 2 third time and MTB 3 second time and repeated UW again without taking notes and just reading explanations. Took third NBME score went up 5-10 points.
4.) Did all Clinical Mastery Series questions 100 qs a day in 6 days. Took a picture of all questions and made notes directly into MTB 2. Took another NBME score went up 5-10 points.
5.) Reviewed all educational objectives in UW and then took UWSA.
6.) Reviewed weak areas and took NBME 7 five days before exam, and Free 131 from USMLE website day before my exam.
DO WHAT WORKS FOR YOU, AS LONG AS YOU CAN REMEMBER, UNDERSTAND, AND RECALL THE INFO, THAT'S ALL THAT MATTERS.
Exam experience:
- Only had 1 drug ad with 3 questions, super long and super hard. Was in my 7th block of 8 and felt like I got uppercut to my face. But I was thankful it was just one drug ad.
- A lot of immuno. Review FA Step 1 immuno chapter.
- Know how the presentation, management of diagnosis, management of treatment, and pathophysiology of stress, urge, and overflow incontinence.
- Know the rinne and weber tests for conductive and sensineural deafness and know examples of things that can cause the two different types of deafness.
- 40-45% OF MY EXAM FELT LIKE STEP 1 RECALL!
- Know all of the leukemia.s
- Know the childhood bone disorders of congenital hip dysplasia, osgood schlatter, and leg calves perthes disease.
-Know guidelines for PPD & HPV.
- Know all options for contraceptions and in which scenario they are indicated.
- NO BIOCHEM questions on my exam.
- 1 or 2 Chromosome Genetics questions on my exam.
- A LOT of biostat questions with number needed to treat, bias types, and study types.
- Xray differentiations of pneumothorax, from pleural effusion, etc.
- Know the effects of maneuvers on the heart sounds.
- Felt harder than all NBMEs, but felt closest to a mix between UWSA and NBME 7.
- Know risk factors and preventions for major types of cancers such as ovarian, endometrial, lung, thyroid cancers.
- Know the difference between basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma location on the face.
- Know the bone tumors such as osteochondroma and how it looks on xray vs how osteosarcoma looks on xray.
- Know the side effects of ALL drugs of abuse and drugs in the psych chapter of MTB. Lithium, Cocaine, Benzodiazepines, Marijuana etc.
- Know how to manage acute HAV infection, is it supportive care? Immune globulin, or HAV vaccine as a 1st step? (I didn't know this one.)
- Know how to manage aneursym rupture. Do you do immediate surgery or give drugs to decrease blood pressure first? (I put do surgery.)
FOCUS ON THE BEST NEXT STEP, FOR EXAMPLE:
Do you elevate head first or do you put the airway first in a person who has difficulty breathing?
ANSWER: It DEPENDS.
- If person has facial trauma with gurgling sounds? You do cricothrotomy first.
- If a person has aspiration pneumonia then you elevate head first.
There are NOT that many questions that will ask the difference between most accurate vs initial.
So remember you need to know what do you do next from the first thing all the way down to the day the patient gets better and goes home.
In short I recommened:
1.) Use MTB 2 and MTB 3 to help build the skeleton of a foundation which is necessary to build upon.
2.) Do either Rx OR Kaplan qbank before you do UW, IF you have the time. This will orient your mind to the kinds of questions Step 2 CK expects you to know.
3.) IF you have 2-3 months to study or are very low on time, or second qbank is to Focus on UW2 and go through all of it 2-3 times before the exam. Know all of the scenarios and managements in all of the given scenarios. Read ALL explanations even if you get it right and make notes. I felt my exam was very close to the scenarios and concepts of UW.
4.) Do all clinical mastery series and do nbmes to monitor your progress. Save UWSA and NBME 7 for last since they are the closest thing to the exam.
5.) Should probably be listed as number 1, but believe in the work that you've done have faith that the preparation you do will help you get the score that you are shooting for.
OB was my lowest grade perhaps because I have not done OB rotations yet. But I have not done IM or even Surgery rotations either. So it is more than possible to do welll on this exam just from Step 1 and UW2 knowledge.
Best of luck everyone.
.... (two months out)
