USMLE - Official 2017 Step 2 CK Experiences and Scores Thread

[Jesus1]

Since there's no thread for the 2017 Step 2 CK, I figured I'd go ahead and create one. Happy new year in Step 2 CK land.

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[jesuit_juggernaut]

Step 1: 241
Honors: IM, Surgery, Psych
UWSA 1: 252
Step 2CK: 263

Throughout the year:

• OME with note taking (I regret the note taking, perhaps it helped me learn it, but took way too long)
• SketchyPharm- watched relevant videos (e.g. ACEi/ARBs for IM, etc.)
• UW for the rotation I was in, completed all Qs at least 1x during each rotation, sometimes a second time or incorrects (Surgery and OBGYN)- if you want to accomplish this for IM you have to start early- I did 20Q/day every day, rain or shine; also helps if you do some IM questions during Family (because what else are you going to study? Do not do the AAFP question- completely useless)
  • completed UW 1x during the year because of this
• Emma Holiday videos (University of Texas)- she's the best, for reals. Pretty sure she's a genius.
• Surgery- + pretest (moderately useful, but man were they hard sometimes)
• OBGYN- + ACOG questions (moderately useful)
• Family- AAFP questions (complete waste of time)

Dedicated study (8 weeks while on Psych, so not technically "off", but I was only at the hospital a few hours a day, studied 6-8hr/day):

• OME- only videos that I needed a refresher on (kept a list and just went through them gradually)
• SketchyPharm- only videos that I needed a refresher on (kept a list and just went through them gradually)
  
• Emma Holliday videos- all (she's so clutch)
• IM Essentials- did these after I finished IM (8 wks out from exam). Low-moderate yield, really didn't think it was that worth it, but I needed something to do while on an outpatient IM elective so I cranked through them in about a week.
• Reset UWorld and did it all questions again, doing timed 40Q tests to practice the timing of the exam. Then did incorrects again. Took one bullet's worth of notes per question if necessary on the high-yield info, reread the notes I took during the week leading up to the exam. I found this to be very, very useful, as I would write down the thought patterns I had that were incorrect/questions I kept missing until the right idea was drilled into my brain (e.g. if it's arthritis that looks like RA/SLE but is more acute, think Parvo and look for h/o exposure to kids. Can't tell you how many times I missed that.) Didn't organize these notes or anything, just had a notepad and went line by line (having different pads/any organization just takes more time, didn't think it was worth it). I know some people get bogged down by note taking, I avoided this by only doing one bullet/Q and only writing stuff down if I definitely needed to. Better to take no notes and get through UW than to take notes and not make it through- don't get bogged down in notes.
  • Total UW (during year + dedicated): 2x all, 1x incorrects.

From my perspective, all you need is UW. I'm not saying other resources aren't useful- they really can be. For example, OME often explained things better than UW (e.g. PSC vs PBC- such a great video), so those videos helped me to really grip the UW knowledge. So use whatever you need to get that stuff to make sense, but as far as the body of knowledge you need to learn goes, that body is UW- plain and simple. I spent my time learning UW like the back of my hand, not worrying too much about my other extremities (e.g. IM essentials, OME).

Biggest piece of advice- study for your shelves throughout the rotation, not just at the end. Honoring is good and all, but at the end of the day my biggest motivation to study hard throughout the whole rotation (not just the 3 weeks leading up to the shelf) was I knew all of it would pay off for Step 2 because it would quicken my recall (also- you know your medicine better and can care better for your patients). I had no time off after MS3 year before taking Step 2- literally took the shelf for my last rotation on Friday, June 16th and my Step 2 on Monday, June 19th (for personal reasons + I'm EM so I wanted an externship in July). This meant I had to work hard throughout the year and I had to work my butt off pulling double-time on my last two MS3 rotations (IM and Psych). I'm an average student, no brainiac, just methodical and hard-working. Put in the work throughout the year, plan ahead, it'll pay off.

 

[Postictal Raiden]

Step 1: 241
UWSA 1: 252
Step 2CK: 263

Throughout the year: OME and UW to prep for shelves (made it all the way through UW 1x during year)
Dedicated study (8 weeks while on IM and Psych- technically not off but I was hitting it really hard because I had no time off): OME videos that I needed a refresher on, reset UWorld and did it 1x ALL plus another time through my INCORRECTS. After I reset it I did timed 40Q tests to get the feel of the exam. Took one bullet's worth of notes per question if necessary on the high-yield info, reread the notes I took during the week leading up to the exam. Also did IM Essentials while on IM, didn't think that was helpful. (I also rewatched some of the SketchyPharm I need to refresh on)
Total UW: 2x all, 1x incorrects.

From my perspective, all you need is UW. Use whatever you need to get that stuff to make sense, but I spent my time trying to know UW topics like the back of my hand. Biggest piece of advice- study for your shelves THROUGHOUT the rotation, not just at the end. Honoring is good and all, but at the end of the day my biggest motivation to study hard throughout the WHOLE rotation (not just the 3 weeks leading up to the shelf) was I knew all of it would pay off for Step 2 because it would quicken my recall (you know your medicine better and can care better for your patients). I had no time off after MS3 year before taking Step 2- literally took the shelf for my last rotation on Friday and my Step 2 on Monday (for personal reasons + I'm EM so I wanted an externship in July). This meant I had to work hard throughout the year and I had to work my butt off pulling double-time on my last two MS3 rotations. Put in the work throughout the year, plan ahead, it'll pay off.

Congrats. How was your experience on the day of the exam? Did you feel you guessed a lot or have a bad feeling after finishing?

 

[wallebergsyndrome]

You are right! They absolutely trolled me. I got the email at 10:15AM Central Time (my time zone) saying the scores will be up at 11AM Eastern time (10AM my time). So pretty much I got the email after the scores were released.



Latest mean per my score report is 242 with SD of 17.


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thanks coz even my score report shows mean of 243 with sd 17 but for the yr 2015 2016

 

[phialpharaider]

Good luck! Let us know how you did

Just woke up from a night shift in the ED... found out I got a 253! So relieved

 

[jesuit_juggernaut]

Congrats. How was your experience on the day of the exam? Did you feel you guessed a lot or have a bad feeling after finishing?

I felt exactly how I felt after Step 1- like I knew a decent amount, made an educated guess about a decent amount, and had a handful I had no idea on. Because I faired well on Step 1, I figured this one went similarly. I've also never been one to labor over a question after I've moved on (either good or bad), so I didn't get too down about any part of the experience.

Also of note- I slept only 3.5 hours before each exam- damn nerves, literally the only anxiety I've ever had about testing. I mention this because after finishing each exam I had the mentality of "Oh well, I did all I can do, let's hope my brain did what it could running on low fuel".

 

[jesuit_juggernaut]

A classmate of mine called the NBME and apparently starting with the week of June 19th the scores are being released on the Wed of the 4th week after you took the test.

This is true, however the simple existence of July 4th pushes everything back a week (so stupid). So people from the 19th get it back today- 4 weeks and 2 days after the exam.

 

[wksun88]

congratulations!!
How you found exam? Similar to which SA? or like shelves?
Did shelves help in CK?

Thanks!
I felt like the actual exam was a mixture of UWSA style questions and the NBMEs. I got the first part of most 2 part questions on the actual exam right, and that boosted my confidence a bit during the test, but I had 2-3 extremely difficult blocks that I struggled with. As others have said, there were so many questions where I could narrow it down to 2 answers, and then it was a 50/50 guessing game at that point.

All of my shelf exam scores were about average-slightly above average. My best shelf was IM at 86. I think I could have done a bit better had I buckled down for the last month to do some intense studying, but my approach was more of a "slow and steady" one where I would study at least 3-4 hours every day except for Sundays (I'd go to craft breweries for a little break). This began approximately 4 months before my exam. I also had my IM as my last three rotations, which I think was helpful. Having that foundation, it was easy to review the other subjects towards the end without feeling overwhelmed.

 

[PianoMedic]

what is the latest mean and sd for ck?

My report today said 242 average with SD of 17.

 

[swampdoc]

Hey guys, long time lurker first time poster here. First things first:

exam date: 6/22/2017
UWSA1: 245 - 2 weeks out
UWSA2: 232 (i was very anxious) - 2 days out
Free150: 87% - 1 week out
Step2CK: 230
Uworld qbank average - somewhere in the low 80's
Didn't take any NBME's.
My shelf exams were always in 70's.
For those who find it relevant - step1: 216

Materials used: Mainly FA for step 2ck, OME, uworldx2, kaplan qbank and occasionally some kaplan videos and some MTB for things I sucked at.

Experience: I always find that peoples experiences depend on which subjects they're the least/most comfortable with. There were definitely a lot more audio/visual questions than I was expecting. At least 1-2 chest xrays/block, a bunch of audio heart sounds, ultrasounds and ekgs. These always sort of plant a little seed of doubt with me because I either get things right off the bat or I overanalyze the bejesus out of it and talk myself out of my initial impressions. Ethics felt like a shot in the dark every time because either none of the options seemed like a good idea or they were all were great ways to deal with a situation (I'd narrow them down to 2 and then just pick one and go on). I never ran out of time, but I only had about 3-5 minutes left at the end. Flagged about 12/block but only reviewed some each time, so as to not change my answers and 2nd guess my life away. By the end of the exam I felt like my eyeballs were going to fall out of my head, should have brought eye drops with me (clearly staring at a computer screen for that many hours is totally normal acceptable behaviour).

Background: IMG and this was actually my 2nd attempt. It was a devastatingly tough pill to swallow last time, and it really does change you. Without getting sappy, I had a lot of stuff going on around the time I was taking it the first time, was very unfocused, under a lot of pressure to do well, and also in a time crunch to get it all done. I convinced myself I was mentally tough enough to get through it all, only did nbme's scored in the 220's and thought I knew enough to pass, failed by 4 points and felt like I ruined my life and let down a lot of people. I had to tell myself there were no excuses for it, to accept it, and work at it again as much as it sucked. Did the kaplan qbank, read FA, watched OME and did uworld twice, took the assessments and made it out alive somehow.

The main reason I'm posting this is for anyone in a similar boat, not a lot of people like to share this experience but hey, if it helps even one person feel better its worth writing.

Stay level headed, don't rush anything and remember to breath.

Sorry for the long post.

 

[PianoMedic]

So got my score back today. Felt awful after the exam. I thought I probably passed, but that I more than likely dropped from my Step 1 score. I actually went up by quite a bit! Had two weeks of dedicated time when my school gave us vacation, then started a new clerkship and took Step 2 about halfway through that. Wish I had taken it somewhat earlier when I was still in my dedicated time. Also DO student, so we don't take shelves, we do COMATs. My lowest COMAT was IM. Average score on COMAT is 100, standard deviation of 110. IM was 109, rest were above that, high were EM and Gen Surg in the high 120s. Peds was also in 120s. Rest were in between.

Step 1: 253
Step 2 CK: 272

Took UWSA 1 first about a month or so out. Then NBME 7 about three weeks out. UWSA 2 two days before exam and Free 120 questions day before.
UWSA 1 640/271
NBME 7 580/254
UWSA 2 580/261
Free 120: 91%
UW: 1st pass 79%. Only did one pass. I only finished 1/3 during the majority of first year, then started hitting it harder on my last two clerkships. Started incorrects during dedicated but I remembered the answers too well, ended up doing UWSA 2 and the Free 120 the last two days so I was still doing questions right up until the exam.

UWSA 1 was 1 point under my actual score. I was well above NBME 7 and a little above UWSA 2. Really pleased with how it went overall.

Resources: UWorld, OME, First Aid for Step 2 CK, Master the Boards Step 2 CK (found this nearly worthless), First Aid for Step 1.
Wish I had gotten FA for Step 2 earlier in the year and used it throughout. A lot of people seemed very down on it, which I attribute to it being wordier than FA for Step 1. I think FA and OME complement each other very well and would definitely recommend using FA if you are going to use OME as part of your study plan. I did reference FA for Step 1 somewhat frequently when going through UW, annotating OME QuickTables and FA for Step 2 when needed.

Would just UW have gotten me to my score? Doubtful. But then again I need to have some underlying knowledge before I do questions, otherwise I find them less helpful. I find questions very good for refining my understanding of a topic more than my initial learning. OME provided that initial learning fantastically well. So YMMV, UW is enough for a lot of people. Wouldn't have been enough for me.

 

[freshbagels]

Exam date: 6/23

Step 1: 269
M3 shelves: Ranged from low to upper 90s
Did NBME 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7 (offline), so I don't have a reliable score conversion
UWSA 1 & 2: 279
Free 150: 93%
UWorld (one pass): 86%
Step 2 CK: 276

Used UWorld, OME, Brosencephalon and Masaya Step 2 anki decks. Studied for 2 weeks, but did continuous review via Anki and FC over the course of third year. Doing well on the shelves set me up really well to continue that success on the step. It's a tough exam (and it certainly feels like it!) but trust your studying. I recommend doing as many of the NBMEs as you can, but UWSAs were most predictive for me.

 

[Postictal Raiden]

So got my score back today. Felt awful after the exam. I thought I probably passed, but that I more than likely dropped from my Step 1 score. I actually went up by quite a bit! Had two weeks of dedicated time when my school gave us vacation, then started a new clerkship and took Step 2 about halfway through that. Wish I had taken it somewhat earlier when I was still in my dedicated time. Also DO student, so we don't take shelves, we do COMATs. My lowest COMAT was IM. Average score on COMAT is 100, standard deviation of 110. IM was 109, rest were above that, high were EM and Gen Surg in the high 120s. Peds was also in 120s. Rest were in between.

Step 1: 253
Step 2 CK: 272

Took UWSA 1 first about a month or so out. Then NBME 7 about three weeks out. UWSA 2 two days before exam and Free 120 questions day before.
UWSA 1 640/271
NBME 7 580/254
UWSA 2 580/261
Free 120: 91%
UW: 1st pass 79%. Only did one pass. I only finished 1/3 during the majority of first year, then started hitting it harder on my last two clerkships. Started incorrects during dedicated but I remembered the answers too well, ended up doing UWSA 2 and the Free 120 the last two days so I was still doing questions right up until the exam.

UWSA 1 was 1 point under my actual score. I was well above NBME 7 and a little above UWSA 2. Really pleased with how it went overall.

Resources: UWorld, OME, First Aid for Step 2 CK, Master the Boards Step 2 CK (found this nearly worthless), First Aid for Step 1.
Wish I had gotten FA for Step 2 earlier in the year and used it throughout. A lot of people seemed very down on it, which I attribute to it being wordier than FA for Step 1. I think FA and OME complement each other very well and would definitely recommend using FA if you are going to use OME as part of your study plan. I did reference FA for Step 1 somewhat frequently when going through UW, annotating OME QuickTables and FA for Step 2 when needed.

Would just UW have gotten me to my score? Doubtful. But then again I need to have some underlying knowledge before I do questions, otherwise I find them less helpful. I find questions very good for refining my understanding of a topic more than my initial learning. OME provided that initial learning fantastically well. So YMMV, UW is enough for a lot of people. Wouldn't have been enough for me.

Congrats that's an awesome score

 

[PianoMedic]

Congrats that's an awesome score

Thanks. There is hope! You can feel awful about the exam when you leave and do very very well. Since you had such a similar exam experience, I'm rooting for you to have a similar outcome! I'm still a bit in shock since I felt like I was guessing on half of that test or more. Lucky guessing maybe?

 

[MackandBlues]

STEP 2: 257
STEP 1: 250

I used UW throughout the year by section depending on what rotation I was on. First pass 69% and got through maybe 1/3 of a second pass at 79%? Not sure since I deleted UW as soon as I was done with my exam
Scaled COMATs throughout the year were all honors except for OMM. I used a rotation specific book for all rotations. Prepare for your shelf exams because you don't want to learn stuff during your dedicated when you should be reviewing instead. Also used FA for STEP 2 because I like to read things before answering questions. I feel like the questions can't cover everything.
UWSA1: 253
NBME7: 232 - do not take this one!
UWSA2: 254

So overall I scored a bit higher than my UWSAs. The test questions had shorter stems than UW with many that were WTF. Those had to be experimental or to weed out the super high scores is my theory. I breezed through the exam because I learned to stop second guessing myself. I rarely go back and redo questions in a block. Go with your gut and move on. Especially after a year of 120 question shelf exams I got fast at test taking.

Anyways glad it's done!


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[Klüver-Bucy MD]

Are there "experimental questions" on CK like there were on Step 1?

 

[iamironman]

So got my score back today. Felt awful after the exam. I thought I probably passed, but that I more than likely dropped from my Step 1 score. I actually went up by quite a bit! Had two weeks of dedicated time when my school gave us vacation, then started a new clerkship and took Step 2 about halfway through that. Wish I had taken it somewhat earlier when I was still in my dedicated time. Also DO student, so we don't take shelves, we do COMATs. My lowest COMAT was IM. Average score on COMAT is 100, standard deviation of 110. IM was 109, rest were above that, high were EM and Gen Surg in the high 120s. Peds was also in 120s. Rest were in between.

Step 1: 253
Step 2 CK: 272

Took UWSA 1 first about a month or so out. Then NBME 7 about three weeks out. UWSA 2 two days before exam and Free 120 questions day before.
UWSA 1 640/271
NBME 7 580/254
UWSA 2 580/261
Free 120: 91%
UW: 1st pass 79%. Only did one pass. I only finished 1/3 during the majority of first year, then started hitting it harder on my last two clerkships. Started incorrects during dedicated but I remembered the answers too well, ended up doing UWSA 2 and the Free 120 the last two days so I was still doing questions right up until the exam.

UWSA 1 was 1 point under my actual score. I was well above NBME 7 and a little above UWSA 2. Really pleased with how it went overall.

Resources: UWorld, OME, First Aid for Step 2 CK, Master the Boards Step 2 CK (found this nearly worthless), First Aid for Step 1.
Wish I had gotten FA for Step 2 earlier in the year and used it throughout. A lot of people seemed very down on it, which I attribute to it being wordier than FA for Step 1. I think FA and OME complement each other very well and would definitely recommend using FA if you are going to use OME as part of your study plan. I did reference FA for Step 1 somewhat frequently when going through UW, annotating OME QuickTables and FA for Step 2 when needed.

Would just UW have gotten me to my score? Doubtful. But then again I need to have some underlying knowledge before I do questions, otherwise I find them less helpful. I find questions very good for refining my understanding of a topic more than my initial learning. OME provided that initial learning fantastically well. So YMMV, UW is enough for a lot of people. Wouldn't have been enough for me.

How important is to do OME tables rather than UW tables?
In the exam what % of questions you found were asking new concepts?

 

[redcharger2904]

Hey guys, long time lurker first time poster here. First things first:

exam date: 6/22/2017
UWSA1: 245 - 2 weeks out
UWSA2: 232 (i was very anxious) - 2 days out
Free150: 87% - 1 week out
Step2CK: 230
Uworld qbank average - somewhere in the low 80's
Didn't take any NBME's.
My shelf exams were always in 70's.
For those who find it relevant - step1: 216

Materials used: Mainly FA for step 2ck, OME, uworldx2, kaplan qbank and occasionally some kaplan videos and some MTB for things I sucked at.

Experience: I always find that peoples experiences depend on which subjects they're the least/most comfortable with. There were definitely a lot more audio/visual questions than I was expecting. At least 1-2 chest xrays/block, a bunch of audio heart sounds, ultrasounds and ekgs. These always sort of plant a little seed of doubt with me because I either get things right off the bat or I overanalyze the bejesus out of it and talk myself out of my initial impressions. Ethics felt like a shot in the dark every time because either none of the options seemed like a good idea or they were all were great ways to deal with a situation (I'd narrow them down to 2 and then just pick one and go on). I never ran out of time, but I only had about 3-5 minutes left at the end. Flagged about 12/block but only reviewed some each time, so as to not change my answers and 2nd guess my life away. By the end of the exam I felt like my eyeballs were going to fall out of my head, should have brought eye drops with me (clearly staring at a computer screen for that many hours is totally normal acceptable behaviour).

Background: IMG and this was actually my 2nd attempt. It was a devastatingly tough pill to swallow last time, and it really does change you. Without getting sappy, I had a lot of stuff going on around the time I was taking it the first time, was very unfocused, under a lot of pressure to do well, and also in a time crunch to get it all done. I convinced myself I was mentally tough enough to get through it all, only did nbme's scored in the 220's and thought I knew enough to pass, failed by 4 points and felt like I ruined my life and let down a lot of people. I had to tell myself there were no excuses for it, to accept it, and work at it again as much as it sucked. Did the kaplan qbank, read FA, watched OME and did uworld twice, took the assessments and made it out alive somehow.

The main reason I'm posting this is for anyone in a similar boat, not a lot of people like to share this experience but hey, if it helps even one person feel better its worth writing.

Stay level headed, don't rush anything and remember to breath.

Sorry for the long post.

Congratulations on your achievement. I can see the amount of fight you've given to bounce back from your 1st attempt. It really sucked as you were so close, but this also gave you a chance to show your improvement, which you did. Your perseverance deserve to be seen and I wish a good outcome for you.

 

[Target CK]

Hi everyone I want to ask if Biostatistics from UW for CK is enough or should I supplement with biostatistics subject review from UW.

 

[azetronam]

Hi everyone I want to ask if Biostatistics from UW for CK is enough or should I supplement with biostatistics subject review from UW.

I used it for Step 1, really worth it. Made notes from it.

 

[jesuit_juggernaut]

How important is to do OME tables rather than UW tables?
In the exam what % of questions you found were asking new concepts?

ALWAYS go with UW over OME. I love OME, but you can't rely on them for the most up to date algorithms/tables. If you really want to double check something (e.g. lots of OBGYN stuff where the algorithm is particularly important), use UpToDate algorithms, etc.

 

[jesuit_juggernaut]

Hi everyone I want to ask if Biostatistics from UW for CK is enough or should I supplement with biostatistics subject review from UW.

UW is enough. The OME videos on Biostats are super helpful

 

[jesuit_juggernaut]

Are there "experimental questions" on CK like there were on Step 1?

How would one know if they were experimental?

 

[jesuit_juggernaut]

For those that have received scores today, when was your exam?

June 19th

 

[Grey's Anatomy]

Congrats on getting done with the exam

How was surgery and biostats?

I was expecting at least one question about sensitivity/specificity, which did show up. There may have been another one or two stand-alone questions that expected you to know the equation, otherwise biostats and interpreting results was partnered with the dreaded abstract/drug ad-type questions (only one on my test).

It's difficult for me to discern pure surgery questions from medicine ones, because sometimes the answer to a surgical patient case is along the lines of observation/some sort of conservative management. I don't remember much from my test since it's a blur now, but there was a good mix of trauma (gun shot/stab wound) and interpreting imaging studies and then deciding how to manage the patient.

Completely agree with what @jesuit_juggernaut posted above. UWorld was my most valuable resource, followed by UpToDate and First Aid for Step 1 if I needed to clarify similarities and differences between several topics. Also just to add my experience with MTB for Step 2 (3rd edition), I thought it was often vague and excluded way too many high yield topics (almost no male GU, incorrect statements about next best step/best initial test for some surgery scenarios, had confusing organization, etc.).

 

[azetronam]

I was expecting at least one question about sensitivity/specificity, which did show up. There may have been another one or two stand-alone questions that expected you to know the equation, otherwise biostats and interpreting results was partnered with the dreaded abstract/drug ad-type questions (only one on my test).

It's difficult for me to discern pure surgery questions from medicine ones, because sometimes the answer to a surgical patient case is along the lines of observation/some sort of conservative management. I don't remember much from my test since it's a blur now, but there was a good mix of trauma (gun shot/stab wound) and interpreting imaging studies and then deciding how to manage the patient.

Completely agree with what @jesuit_juggernaut posted above. UWorld was my most valuable resource, followed by UpToDate and First Aid for Step 1 if I needed to clarify similarities and differences between several topics. Also just to add my experience with MTB for Step 2 (3rd edition), I thought it was often vague and excluded way too many high yield topics (almost no male GU, incorrect statements about next best step/best initial test for some surgery scenarios, had confusing organization, etc.).

Thanks for the reply..any neonatology specific questions?Not covered by Uworld?

 

[jqueb29]

75% of the way through it so far, not near as bad as I had worried, but definitely not easy. Time for another Red Bull

 

[tacos4life]

Took CK in May right after clinicals. Total 16 days study time.
8-12: First Aid CK
1-5: Uworld!!
5-7: Break
7-10ish: Uworld
I ended up studying more during my breaks bc I only had 2 weeks, for a total of 10-11 hours study time every day. I would recommend FA, it is good for the big picture.
Uworld Practice Test 1: 250 - 10 days before
Uworld Practice Test 2: 227 (panicked) -5 days before
Real exam: 244

 

[Klüver-Bucy MD]

How would one know if they were experimental?

You wouldn't. I was just wondering if someone could confirm somehow because that is true for Step 1.

 

[Target CK]

Hi everyone, I want to ask how is ethics on the exam? Is it doable after doing uw? or do we have to supplement with something else for ethics?

 

[iceman55]

Hi everyone, I want to ask how is ethics on the exam? Is it doable after doing uw? or do we have to supplement with something else for ethics?

I can only speak for my exam but i had about 5-7 ethics questions, half of which were doable even without uworld as long as you've taken an ethics course somewhere along the way in med school. The other half uworld didn't make a difference, just had to go with best sounding answer.

There are so many other things to know for this exam that can actually get you guaranteed points, that I would not waste time supplementing ethics for those 1-3 questions.




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[jqueb29]

Took it yesterday. Definitely wasn't as bad as Step 1, but it still was tough. The hardest part is just being able to maintain your focus all day for over 300 questions. I had plenty of time on each block; I answered every question with 15+ minutes left on almost every block, then would have plenty of time to go back and look over any flagged questions.

It does a good job of covering pretty much every topic/disease process you would expect, and question material was pretty well distributed throughout the different clerkships in the proportion you would expect. Questions were mainly fair, though there were a handful of garbage questions that asked for the diagnosis while going out of their way to leave out information you would literally need to make the diagnosis.

Like I said, all the stuff you're expecting them to ask about, they will ask you about. With 300+ questions, there's definitely going to be some stuff you've never seen before too, but thankfully there wasn't that much. I had 2 different questions about 1 hilariously rare and random condition that I had fortunately refreshed on a couple days before.

I wouldn't necessarily say you should spend time reviewing First Aid for Step 1, but there were definitely a fair amount of questions where Step 1-ish knowledge about diseases paid off. That's all lower yield though, and I would only refresh on that stuff briefly if you already have plenty of time to devote to your other sources. Speaking of sources, I mainly just used UWorld. I did a full pass of it throughout 3rd year, then reset it and did 90% of another pass over 4.5 weeks of dedicated-ish studying (didn't have any class, but definitely didn't study all day every day like during Step 1). I did a decent amount of OME as well, which I had already done during 3rd year. I would recommend dropping the $40 for a month to get full access to everything on the site, but don't let it distract you from finishing UWorld; UW should be your first priority for sure. I also used Master the Boards, which was pretty helpful, but did get frustrating as more than a few things in there are directly contradicted by UWorld. I also listened to the Emma Holliday lectures on Surgery, IM, and Peds again a couple days before the test; psych stuff is very easy, no need to waste your time listening to her video on that unless you have way too much time to burn.

Seen a lot of people ask about ethics and biostats. Most of the ethics questions were pretty simple and fair, but these being questions written by the probably-evil USMLE question writers, there were definitely a few that either had 2 correct answers or 0 correct answers. Biostats was the easiest thing on the whole test, and I had a solid 4-5 questions about it every single block. My biostats studying entailed probably about 15 minutes a couple days before the test reviewing things; unless you're just really preposterously weak at biostats, the questions were so simple that you don't need to waste a ton of time studying up on that. The biostats questions were about 50-50 between traditional Step 1-style biostats questions and the traditional Step 2-style ones where you read a study and answer a few questions about it. Didn't have any drug ads so idk how those are.

Overall, it was about what I expected. Longer than the Mississippi, mostly fair, with only a little bit of garbage BS.

 

[PianoMedic]

How important is to do OME tables rather than UW tables?
In the exam what % of questions you found were asking new concepts?

The UWorld tables are very good. OME is more a resource for understanding and knowing algorithms and workups. If you have limited time, UW is going to be the most high yield resource as you answer a question and then read several explanations. It is so effective because you are much more active in your learning when doing questions then reading about the other answer choices. OME for your foundation during your third year. UW during third year if you can manage it, then another pass during dedicated would be ideal. I found that I remembered the UW questions too much to do 2 passes during dedicated. But YMMV. Good luck!

 

[funfunfun23]

Exam date: 6/23

Step 1: 269
M3 shelves: Ranged from low to upper 90s
Did NBME 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7 (offline), so I don't have a reliable score conversion
UWSA 1 & 2: 279
Free 150: 93%
UWorld (one pass): 86%
Step 2 CK: 276

Used UWorld, OME, Brosencephalon and Masaya Step 2 anki decks. Studied for 2 weeks, but did continuous review via Anki and FC over the course of third year. Doing well on the shelves set me up really well to continue that success on the step. It's a tough exam (and it certainly feels like it!) but trust your studying. I recommend doing as many of the NBMEs as you can, but UWSAs were most predictive for me.

Could you share how to find the Masaya Step 2 anki deck? It sounds like a really useful resource

 

[didine2014]

Took my test on 7/1
Permit disappeared today.

 

[bacterianotavirus]

Took my test on 7/1
Permit disappeared today.

Do you mean the link to click disappeared or the link is there but permit wont pop up?

 

[SamanthaRae667]

My link disappeared today too. It's about time! Took 6/27

 

[redcharger2904]

My link is still there (Took on 6/30)...Is it possible to disappear later?

Update:It's gone now. To those who's still waiting for it to vanish, the answer to above question is yes

 

[didine2014]

Do you mean the link to click disappeared or the link is there but permit wont pop up?

No, I use to be able to click on Print Permit. Now it says my registration is completed.

 

[jnbsghajabs]

Took it 7/1 and permit is gone

 

[SamanthaRae667]

I haven't gotten the email yet though so probably not getting it today?

 

[bacterianotavirus]

I haven't gotten the email yet though so probably not getting it today?

If your permit disappeared, results come out on Wed

 

[LScribe]

.

 

[SamanthaRae667]

If your permit disappeared, results come out on Wed

Ok thanks. Disappeared last night. I just wanted it today lol I guess I can survive two more days!

 

[bacterianotavirus]

How true is this "if your permit disappeared, you passed" business?

 

[merari]

Took the exam today. It pretty much sucked. Didn't feel like any of the practice NBME or USWA exams. Finished my blocks with barely anytime time to spare while on practice exams I had 15-20 minutes to review marked items. Don't have too much to add to what other people have already said. Originally hoping for better, but I'll be happy with an average-ish score.

 

[Mad Jack]

Taking it tomorrow. I'm in no way ready for this, just hoping to pass tbph, would be thrilled with an average score, but I'll go for anything that isn't a failure given my absolutely terrible grasp of OMM and my floppy grasp of peds and OB. COMSAEs 564 and 604, UWSA 240, but today I just feel stupid for some reason and my scores dropped on every exam I took today. We'll see how it goes. Might be reaching burnout mode, but it doesn't matter as of tomorrow night.

Let's see how it goes.

 

[Postictal Raiden]

Taking it tomorrow. I'm in no way ready for this, just hoping to pass tbph, would be thrilled with an average score, but I'll go for anything that isn't a failure given my absolutely terrible grasp of OMM and my floppy grasp of peds and OB. COMSAEs 564 and 604, UWSA 240, but today I just feel stupid for some reason and my scores dropped on every exam I took today. We'll see how it goes. Might be reaching burnout mode, but it doesn't matter as of tomorrow night.

Let's see how it goes.

I think you meant to post this in the COMLEX thread. Are you still taking CK?

Best wishes

 

[Mad Jack]

I think you meant to post this in the COMLEX thread. Are you still taking CK?

Best wishes

Whoops, my bad. Might take Step 2, going to see how I feel about the COMLEX tomorrow first

 

[Target CK]

What is the last date we can take CK to apply this year on time i.e. 15th September?

 

[redcharger2904]

What is the last date we can take CK to apply this year on time i.e. 15th September?

I would recommend mid-August......