Took CK yesterday. Putting my thoughts here so I don't forget, and then I'll update when I get my score back. I'm not your typical SDNer, but I've benefited from this thread so want to give back.
DO student
220 +/- 5 on Step 1, 588 on COMLEX 1 (for MD's: avg on comlex is 500, SD is 81)
Shelf exams (these are NBOME shelf exams, which are ridiculously random, so for MD's not sure how helpful this is): range from 86% on FM to 98% on psych, usually around 90-91. I used very few resources other than QB's, mainly because I learn more from doing questions than from reading review books.
I did my first pass of UW during the year while preparing for shelf exams. Although I'm not going for a very competitive specialty, my goal for third year was to prepare to redeem my step 1 score, with which I was very disappointed. I forgot to record my average before re-setting it, but I'm not sure how helpful it would be anyway (there were plenty of nights where I was doing it while really tired, or not timed because I was doing it on breaks at the hospital, etc.). I also did Kaplan qbank throughout third year as shelf prep (which I wouldn't recommend but my school paid for a subscription), as well as Combank (a COMLEX-style qb). Also read all of MTB 2 and 3, which I started doing in February, first pass through before I started intensive study.
Dedicated study time: ~4.5 wks
My study plan was to get through UW in less than 3 weeks, read MTB 2/3 again in 5-6 days while doing missed/marked UW questions, and then get through Secrets in 3 days while finishing missed/marked questions. This was a successful strategy for me (at least, I think so!) Also took 3 assessments to help gauge my progress and focus my study.
I took notes on each UW question (in the actual software program itself) and then reviewed these while going through my second pass of MTB in week 4; this for me was faster than flipping through MTB to annotate. You can organize it by sub-section, and review it as you're going through chapters in a review book if you want. I would've liked to be annotating in MTB as I went, but I felt like I wanted to move through it more quickly.
I was able to complete all of my study objectives: got through UW another 1.5 times, re-doing all missed/marked questions until I had gotten all of them correct and felt I understood the explanations well. Also got through a second pass of MTB 2/3 (for IM mainly just MTB 2), as well as the little Secrets book. Rating these resources below:
UW: solid gold as everyone has said. The only truly necessary resource for Step 2.
MTB 2/3: liked this better than FA or SUS2, but really what matters most is how you use the resources, not which ones you use. I recommend going to B&N, flipping through different books to see what you like, then order on Amazon.
Secrets: this was an easy way to quickly review high-yield info at the end, but I don't feel that it was extremely helpful/a "must-read." By the time I read it I understood everything really well but it was nice reassurance to knew I had everything down. Much of it isn't as detailed as UW so I was skeptical, but after taking the exam most of it goes about as in-depth as you need.
Kaplan QB: don't recommend; some questions are out-of-date, and often details are too obscure to be very high-yield. Not a great use of time, although I liked it for shelf study.
Combank (for the DO students): I liked this a lot, thought it was great for shelf study. I prefer it to Comquest, which I did sporadically over the last few weeks and I'll be using in the next 3 days before I take COMLEX.
Medical Education Online videos: I watched these prn during my workouts, which I continued to do daily (more of a sanity saver than anything else), I actually really liked these. They're pretty up-to-date as well. You can't beat free. It looks to be a resident (maybe now an attending) who just lectures using a white board - it's simple, he's knowledgeable, and it was a lot better than DIT I thought (I'm not sure why they just have the person speaking from a podium instead of something more interesting a la pathoma or the meded online videos; maybe they've improved it this year?) I used DIT for step 1 and feel like it was a waste, mainly because it took time away from doing UW questions. I think it depends most on your study style; I know some people who love DIT and some who don't find it helpful. You just have to use what works for you. As mentioned, I did not watch videos at all during dedicated study time, just while working out to re-visit concepts I was not scoring as well on.
NBME 6, before dedicated study time: 223
Second pass of UW, during dedicated study time (combo timed/timed tutur; timed is better but takes a bit longer), avg 78% (my actual first pass was during third year, as mentioned above)
NBME 4, before starting second full read of MTB: 260
UWSA, 5 days out: 252
Test day: I felt better walking out of this one than after step 1 - although I felt ok after step 1, and so I don't trust that how I feel is a great indicator of how I'll do! I had plenty of time to spare at the end of each block, questions ranged from 40 (block 8) to 46 in a couple, never felt like I was running out of time although I did pace myself and had trained that way. Felt like I was just doing UW blocks, felt comfortable. I had time to re-visit all marked questions before time ran out. So I think that if you prepare well and pace yourself you shouldn't struggle too much with time. All in all easier than Step 1, I had anywhere from 3-8 marked questions per section, usually about 5. Definitely it's an endurance game. Take a moment between each section (you get like 30 sec before you have to commit to taking a break or moving on, I used this time to breathe and stretch). I used about 30 min of my break time; took a break every 2 sections to drink some water, pee, and have a quick snack.
As far as content on CK: there were maybe only 2 questions that I was like, wtf? But then figured out at least what they were getting at. If I didn't know the answer 100%, I could narrow it down to 2. I think that UW was excellent, excellent prep, and more difficult than the real deal. 2 heart sound questions, 2 EKG's, but you could pretty much answer the question from the vignette anyway. A good mix, but lots of ob/gyn and peds. Biostats and drug ad questions were straightforward, easier than UW - esp the drug ad, I caught myself spending more time than I needed to because I thought there was some kind of trick, they were so straightforward.
My two cents: trust in your prep and don't let your nerves get the better of you on test day. Do self-assessments, pay for the full analysis and use it to strengthen your weak areas. UW, UW, UW is better than anything else; if you find yourself pressed for time towards the end of your study, stick with practice questions as opposed to trying to do more reading. Don't second-guess yourself on test day; if you know the answer, answer it and move on. Step 2 isn't as big of a deal as step 1; use this to help keep yourself calm on the real deal, but don't let it keep you from working hard during the time you've dedicated to preparation.
Sorry, that was insanely long! I'll update with my score when I get it back. I'll be happy with anything 240+, although given my poor step 1 performance I should probably be hoping for 230+ 🙄
Good luck to everyone who's still waiting to take it! Not sure how many of you are out there, but maybe this will help next year's bunch.
