UW Step 2 for Step 1?

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Daitong

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Hi,

I've had some people say that it wouldn't be unwise to take UW Step 2 questions after finishing all of the Step 1 Qs; I'm wondering what your opinion on this is, esp with exam having more of a clinical slant.

All the best,
 
My school has rotations before Step 1 and doing all the UW Step 2 questions for my shelves has helped me immensely for Step 1 now
 
I would not recommend it. It's not that the UW Step 2 QBank won't help you--it will--but would your time be better spent elsewhere, such as a second pass of the UW Step 1 QBank, or Kaplan Step 1 QBank? In other words, where will you get the highest return on investment?

It is true that Step 1 is getting more clinical--in which case the perspective of clinical rotations and Step 2 knowledge helps--but you need to bear in mind that the Step 2 QBank knowledge base is absolutely titanic. It is almost tantamount to the Step 1 QBank. You'd be learning so many extraenous details that you won't see on Step 1. As the above poster mentioned, some med schools have their students take Step 1 after rotations, which definitely helps. But if you're not in that type of curriculum, then I'm not sure if it's the best decision for you to make given the sheer amount of time it takes to go through the Step 2 QBank, take notes, learn it, etc. I'd recommend doing more Step 1 practice questions.
 
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