Ok guys, I passed this on the 1st attempt. I am a U.S. Citizen IMG, so I will tell you all, from a U.S. Citizen IMG point of view, how to pass this exam.
First of all, I was as nervous as anybody else, but I believed in myself. Once I got done with the first SP, I wasn't nervous anymore. I studied for about 2 months from FIRST AID FOR STEP 2 CS and UWORLD....YOU DON'T NEED TO STUDY FROM ANYTHING ELSE!!!!!!!! My cases mainly came from First Aid.
I have a lot of clinical experience, as I work in a medical office, so I got to practice a lot on the patients, my friends, my family, and drug reps. The drug reps really coached me on my interpersonal skills, since they are the experts in customer service and selling yourself to the client! Additionally, a classmate of mine from medical school studied with me and we would simulate an SP encounter and time our encounters ----> VERY HELPFUL.
I didn't go through any crazy rituals before the exam, I only said a prayer and asked for peace of mind before taking the exam. I slept for 6 hours before the exam and after the exam, I drove for 6 hours back to my house.
I took the exam in L.A. and the staff at the center were extremely nice, the SPs were very good and very courteous, 2 of them even joked around with me during the encounter.
I had only 1 real difficult case, that I didn't get to finish examining. I didn't finish 2 notes because I decided to type the note...DO NOT TYPE THE NOTE, IT TAKES TOO LONG.....also when doing the note, START WITH THE DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS AND WORK-UP, then MOVE ON TO THE PRESENT ILLNESS, THEN PHYSICAL EXAM.
Don't beat yourself up if you don't know the diagnosis, what counts is how you interact with the patient and get an oriented history and obviously your note needs to make sense.
Always make eye contact with the patient. Most of us in medical school were taught not to take notes and to memorize what the patient has told us, if you listen to the patient and not worry so much about asking all of the PAMHUGSFOSS, you will be fine. Be methodical, that is why you need to practice a lot.
Also, be geniuine, if you have a great personality, show it to the SP. If you think that you are too important to be nice to a patient, humble yourself a little bit and show the SP that you are interested in him/her.
To be honest with you all, I really didn't know what the result would be, you are at the mercy of the SPs, but I was pretty confident that I passed and I did.
In a nutshell: PRACTICE, be confident, speak clearly, be friendly to the SP, explain to the patient what you will be doing before you examine them (they like that), answer questions sincerely, avoid the tired and scripted phrases to address patients' concerns (e.g. "I can see that you are...", "I can understand that....") BE REAL. DRAPE THE PATIENT, WASH YOUR HANDS, MAKE EYE CONTACT, SMILE, LISTEN TO THE PATIENT, AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST................
..........MAKE SURE YOU BRING A TOOTHBRUSH, TOOTHPASTE, MOUTWASH, AND MINTS (DON'T CHEW ON THE MINTS WHILE YOU ARE WITH THE SP).
Lot's of luck to you!!!
First of all, I was as nervous as anybody else, but I believed in myself. Once I got done with the first SP, I wasn't nervous anymore. I studied for about 2 months from FIRST AID FOR STEP 2 CS and UWORLD....YOU DON'T NEED TO STUDY FROM ANYTHING ELSE!!!!!!!! My cases mainly came from First Aid.
I have a lot of clinical experience, as I work in a medical office, so I got to practice a lot on the patients, my friends, my family, and drug reps. The drug reps really coached me on my interpersonal skills, since they are the experts in customer service and selling yourself to the client! Additionally, a classmate of mine from medical school studied with me and we would simulate an SP encounter and time our encounters ----> VERY HELPFUL.
I didn't go through any crazy rituals before the exam, I only said a prayer and asked for peace of mind before taking the exam. I slept for 6 hours before the exam and after the exam, I drove for 6 hours back to my house.
I took the exam in L.A. and the staff at the center were extremely nice, the SPs were very good and very courteous, 2 of them even joked around with me during the encounter.
I had only 1 real difficult case, that I didn't get to finish examining. I didn't finish 2 notes because I decided to type the note...DO NOT TYPE THE NOTE, IT TAKES TOO LONG.....also when doing the note, START WITH THE DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS AND WORK-UP, then MOVE ON TO THE PRESENT ILLNESS, THEN PHYSICAL EXAM.
Don't beat yourself up if you don't know the diagnosis, what counts is how you interact with the patient and get an oriented history and obviously your note needs to make sense.
Always make eye contact with the patient. Most of us in medical school were taught not to take notes and to memorize what the patient has told us, if you listen to the patient and not worry so much about asking all of the PAMHUGSFOSS, you will be fine. Be methodical, that is why you need to practice a lot.
Also, be geniuine, if you have a great personality, show it to the SP. If you think that you are too important to be nice to a patient, humble yourself a little bit and show the SP that you are interested in him/her.
To be honest with you all, I really didn't know what the result would be, you are at the mercy of the SPs, but I was pretty confident that I passed and I did.
In a nutshell: PRACTICE, be confident, speak clearly, be friendly to the SP, explain to the patient what you will be doing before you examine them (they like that), answer questions sincerely, avoid the tired and scripted phrases to address patients' concerns (e.g. "I can see that you are...", "I can understand that....") BE REAL. DRAPE THE PATIENT, WASH YOUR HANDS, MAKE EYE CONTACT, SMILE, LISTEN TO THE PATIENT, AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST................
..........MAKE SURE YOU BRING A TOOTHBRUSH, TOOTHPASTE, MOUTWASH, AND MINTS (DON'T CHEW ON THE MINTS WHILE YOU ARE WITH THE SP).
Lot's of luck to you!!!
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