USMLE When to take step II CK

[359669]

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Hey guys, MS3 here and I need some advice..

I did not do well on my step 1, so I would like to take step 2 early so I can send it to residency programs.
I have surgery and medicine clerkships left, with medicine ending in late June.

I was going to take step2 in late June/early July as I am planning to do 3 away rotations.
The thing is, I need to kill this exam, and I am feeling a lot of pressure already.

Would taking the step2 right after MS3 be a terrible idea?
Thanks in advance..

 

[Patho_logical]

Hey guys, MS3 here and I need some advice..

I did not do well on my step 1, so I would like to take step 2 early so I can send it to residency programs.
I have surgery and medicine clerkships left, with medicine ending in late June.

I was going to take step2 in late June/early July as I am planning to do 3 away rotations.
The thing is, I need to kill this exam, and I am feeling a lot of pressure already.

Would taking the step2 right after MS3 be a terrible idea?
Thanks in advance..

Hey, I'm a MS4. Not sure how much help I can be, but I'll tell you what I think.

First off I guess it's helpful to know I did decent (not amazing) on step 1 and 2 CK (230-240 on both).

Honestly, pretty much my entire prep (outside of rotations, of course) was Uworld for step 2 CK. I did every question and studied it pretty thoroughly. I used step up to medicine for supplemental reading. I also read through all of step 2 secrets (I would recommend it, great for quick fact memorization between procedures on surgery). I took mine in mid-late July. But I was well past all my more strenuous rotations. I think if I were you I would at least give myself until early or mid July. I'm not sure taking it any earlier offers you much benefit. Plus if you're like me, it feels good to have a few weeks or days at least to devote to working practice questions and hardcore studying. I feel like that last minute surge really helps you get your mind in test-taking mode. I assume your medicine rotation will probably be similar to mine (probably 60 hour weeks or so) it will wear you down. You could study at night though. And, depending on your team of residents, you might could study quite a bit during the day.

Guess it all depends on how those rotations go for you, but personally I think if you are going for a really good score, you should delay it and prep as much as possible. Especially with surgery and medicine preceding it. I studied almost none on surgery and much less than usual on medicine. I was lucky to get in 2 hours an evening. You might be more disciplined than I am though. Hope it goes well!

 

[gwooooooooooooooooooood]

I just used usmleworld qbank for step 2 (after completing it once throughout 3rd year to prepare for shelf exams). If you didn't do well on step 1 and much improved step 2 can really help, as long as you're sure your score will improve. Keep in mind deadlines as you need to take it so the score is reported by the latest early September so it goes out with your first wave of applications (Sept 15th-ish).

Although I did not take my CK after 3rd year, I feel it is not only possible but an advantage. If you've been doing well on shelf exams, you will probably do well on CK if you redo the whole qbank once. The longer out you are from 3rd year material, the more you'll have to re-learn for CK.