Rafo
Forum Senior
Topics: 23
Posts: 62
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Hi everyone!!
Just wanted to briefly summarize my experience with Step 2 CK yesterday...Iīm sorry if I cannot give specific details about questions, but my long term memory is not good for traumatic experiences hehehehe  .
Well, Step 2 definitively is not an easy exam...but it is so, not especially because of the contents of the exam but most of all because of the length of the test itself and how little break time you have available. In my case, I really had a hard time concentrating during the last two blocks. Happily I managed to answer all the questions, although I had to mark several in every block which I reviewed in the 5 to 8 minutes I always had at the end of each block; in most of them I just confirmed my previous answer, in a few I changed it (some convinced of what I was doing, in a couple just guessing :? ).
I skipped the tutorial and took five-minute breaks after each block, except for a 30-minute break for lunch around 1 p.m. (which should have been a 25-minute one, because I had five minutes less for my last block of questions). I felt that the most heavily tested subjects were Pediatrics (especially Immune Diseases and Infectious Diseases), Hematology and Oncology, Neurology and Rheumatology (several questions about back pain!!!). Of course, this is just my impression and may be biased because of my own weaknesses. Cardiology was not as frequent as I expected...there were also a few questions with a hint of Pathophysiology and one with a CT Scan. Quite a bunch of Psych (but most of them easy ones), and Biostatistics was not too scary. OB-GYN focused a lot on STDs, menopause and cervical cancer.
As I said before, I was pretty optimistic in the beginning because I had been scoring well on USMLEWORLD (around 65%) and also on NBME (Part I 650, Part II 600), but I had a weird feeling at the end of the day. Weīll see...weīll see...
By the way, I felt the exam was harder than Step 1, and it was pretty much comparable to UW (although less picky) and definitely tougher than NBME (especially Part I...Part II is more similar to the real thing).
Rafo
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| orthodromic
Forum Newbie
Topics: 4
Posts: 32
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congrats on finishing the test. did you do kaplan qbank, q-book? what were your scores in that? was it helpful for the exam?
thanks
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| saxena
Forum Junior
Topics: 5
Posts: 46
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can u let me know ure study strategy ,sorry 2 bother u in ure relaxing time, do u think both kaplan q bank and uw are necessary .........want a score in 90's ............do i need 2 use any other books ,im just using kaplan.
thanx in advance.best of luk fr result
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| tasneembanu
Forum Guru
Topics: 96
Posts: 545
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Congrats Rafo,for finishing the exam,u will surely get a good score as u sound confident,just wanted to know what was ur study plan during the last month and whether u used CMDT and for which topics.
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| Rafo
Forum Senior
Topics: 23
Posts: 62
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Hey, thanks for your good wishes...still feeling a little weird about my performance but hoping for the best. I will describe my study strategy, but as I still donīt know my score...Iīm not responsible of any possible harm caused by following it hehehe .
To study I used the Blueprints series, for all the subjects, except for Pediatrics for which I used the Kaplan Notes (because BlueprintsīPediatrics was too big). Every time I finished reading one system in Blueprints, I did Pretest questions...not all the questions share the format of Step2, but the explanations are good review material. I used almost all the Pretest series. I also used Boards and Wards for reviewing, I found its tables, charts and outlines extremely useful (it was my only review source for Psych). During the last month I just did MCQs, and I chose USMLEWORLD guided by the advice I found in the forum. I think it is very very close to the real thing (and I mean it...VERY VERY SIMILAR). The actual exam is somewhat easier. I wanted to do Kaplanīs Qbank but didnīt have the time. I also took both NBME exams a couple of days before the test and I found them also very useful as an assessment tool, I suscribed to the self-paced version so I could review my answers and check them with the books (but I didnīt cheat...I never changed my answers if they were wrong). The day before the test I did some Pretest MCQs on my weakest subjects (which really didnīt make a huge difference, because - I donīt know how - but the freaking machine seems to know which subjects you know the less!!! hehehe). The night before I just watched some TV and I tried to sleep well.
I didnīt read CMDT... about MCQs, I think the more you do the better, so if you have the time (and the money) for Kaplan, UW and NBME go for it. If money is an issue, choose UW and NBME (at least take one of the NBME tests, that will give you a closer feel of the actual test). Other advantage of UW is that once you are subscribed you can extend your subscription for a smaller period of time (1 week, 2 weeks, etc.). I had to pay for 7 days more, to be able to finish reading all the explanations. Read them all, even if you think you know them.
Rafo
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| tamriko
Forum Elite
Topics: 23
Posts: 296
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Hi rafo, congratulations for youe exam, wish you a good score :lol:
I'm just wondering, if one month for UW is enough for reviewing?
Thanks,
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| sonia
Forum Newbie
Topics: 1
Posts: 31
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Hi Rafo thanks for ur exam experience , and gl with ur score...its really helpful....
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| Rafo
Forum Senior
Topics: 23
Posts: 62
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I think using the last month to do MCQs is the better approach, at least in my experience...however, as I said in the last post, I needed some extra days to finish all the questions in UW. So I would advice to save at least a month and a half at the end of your preparation to answer MCQs and strengthen your weak areas based on your results on the qbanks. I donīt know if longer periods would be a good choice...at least not for people with "extremely volatile" memories, like mine. If i had subscribed for a 3 month period, I would have probably forgotten some of the facts about the first questions by the date of the actual exam. :P. When I used UW, I spent almost the whole day in front of the PC...I ended up with my eyes burning and carpal tunnel syndrome, but it was good endurance training because the test is LONG and EXHAUSTING.
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| dev
Forum Guru
Topics: 70
Posts: 1,794
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hi rafo
congrats on completing step2.i think its usual to feel dissatisfied at the end of exam.ur practice scores are gr8.so just relax and enjoy.
bye
dev
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| tasneembanu
Forum Guru
Topics: 96
Posts: 545
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Thanks Rafo for answering all our questions,i am sure u will get a terrific score.
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| afds
Forum Elite
Topics: 63
Posts: 195
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congrats on completing exam
what r ur step 1 score?
how much time did u studied for both steps?
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| jwanglan
Forum Newbie
Topics: 0
Posts: 3
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Hi, Rafo
have you received your score? I had similar feeling after I took the exam (on19th, April) and I had similar scores in UW. I would like to know your real score and GL to you
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| Rafo
Forum Senior
Topics: 23
Posts: 62
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Hey jwanglan!!
I received my score today a few minutes ago...check it here:
http://www.prep4usmle.com/community/topic19633.ht... :wink:
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| jwanglan
Forum Newbie
Topics: 0
Posts: 3
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Congratulations! Great score. GL
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| goljan_fan
Forum Senior
Topics: 30
Posts: 95
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what is ur score?
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