jeansbear
Forum Newbie
Topics: 7
Posts: 8
|
Hello friends,
I've been reading this forum for a long time. Have got quite a great deal of help here. Now since the overwhelming USMLE steps were history, I'd like to share my experience here. If you're in similar situation like mine, I hope you find following information useful  ---- IMG (I'm from Asia), doing residency in hometown, have very little time to study and, haven't worked in the US for a single minute ---- yes, you can do it, all on your own!
I started studying in Mid-Mar, took Step 2 CS in LA May, 9. gave Step 1 on Jun2, and Step 2CK on Jun 8. ECFMG certificate issued on Jul 1st, going to do Step 3 in Mid-Aug. My score is just OK ---- around the average. If I could I'd like to study for few more months to do better. Here are my own experiece and suggestion for Step 2 CS:
Before the exam:
1. If you're short in time, do First Aid. skip the minicases and focus on the 24 simulated cases. the checklist is excellent. Make several copies, practice them with different people ---- male or female, medical students or not, those speak fluent American accnet and those who don't. You need NOT know every possible situation, the key is to build the "instant reflex without brain"! FA hits at least 60%-70% of real exam. If you imprint FA in your spinal cord, you'll be fine even if you're so nervous during the real exam. make sure you do all the 24 cases timed at least once.
2. pratice to finish PN within 10 minutes. don't even think about leaving the room earlier for PN. trust me, no matter how complex the case is, you can finish PN in 10 min. if you plan to type PN, practice with typing everytime. I always fill up the differential and management part then move back to history/PE.
3. When practicing neuro/psychi cases practice, decide your priority --- those you must ask, must do, and those you may skip if time is running out. when you do the real exam, follow the same priority ---- timing is everything, if you can't let go of some PE/Hx during practice, you're likely to run out of time during the real exam!
4. I subscribed to UW course days before exam. Yes, they covered amost everything, but I never had the chance to run them through. The challenging Q section is good. I "memorized" their sample response and modified a bit to deal with real SP. I believe that worked.  No matter first aid or UW or other resource, I believe sticking to single one of them is enough ---- knowing 100 cases won't do you any good if you just know them without having "reflex response" when facing them!
5. the "american way" of History/PE is almost the same as in my country. If that's true for you, relax! All you have to do is to speak English, but speak it fluently, confidently and without hesitation ! this is doable by practice. The tough part is to understand English of various accent ---- African American, Hispanic people, Asian american...etc. I'm not prepared with this part and screwed up with my first case ---- a nervous, unfriendly hispanic mother. I cannot understand a single word of hers.
during the day:
1. if you screw up your first or second case....don't panic. everyone screws up several cases. Believe it or not, you'll feel you screwed it up even if you actually did excellent job.
2. don't leave the room earlier, though in fact I found many AMGs left the room before time's up. since you can finish every PN within 10 mins, why not stay in the room and try to ask/do more? WHen you don't know what to ask, move on to PAM HUGS FOSS first and came back later for case-specific Qs. same for PE--do chest and ABD if you don't know what to do. WHen the 10-min alert rings, I move on to PE and counseling immediately.
3. If you can't understand what SP's saying, don't be shy, ask SP to repeat. I asked 3 SPs to spell the name for their current medication. My reason is, doing so may not cost you points, but failure to document in PN surely will!
4. Try to build good rapport. FA said ask coughing SP if he/she needs glass of water. I asked almost every SP if they want water. I said happy mother's day to one SP when I learned she has 3 kids. spend some time on rapport is good not only to your score, but also helps a lot to relax yourself.
5. fill up D/D and Management part as possible. in 2 cases I really don't know what is going on with SP, I still tried to make diagnoses. Of course, I do this within reasonable range.
6. the food there is OK, and staff were very nice. However, as an IMG you may not be used to daily american food. It'd be better if you bring something you like for lunch.
7. you may arrive at the center a bit ealier and try to hat with others, as this might help you relax. On the test day it seemed I was the only IMG, and I feel so ....lonely and nervous because AMGs were all chatting with each other. Later one nice guy from USC chatted with me and I felt much relaxed.
8. you may try to "embed" some common counselling issue when you practice taking H. I do smoking and sexual pracxtice counsel right after I take smoking/sex H. by doing this I'm less likely to forget counselling.
9. The SP only challenge you with what they're told to challenge. They won't challenge you details about your counselling. When you ask "is there anything I could do for you to make you feel better?", they won't make you embarrased by saying something like "promise you'll cure me" , unless ---- it is the challenging Q written in their script. normally if your response hit the key, they'll stop asking Q and let you proceed. Generally SP's are cooperative and freindly. If they're cold or angry with you, then they do the same to all others. DOn't take anything personally.
10. where to stay the night before ----- the Haluccieda..? hotel is the nearest around the LA center. If you don't drive, I think it is the best choice. I stayed in the nearby Holiday Inn express, few blocks away. try to move from your hotel to the center the day before to prevent getting lost and reduce anxiety.
the suggestions in FA is good I believe, spend some time browse through them. I practiced for Step 2 CS for 2 weeks, with 5 of my classmates in medical school. I found my previous internship experience helpful. if you haven't done clinical internship, maybe it's safer to start ealier. really, for IMG, English/timing is the key. Practice, over and over, is the most efficient way to ace them. If you have limited time like me, I'd suggest STOP "memorizing" D/D and management and START practicing with real people right away!
For Step1/2CK, my suggestion is short:
1. When you're short in time to study, spend more time in QBank rather then textbook. I used Kaplan QBank for Step 1(done 23% of all Qs once) and UW for Step2CK (25% all Qs once) and got socre around average in the real exams. If you once studied for licensure in your own country, I believe doing Qs is the most efficient way to recall everything.beware of the "behavoral science" part(psychology/biostatistics/medical law issue), it's the interesting and unique part in USMLE  . Spend some time on it! it's useful through all USMLE steps.
2. If you just want to pass and you already had clinical experience(not necessarily in US), for Step 2 CK I think UW QBank alone is enough. the explanation is well-written. Q-Bank is important! You got to be used to the lenghty style of USMLE Qs.
3. for Step 1, First Aid alone with Kaplan Qbank will do. I have not enough time to finish Firstaid and when I came back after exam, I found quite a number of answers are in it...what a pity! really, first aid for Step 1 is a savior for those who're short in time!!
4. bring light snacks for short break with you during the day of exam. a "sugar rush" will help a lot! it's like hell to complete 350-400 Qs with only 45 mins break(or 1 hr, whatever). I regretted so much I had only water during Step 1, and I felt like end of the world during final 3 blocks.
5. don't be frustrated if you did bad in Kaplan or UW. My average performance in these two are lower than 60%. In real exam, based on my score report, I believe I got at least > 70-75% correct. Q-Banks are quite like the real thing, but it is NOT the real thing. There're still differences. Be confident!
|
| chemamr
Forum Hero
Topics: 703
Posts: 4,461
|
jeansbear, THANK YOU VERY MUCH for your suggestions, they are very useful for me, I´m also an IMG, from Mexico. See you later. Good luck with step 3 !!.
___________________
Any time something is written against me, I not only share the sentiment but feel I could do the job far better myself.
|
| AAzad
Forum Guru
Topics: 57
Posts: 460
|
Thanks alot for your great information, and you realy did a great job.
Congradulations , and good luck.
___________________
AAzad
|
|
| |
| | | |
