priyagrove
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ok i did step 2 in 2 months. I'm from india too. I'm sure you can do it too.
1. I would advise you to do kaplan reading once. then do kaplan Q book.
2. Then study retrospectively, I mean whatever you arent clear in the questions study from kaplan notes. This time give a fast reading of Crush the boards/any other review book if you think is better. write down imp points in CTB, write down imp points from the attempted questions fron Q book.
3. Now jump to USMLE world/kaplan Q bank, some ppl do both, some prefer UW, do what u feel the best is. I did Only UW! USE UW in tutor mode I mean learn from it instead of judging ur performance. Mrak the questions which went wrong. Again study retrospectively from kaplan notes & CTB , write down imp points in CTB, write down imp points from the attempted questions fron UW. Mark out ur weak areas. ONE THING I WILL ADVISE IS TO REFER ANY TEXT BOOK like CMDT/Harrisons FOR THOSE TOPICS WHICH ARE NOT CLEAR IN UW or HEAVILY ASKED IN UW. COS my exam was much much much more tougher than UW, so will suggest you too refer a good book , only for a few topics which are mostly asked. eg HT/Diabetes.
4. Now only read from CTB, cos by now u wud have written all imp points in it. & re read from kaplan notes..all ur weak areas.
5. Do the UW again/or only do the questions which were wrong initially.
6. Take NBME exam, I didn't take it as I had no chance of postponing my exam & I did not want to de moralise my self. So I wud suggest you to decide by then, whats best for you.
GOOD LUCK! any questions are welcome!
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| Summer.Thunder
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man, i thought that once you pass step 1, life will be more relaxed. i didn't know that there will be more studying more qbanks.
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| sima
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thanks priya,that was very informative and detailed.GL for future endeavours
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| priyagrove
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Summer.Thunder wrote:
man, i thought that once you pass step 1, life will be more relaxed. i didn't know that there will be more studying more qbanks.
WELCOME TO REALITY SUMMER THUNDER
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| solitarius
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hi friends...well,i m new in this forum but it seems very useful..i have a question-if someone wants to apply for residency all the results of all 3 exams (step-1,step-2ck and step-2cs)must be handy by the first week of september or what?bcz my all decisions depends upon this information..and can we prepare step-2ck within 3-3.5 months?i m also img from india.but i finished med school 2 yrs ago.very good luck to you people.waiting for reply.thanks
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| priyagrove
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ITS NOT MANDATORY TO HAVE ALL THE RESULTS IN YOUR HAND BY SEPTEMBER,
BUT YES IT WILL HELP U A LOT BEING AN iIMG. Cos generally seen you have higher chances of getting an interview if you are done with your exams, & its best if you have results too. Visa status also makes a difference, but nothing is mandatory, you can apply with only step1 score as well.
YES YOU CAN TAKE STEP2 IN 3-3.5 months.
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| solitarius
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thanks for a quick reply PRIYAGROVE,this forum is really worthy..would you plz tell me step-2ck plays any roll in preparation of step-2cs?i mean does it helps or not necessarily?bcz i have already apointment for CS in april..(hopefully if i will pass)then i have 3-3.5months for CK to complete all of them in september.and regarding visa status..i have green card but not citizen of USA,does it help?and for CK can we buy kaplan books?bcz i have all the videos.how about you?when will you apply for residency?how about your CS?wish you very good luck..thanks again..bye
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| keenoo
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will some one tell me here ..that how many hrs u need to study if u r prep step 2 ck with in 2 and a half month.?
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| priyagrove
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solitarius wrote:
thanks for a quick reply PRIYAGROVE,this forum is really worthy..would you plz tell me step-2ck plays any roll in preparation of step-2cs?i mean does it helps or not necessarily?bcz i have already apointment for CS in april..(hopefully if i will pass)then i have 3-3.5months for CK to complete all of them in september.and regarding visa status..i have green card but not citizen of USA,does it help?and for CK can we buy kaplan books?bcz i have all the videos.how about you?when will you apply for residency?how about your CS?wish you very good luck..thanks again..bye
hi
I took CS before CK, & I found CS really easy, I had just devoted 7-8 days for CS prep, & ithink it was the best to do, after that i started studying for CK, unfortunately, my score was nt outstanding, but i'm satisfied. I had aimed for 99, but got 90. but its fine, my exam was so tough that I wasn't expecting to pass, so I dont have any complaints.
Reagrding visa status, u definitely will be benefitted by GC, as lesser mortals like me have to still juggle their lives between J1 & H1. So u have an advantage for sure. Many universities prefer GC?citiozens when selecting amongst IMG's cos they dont have to do any paper work while selecting GCholders for residency.
yes u can buy kaplan books certainly.
I will apply after taking step 3 thats next year. I graduated in 2006. so I'm still a fresh graduate!
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| priyagrove
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keenoo wrote:
will some one tell me here ..that how many hrs u need to study if u r prep step 2 ck with in 2 and a half month.?
Keenooo...thats a very vague question, just like my step 2 exam questions.
it depends on you, if you can retain well, after studying 2 hrs a day, thats great, If you need 8 hrs to retain a topic, u will have to study accordingly. Plan out, divide the topics per day, which need to be covered, cos syllabus is fixed, U can do it in 8 months or 2 months depends on you. theres no fixed criterion for that my Friend.
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| priyagrove
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keenoo wrote:
will some one tell me here ..that how many hrs u need to study if u r prep step 2 ck with in 2 and a half month.?
i studied for 10-12 hrs a day in the last month, 8 hrsa day in first 1.5 months
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| keenoo
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thanx alot priyagrove...it relieved me alot..thanx once again..
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| solitarius
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Thanks a lot PRIYAGROVE.you did really well in your exams..and I am sure that you will get into the residency programme by your plan.please tell me if i will give CS after CK it helps a little or not necessarily?because I am graduate of Russia and did in Russian language.but I prepared well step-1 and waiting for result(should get result by next week),so right now I am kinder catching the language used by you all students.I want to prepare for ck about 4 monthsfrom now and then 1.5 month for cs,so if i will have cs in the august,i cant get result until october and so please tell me my choice for applying for residency can be narrow or what?I am really confused about it.I really don't know about J-1 and H-1visa status,bcz I am new here.thanks again for your reply and I wish & pray so that you can solve your visa problems.thanks again.
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| priyagrove
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regarding CS score, yes it takes almost 3 months to be out. to be part of 2008 match You have to take CS before august. read this http://ecfmg.org/announce.htm#08match i would suggest you to apply for CS right now & take CS as soon as possible after CK, take CS before August at any cost. & if you can't take it in aug then take it right now i.e before CK, I took only 8 days to prepare for CS & I passed. what I feel is that If you apply with all your scores in your hand it does prove out to be better, but if thats not feasible, at least take CS before aug so that in september when u apply u can say that u have taken all the exams. Regarding J1 & H1, I would advise you to check www.immihelp.com I'm sure it will be helpful, if you want to ask anything specific you can ask me.
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| kingkong
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hi priya,
where did u gave the cs.i failed in cs this december in patient note section.how should learn to write patient note.any suggestion how to improve the ice component of cs will be highly apppreciated.
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| kingkong
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[quote=kingkong]hi priya,
where did u gave the cs.i failed in cs this december, gave exam at la, failed in patient note section.how should learn to write patient note.any suggestion how to improve the ice component of cs will be highly apppreciated.
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| kingkong
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where did u gave the cs.i failed in cs this december, gave exam at la, failed in patient note section.how should learn to write patient note.any suggestion how to improve the ice component of cs will be highly apppreciated.now i have selected houston since i did not have any other option.
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| solitarius
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Hi PRIYAGROVE,thanks a lot for very nice advice..it seems very useful to take my decision.I already have confirmed date for cs in april...but it destroys my plan..and i want to take it in march but no more dates are available..so after april can I prepare CK nicely until end of august to be ready for applying in 2008 match?or I can now start reading ck one month and then start for cs preparation?I dont know what to do..how it sounds?first prepare for example internal medicine 1 month and then cs for 1 month and again continuing for ck?thanks for sending me the ecfmg link..i saw there and read about taking cs before august.that was good idea.thanks again.how about you?what are you doing right now?wish you very good luck for everything.
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| priyagrove
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hi solitarius.
Well telling you very frankly I didn't get the desired dstes of CS so I did exactly the same, I finished one reading of INT med before CS Then gave 8 days for CS prep & after CS carried on with CK prep. I think its better to take CK in august rather than taking CS in aug or later. REST IS OBVIOUSLY UPTO U. always remember LISTEN TO EVERYONE BUT DO WHAT YOU FEEL wil be the best, just because I did something someway doesnt mean thats right, But thats what I thought was best for me, so advising you. Take your decisions wisely
good luck
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| priyagrove
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kingkong wrote:
where did u gave the cs.i failed in cs this december, gave exam at la, failed in patient note section.how should learn to write patient note.any suggestion how to improve the ice component of cs will be highly apppreciated.now i have selected houston since i did not have any other option.
hi
I took my step2 CS at houston. Firstly I'm sorry to hear that, but STep2 CS is also a game of luck, so don't get disheartened. One of my good friend who scored nicely in USMLE step1 & 2 , also failed CS. Becos of lack of communication skills I guess. Other friend of mine who failed due to patient notes used tooo many abbreviations & had a poor hand writing.
Firstly, whatever may happen, try to close the encounter before leaving.
secondly, DONOT WRITE WHAT YOU DIDN"T ASK, co the SP's enter all that which wasn't asked. & if what you have eneterd is contradictory then you lose marks.
thirdly, try to write only those abbreviations which are approved by USMLE, they are given in USMLE CD.
lastly, have faith, you will certainly pass. CS is a game of plain presence of mind & luck. I'm sure you will give your best this time & will come out with flying colors.
ONE MORE THING ITS A MYTH THAT A SpECIFIC CENTER IS MORE IMG FRIENDLY OR HAS A HIGHER PASSING RATE. DONT TRUST ALL THIS. EXAM PASSING CRITERION ARE SAME EVERYWHERE. & THEY ARE EQUALLY DIFFICULT OR EQUALLY EASY AT EACH CENTER. SO JUST BY RESCHEDULING AT HOUSTON WILL NOT HELP
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| kingkong
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hi priya,
thanks for your kind reply.the question remains, how should i prepare for the patient note component of ice.i have already bought kaplan cs book.i have first aid 2006 which i used partly for my last cs exam and i also have uw .pdf version.now i am confused with so much overwhelming material surrounding me.i am familiar with fa but the rest of the two materials are very new to me.could u please guide me to devise a nice game plan for cs.i must pass this time.this will be second attempt at cs.my ck in mid april and cs in mid may.for me cs is a nightmare since in my medical college we never had internship like in india and so i don't have the patient exposure.any relevant advise in addition to what u already suggested will be highly appreciated.
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| priyagrove
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this what I did,
FA + UW videos.
I will suggest you to practice a case witha friend Enact the whole case & then write the pt note each time. Do It in TIMED mode.
I practised 20-22 such cases. the cases are given in FA & UW total they will be around 40-45. what you have to do is to find a person who can read those cases & enact accordingly, then you shud practice with him just like you're taking CS. This what I did.
I dint touch anything besides FA & UW.
practice writing pt notes & compare them later when time is up. Comapre them with the guidelines given in FA & UW.
see this too
http://www.prep4usmle.com/forum/thread/46942
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| kingkong
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thank you very priya.your help really brought my moral up to 9 on a scale of 10.may god help you in securing the residency of your residency.
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| solitarius
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thank you so much priyagrove.....I also thought like that and I am already studying gynec and obst. right now,will prepare for cs 1 month and then continue for ck until august...its the best thing right now as i think and even by your opinion,so thanks a lot for that.bye and take care and wish you very good luck to get into the residency and for all.
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