Hello there,

I would like to write about my experience with USMLE step 2 CK. I used this forum a lot in my preparation in viewing what other people have gone through. And I always found it useful to read others experiences and make my own study plan.

A little background info about my self: I am an IMG, graduated in 2009. I came to the US in Oct. of 2010. I am ECFMG certified now, I got 233 in step 1, 244 in step 2 CK, Step 2 CS Pass and passed all three exams in less than 6 months period in one attempt.

It took me 3 months and 20 days for the whole prep for step 2 CK. I was working the first two months 4 days a week. and I got 6 weeks off before the exam, which was very helpful. I took step 2 CK, right after step 1, which was the smartest thing to do and it worked really well.

I used kaplan LN, Kaplan videos, First Aid for USMLE step 1( just as a review of what I have read in step 1 but not much), and Master the boards for Step 2 CK.

First 2 months I was working 4 days a week, so I had about 3 days which I studied and I improved my study plan with time.

Last 6 weeks, were the review months: I did Uworld Qbank, timed, unused and mixed. I did 2 blocks a day, first thing in the morning with taking a break in between. It helped me very much develop a stamina for answering the questions in the exam. At night, I will review only the wrong questions and take notes. I finished the Qbank in 27 days. A tremendous improvement I saw in the assessment scores with this style.

I studied Internal Medicine twice, all the other subjects just once.

The take-home points:
* set a goal for your self and keep that goal in mind all the time. Aim for a high score, even if you want just a passing score, it will help you to get the best of your work.

* Try to relax every now and then to regain your energy and Know that when study for this exam you will see that you forget a lot, that's normal. and If you feel stressed out, train your self to shut down all the thoughts that are stressing you out and focus on the task in hand in your study plan. For e.g.: If you are studying Internal Medicine, and you keep thinking oh how am going to study Surgery and what about Psychiatry, oh and what about my exam date??!!. Forget about it, tell your mind: Hey just focus on Internal Medicine and believe me you will see in a day or two that everything that you were thinking about has a solution now. I used this technique and believe me it works.

My scores:
Kaplan Qbank: Just did couple blocks, was not worth it.
NBME 4 (6 weeks before the exam): 239
UWorld Qbank overall: 73% (Uworld is the best thing ever for the prep of Step 2 CK, many of the questions were of similar concepts as in UWorld, So use it as a learning tool and know it inside out.

USWSA: 250 (2 weeks before the exam)

Real deal: 244.

Good luck to everyone and I hope this helps. Ask if you have any questions.


Mohammed Al Fayyadh
edited by imghosty on 7/14/2012
edited by imghosty on 7/14/2012