Whatever I'm doing does not seem to be working. Does anybody have a comprehensive 6-week study plan for Step 2 ck? Much appreciated!

This is my suggestion: first you need to diagnose your weakness: lack of knowledge of the material, inability to understand the questions, and/or timing issues. In order to do this, I recommend taking an UNTIMED NBME exam. As you answer each question, look up the answer for that question on Google (usually, this will involve looking at message boards such as this one). Are you noticing that you consistently get questions wrong? If so, is it because you have holes in your knowledge or is it because you don't understand the question (e.g., "What's the next best step?" questions)? If your weakness is in knowledge and/or test-taking skills, then this should be your immediate priority in your study schedule. If your weakness is with timing, then this can be addressed later (since it's much easier to improve on this).

After you get your score report, look at which sections you did weakest on. Focus your review on the highest-yield subjects which you did weakest on (the USMLE website will have a breakdown of the test's composition by topic). So for example, if you did poorly in cardiology, then just do cardio questions in UWorld. Be sure to read the explanations for the answers given in UWorld; make notes of anything that you did not understand. Again, focus on your weak areas; not your strong areas.

After you've reviewed your weak subject(s), take another NBME exam. You should begin to notice that your performance in your weak subjects improves. When you finish with the exam, look at your score report- focus on your weakest areas.

Keep on repeating these steps and eventually you should see an improvement in your scores.

One last piece of advice: always begin each question by reading the actual question first. This way, you will have an idea of what to look for and what to think about before you actually begin reading the vignette. For some questions, you will find that you don't even need to read the vignette. So always begin by reading the question first.

Thank you so much for the wonderful advice, I have the same problem , and will follow your advice,

Thank you for your suggestion. Appreciate the feedback.

Some other pieces of advice:

1) Take LOTS of NBME exams. You might even have to take the same exam multiple times, that's OK. (I took some NBME exams 3-4 times...it's a lot of money, but it was 100% worth it)

2) Don't be scared if your NBME scores are lousy. The NBME exams are, above all else, learning tools which will help you identify your weaknesses and optimize your studying approach (allowing you to use your time most effectively). I was failing my NBME exams until about 2 weeks before my exam; only at that time, did I begin to adopt the strategy that I've shared with you. I ended up passing the exam with a decent score. Certainly, I think if I would have had 6 weeks to employ my approach, I probably could have gotten 250+.

3) Don't waste time reading books. They are an inefficient use of scarce studying time. Remember, this exam- like every other standardized exam- is testing your ability to take this particular test as much as it's testing your knowledge. What good does it do you if you memorize Harrison's but can't get any questions right on the Step 2CK exam? The focus in your studies should be to: i) learn how to apply your knowledge within the context of the exam (i.e., to understand how the exam asks you to apply your knowledge) and ii) to shore up any deficiencies in your knowledge (based on your NBME score reports)

Hope this helps. Good luck!

You're welcome! I hope it helps you!

I am glad that I could help! I am reasonably confident that if you follow my advice, that you should have absolutely no problem passing the exam (and hopefully getting a great score). Best of luck!

Steven,
Thanks for your advives...I have an issue with the timing...When I do UW untimed mode I score much much higher than If I do answer on timed mode...I even loss few question because the time ends before finshing? any ideas/suggestions how to overcome this problem? Thanks
P.S. I am IMG..but speaks good English

Great Advice. Thank you!

Steve plz check ur inbox