Took Step 2 CK yesterday. The questions are very long, not all of them but, they mix it so that by the time you are in the 43rd question you only get like 5 min or so. If you read fast, that will be an advantage for you because I did correct some of the incorrect I had on a second look at the questions (I verified this). I can't say if I changed a correct one but, I hope not. There are syndromes, but only few questions about them. It is an exam that tests what you know, but in a way that you might get it wrong. Some were pretty straight forward, but others had an M. Night Shyamalan twist. It could help to look at the answers first so it gives you an idea about what you need to be thinking about.

I am really glad I bought UW because it has very high yield topics that were heavily tested in my exam. UW is great and it will help you a lot. I did bought Kaplan and used about 15% and stopped using it because it's questions were too hard and tricky, I felt like they were made to get them wrong and not to learn. When you read the questions in world you learn the presentation of patients. There was some low yield stuff, but if you read carefully you can guess them if you don't know them. I did NBME 4 before starting to study and UWSA 2 days before the real exam. I did pretty well on both but, I don't know how accurate they are. If you guys want, after I receive my scores or whenever, I'll post the books I used for studying and how my score compared to the UWSA and NBME4.
edited by LuSu24262130 on 7/21/2011

hello ...i need ur advice plz...
i m a foreign medical graduate..done with step 1 .ck in september & cs in november(11th).with these dates should i go for ERAS REgstration for 2012match.
also while registering at ERAS ,they ask like"do u need visa sponsorship via ECFMG J 1 Program or any teaching hospital to participate in residency program"shud it b answered yes ,,no or uncertain..
plz i need ur valuable advice...[/quote]

I don't think I am capable to help you with this. I am a 3rd year medical student and I don't have a deep understanding of ERAS myself. Sorry, I am not of help. What I can say is that with those dates, CK on sept and CS on nov you might be able to apply to ERAS match 2012, but that's all I know. I am sorry.

Hello,
Glad to know that you are willing to help. Let us now waht material you used. And how much time does one need to read and prepare for step 2 (..I took about 5-5.5 mnths for step 1).
Thanks again and good luck for your score.

Hi!
The materials I used during my studies were:
-IM: NMS Medicine casebook (the best) there are some errors in it, but I think they are easy to spot and correct.
-High Yield OB/GYN
-BRS Peds
-UW Biostatistics subject review
-Kaplan Pestana Notes (not on it's entirety, I think Recall is better but, it has too long for Step 2 CK studies.)
-First Aid Psychiatry + DMS IV criteria and psy drugs from Psy Case Files
-UW

I had 6 wks from end of classes to my Step 2 CK. The only subject I could not review was Neuro. I think the perfect time, with the books I used would be around 8 wks. 2 wks more and I would have read Neuro, Pestana completely and had at least 1 wk to review my weaknesses and had 2 days to repeat at least 100 questions from each UW subject.

Maybe it sounds like a lot, but some of those books I had already read them during my third year. I think is very important to have a week to review the areas of low performance or areas that you recognized you should take a 2nd look.

I hope this helps.

I think you should give a try, with your plan you will be eligible for NRMP 2012. Just keep in mind to apply to programs which don't require you to have your ECFMG certificate in hand during the interview cox with your plan you will get your ECFMG certificate only in JAN probably.

If your an IMG you will require visa sponsorship via ECFMG J 1 Program or any teaching hospital H1 to participate in residency program" unless you already have a working visa or residing in US.

Hey Thanks for replying . Honestly I hav'nt heard about before about many of these books. Maybe you are an AMG. I am an FMG nd was hoping that id go through kaplan notes once and then focus on u-world q bank and Yale Gs review (its a new book and has some extremely good reviews). What do you suggest. Tc

I haven't seen the book from Yale-Gs for myself. I saw the reviews and it was well reviewed. If you can buy it I say go for it and judge it yourself. As for Kaplan Notes, I have 2 friends that used them and I think that they both did great in Step 2 (99s). Also one of my classmates, who is also my friend, used them and he said they were very helpful. I would have used Kaplan for Step 2 CK, but I did not wanted to spend anymore so I used what I had. From what I've heard, I think it is very possible to get a 99 if you use Kap Notes, UW and Yale-Gs if you had a good performance during your first 3 years of medschool. I have seen the Step 1 Kaplan Notes and they seemed very complete, I did not used them because it was impossible for me to read all those books in 8wks. If Step 2 Notes are made with the same dedication, they should be very complete. To get a great score you need a "NO subject left behind" attitude towards this exam.