USMLE Step 2 CK Experience – 261 – Amir Ali
Amr Ali (Egypt) – September 2015 – 261
261 CK Experience:
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I’m done with step 1 in April 2015 .. scored 248 Thanks to Allah
Result of step 1 was in 29/4/2015
That’s of course had a positive impact on my CK
Start preparing for Step 2 CK in 1/5/2015
exam taken in 20/9/2015
Total prep time 4.5 months Approx. (divided into 5 phases)
Average 7-8 hours of studying daily
Prep Material:
*KAPLAN notes in all subjects (twice)& videos in OB/GYN only.
* MTB for Step 2 ck (IM) + MTB for Step 3 (The rest). used it as the main
source of studying.
* UW 2012 offline + online
*TIKI TAKA Notes
*Comprehensive Cases By Conrad Fischer.
* KAPLAN QBOOK (NOT QBANK)
*MedQuest Internal Medicine Board Review Course 2013-2014
Phase 1 = 2 months. (5 & 6 /2015)
*KAPLAN notes in all subjects (twice)& videos in OB/GYN only.
* MTB for Step 2 ck (IM) + MTB for Step 3 (The rest). used it as the main
source of studying.
* UW 2012 offline. used it to get general idea about questions with little
information added to MTBs
*TIKI TAKA Notes
Phase 2 = 1 months + 10 days (till 10/8/2015)
*KAPLAN notes for the 3rd time in all subjects.
* MTB for Step 2 ck (IM) + MTB for Step 3 (The rest) for the 2nd time.
*TIKI TAKA Notes
*MedQuest Internal Medicine Board Review Course 2013-2014
with the superstar Conrad Fischer
It used mainly for IM board review .. but it is also useful for CK as well
Phase 3 = 1 month. (till 10/9/2015)
* MTB for Step 2 ck (IM) + MTB for Step 3 (The rest) for the 3rd time.
*UW Online for 1 month / timed random / 2 blocks x 44 Qs daily =done in 25 days
Marked evrey wrong – difficult – easy with a lot of concepts or good tabels = 450 questions
finshed the marked questions in the 5 days of my subscribtion.
cumulative performance after this online round= 84 %
most important .. I did in CK as step 1 .. used MTBs as the main review
book (First aid in step 1) .. and filled it with a lot of info from UW
*Comprehensive Cases By Conrad Fischer. finished most of it
* KAPLAN QBOOK (NOT QBANK) Used it to releave my eye from laptop
screen only .. and to fill gaps in my time of freedom .. do it if you have free time and do uw twice 1st al least
Phase 4 = 10 days (till 20/9/2015 = exam date)
* MTB for Step 2 ck (IM) + MTB for Step 3 (The rest) for the 4th and last
time.
Exam day:
woke up at 6.00 a.m. .. had a cup of coffee ..
Started the exam after testing headphones then skipped tutorial (tried it at home).
timeline:
Block 1 & 2 >> 10 minutes rest >> Block 3 & 4 >> 25 minutes rest with
launch & coffee & aldohr prayer >> Block 5 >> 7 minutes rest >> Block 6 >> 7 minutes rest >> Block 7 >> 7 minutes rest >> Block 8
Exam in general is midway between easy & hard .. most WTF Qs for me
was on hospital manegment & pain manegment .. didn’t prepar well for them really good .. so I answered them with guess and by exclusion
Biostat .. direct questions in most .. Step 1 helped in that a lot
No drug ads .. one review article with kinda good questions
I didn’t take any NBME – UWSA ( why?)
well I busted my a$$ in this prepration by reading kaplan 3 times (not wise
idea by the way – once is enough) + MTB 4 times (that’s good .. especially if you integrate UW with it) + UW twice .. so if I was weak in a certain what
can I do more to improve in it .. that is my maximum.
this strategy can’t be generalized however .. you have to suit your own style.
In my last week of prep. a member posted a link for “Clinical Mastery
Series” .. though I didn’t use it coz I was short in time .. also there is no
official key answers .. and most important no official detail explanations for
the answer which is most important thing when you answer any QBANK ..
the same apply to NBME – UWSA .
ECG + CXR + Sounds >> Step 1 helped + UW online
One simple Request:
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Pray for me to get the visa for CS exam .. I’ve been refused once .. so pray to get next time please.
Last Advises:
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– If u had to choose () which step to start with .. go with step 1 .. I strongly recommend that .. it will make CK much easier .. and get you high scores.
– Make you own style of studying .. we are different .. there is no ideal study plan.
– Devote you whole time – health for USMLE & Scarify a lot if you want high scores .. there is no easy way to get these scores
– Sharing is caring .. as people help you .. you have to help others back
I used to read a lot of experiences to get motivations and expand my knowledge in preparation .. so once you get you result .. good or bad .. share your experience
– A lot of questions here in this group is really hard .. don’t judge yourself with them .. sometimes I get some frustration when I try to solve some questions here.
So that is the end of my experience .. I hope it helps you .. good luck in your prep.
See you in CS group soon.
*** STEP 1 EXPERIENCE IS ATTACHED A FILE TO THIS POST ALSO
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