| |
USMLE Step 2
| Step 2 is similar in format to Step 1, but is more clinically oriented. The
exam is actually 1 section longer than Step 1, but each section has 46 instead
of 50 questions so you have a little bit more time to answer each question. The
exam consists of questions from the 3rd year clinical rotations, as well as
selected surgical subspecialties, neurology, emergency medicine, and a little
radiology. Most people have not had all of these rotations prior to Step 2 so it
is important to read a review book for these topics.
Popular study aids include:
 | First Aid for the USMLE Step 2 by Le, Amin, Bhushan, and Choo.
Similar in format to its Step 1 counterpart but lacking in surgery topics. A
good start for studying.
|
| Boards and Wards by Ayala and Spellberg. This book contains an
outline style review of the pertinent topics to Step 2. It also contains a lot
of radiographic images. Some people swear by this book.
|
| Crush Step 2 by Brochert. This book contains a more text-based
approach to studying for Step 2. If this is your style, you may like this
book. The author maintains "If you know all of the concepts in this book, you
should do much better than pass USMLE Step 2: You should CRUSH STEP 2!" It's
hard to argue with that logic.
|
| Prescription for the Boards USMLE Step 2 by Miroiu, Feibusch, and
Bader is another popular text-based book.
|
| NMS Review for USMLE Step 2 is a very solid question book. It has
900 questions (broken into 5, 180-question exams) with excellent, detailed
explanations. The only knock on this book is that it is from 1999 and some of
the question styles may not be applicable to the current exam. Most of the
questions are still valid and very challenging.
|
| Kaplan Q-bank is also used by many students for Step 2. Word is
that Q-bank is not as good for Step 2 as it was for Step 1. It does offer you
computer based practice and has good explanations, though. Many students
choose the NMS questions over Q-bank, but that must be an individual decision.
|
| Blueprints series has books on every topic covered in Step 2. Some
students found that reviewing these books helped tremendously for Step 2, but
others just didn't have the time to read them again. These books all contains
USMLE Step 2 style questions, which may be a bonus for you. Again, it will be
a personal decision based on time and amount of effort you want to put into
Step 2. |
|
Resources:
|
