P.A.B.L.E.X.....How to Pass CS on 3rd Attempt!!! - md4now

[ArchivalUser]

VERY HONEST OPINION from 2nd attempt PASSER at philly.

Took CS 1st time at Philly in May '09

Fresh off passing scores from Step 1 & CK. Studied for 5 mths straight only with USMLEWORLD + FA . Finished FA + UW atleast 5 times. Memorized neeraj pneumos. FAILED in ICE section cuz of poor data gathering (hx + PE) & piss poor well below ave for Pt Notes. ran out of time atleast 7 out of 12 cases both for 15 mins encounter & 10 min PT Notes. didnt practice with anyone. always typed PN. wrote full sentences that killed me. could not organize DDx & Work Up like I wanted to. It was a disaster. Very pissed seeing my result.

Now completely broke. Borrowed $1200. registered in June. Got the date for Nov '09. I was in redemption mode. took june & July off. Set Aug-Sept-Oct for CS study.

1st thing I did!!!! Threw away FA for long long time. Stayed far away from UW subscription forever.

Went to UMDNJ Book store. Picked up 2 Books. Kaplan 35 CS Cases Book & Kaplan Complex Cases for CS Book as I barely had $80 for books.

Started studying from Aug 10 as I had 3 mths which was lot of time. Red Intro from Both Kaplan books like 6-7 times. Underlined it. Did Both Books over & over & over again atleast 6-7 times. A week B4 the exam, subscribe to CSEvideos.

Looking at my CS result 2nd attempt. I see the difference. cuz I duplicated the exact format for PN Kaplan bullet style. I got very high performance for PN so that really lifted my ICE score.

Kaplan complex cases book helped me a lot cuz I had atleast 3 complex cases on exam & I knew exactly what to do. Kaplan complex cases were much harder than actual exam so I was prepared lot better.

FA is very shallow book for CS. It lacks depth & you end up depending too much on minicases which happened to me on 1st attempt & combine that with UW which does not explain anything but just tells you to just do it. NOT a good combo. Both I found real waste of time.

Kaplan both books. Tells you exactly how & why. & its PN section is da best ever particularly for basic cases. I just duplicated exactly as I typed PN in exam. worked big time. Thank god.

Please, take a break for 2 mths. You need to clear your head. & b4 spending another 1200, please go to your local book store & pick up atleast 1 out of 2 kaplan book & start reading. You'll see a huge difference.

[ArchivalUser]

I really appreciate the time you took to explain all this to me. Thank you so much. I will follow your advice. And I hope to post better news in the future. Thank you Md4now.

[ArchivalUser]

congrats on your success.
can you please guide me for writing patient note. I failed in it previously . My exam is in one month but still not confident about PN. PLZ. HELP ME

[ArchivalUser]

yea, I agree with Kaplan stuff.
complex cases is best book for CS. it has short sentences which are easy to remember esp for IMGs. and PNs are also well explained.

[ArchivalUser]

thank u so much for your advise cause I just started fa...a wk ago ...so I now will switch to kaplan.........thanx

[ArchivalUser]

do u know any sources of cheap prices for kaplan cs books ???

[ArchivalUser]

meduploader

agreed bro. that kaplan complex cases book maybe the best ever for CS. In the beginning, I hated it cuz of its multiple complex cases. It really slowing me down at 1st 2 readings. At that point I wanted to give it up. Cuz 1st month of studying, I really got used to Kaplan regular 35 cases CS book & started lovin it too. Just wanted to suppliment FA at this point. I am so glad I didnt looking back.

Instead I opened up complex cases CS book like 1.5 mths left for the exam. I appreciated it once I went over it like 3rd time like 15 days left for the exam. then I realized that they want you to know indepth Hx & PE wise when pt presents with multiple complaints. what the hell are you suppose to do exactly. what order you should do it. how to do it.

With just a wk for the exam, I totally depended on Kap complex cases CS & started supplimenting Kap 35 cases CS book & CSEvideos. Opened up FA a day b4 exam. zoomed over it at 1 go, Just wanted to get the CIS section down.

Looking back Complex Cases is da best CS book ever if you can master it. followed by Kaplan 35 cases CS book which is terrific. combo of both virtually guarantees you passing score in ICE (Hx+PE+PN) section of CS exam. Area where I really flanked my 1st attempt.

[ArchivalUser]

Munnve

Best format of PN is in Kaplan regular 35 cases CS book. Cost you about $40 at bookstore nearest you. Its a point to point PN in bullet style format for all 35 most basic cases you'll ever see. memorize that format including words. type it like 5 times a day on your laptop like I did. & duplicate the exact format on actual CS exam.

I cannot guarantee you if you'll pass ICE section for sure cuz lot depends on your data gathering (50%):Hx & PE. But 1 thing I assure you, YOU WILL NOT FAIL ICE BECAUSE OF PN ALONE. impossible. cuz your PN will be more towards "higher performance" area.

[ArchivalUser]

different strokes for different folks..i think it was ur experience rather than the books that made the difference!

everybody does UW and FA. I did ONLY FA...and i did grrreat thank God. almost everyone who passes the exam reads the same, so it's kind of misleading to advise against those resources. What's more important is to have an idea of how to speak to the patient and manage ur time, the key to which is PRACTISE, PRACTISE, PRACTISE! In the PROPER way!!!

[ArchivalUser]

Dear samomcos

partly agreed. bro, I will never ask anyone never to use FA & UW specially for 1st timers. I used both myself for 5 mths straight for 1st CS attempt. I am an old caribbean grad 6 yrs ago. I am also an ave student couldnt even break 83 in both steps.

After taking the exam, I felt CS exam was difficult in time management & writing PN.

This post is specifically for PABLEX who has already attempted CS 2wice. NOT FOR THE 1st TIMER. obviously for PABLEX, FA & UW may not have worked like my 1st attempt but worked perfectly for you. Like you said different strokes for different folks.

I just dont want Pablex to give up on CS without trying Kapaln CS books which has more depth & explains lot better clearly. He might just pass CS on 3rd attempt because he'll be more efficient in writing PN.

I personally believe nobody deserves to not pass CS. Its a stupid exam that only test your NERVES under pressure cooker situation which has nothing to do with how smart you are or how high your IQ is.