DoctaM3's Step 3 Prep & Strategy - doctam3

[ArchivalUser]

So many of you on here have asked me on various different posts on what my prep was amongst other questions ... and the answers are there but they're in different posts so it may be difficult to locate at times for others.

Figured to just make one simplified post for all querries about my prep and any other things.

Step 3 Prep:

Mid april 2013 - End August 2013
test dates: Aug 26 / 27
score report: Sept 18th, 2013

materials used (repetition #)
- MTB S3 (4x) .. central hub for all notes / comparisons went into this book
- Premier Review notes from 2009 (2x)
- Kaplan 2012 Step 3 Case study videos (2x) (similar to medQuest’s MTB video review course)
- Lange Q & A Step 3 (2x)
- Uworld qbank (2x) : 1st time: to get a control base of performance ~ 50% timed/mixed…near end of prep 2nd subscription for final review ~ Average: 68% timed / mixed
- Uworld CCS
- Archer CCS
(Also: for CCS, I had work colleagues constantly quiz me on random cases just so I can get in the habit of quick thinking on the spot.)
- USMLE Step 2 Secrets (just as an overview of facts)

Self assessments:
- NBME 2 : 580 = 240 (3 weeks before test day)
- NBME 3 : 670 = 252 (2 weeks before test day)
- UWorld : 254 (1 week before test day)

Actual score:
264

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For abstract / drug ad question strategy:
- marked them and saved them for the end if i had time left over.
- if time running out, i picked any random answer (no strategy)
- if time left over:.. read through the question and zoned in on the question being asked. If it was regarding a table, focused on that and tried to figure out what they were plotting or trying to graph / show and then solve the question that way. I never bothered to fully read the left side of the abstract question. Instead I just read the intro, the tables / graphs and their fine print and the results / conclusion at the bottom .. from that I did a best assessment of how to solve the question.

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Question Strategy:
- no memorizing (besides a few things that absolutely require it because they lack any sort of concept; eg: Asthma management protocols)
- understand the basic clinical concepts of what the question is actually asking and work backwards instead of forwards.
- question tackled in the reverse fashion instead of the common way of reading the q. stem first... 1) read answers to judge what kind of a q. stem it'll be and what to focus on in the stem. 2) read the question .. from those, figure out what needs to be read carefully and what doesnt / skim over to save time. 3) read the actual q. stem for only the relevant info.
- the above method worked for me on 95% of the questions on the actual test. (it may or may not work for others, test it out).

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if there are other questions, ask anytime.

[ArchivalUser]

Thank you , very good insight on the approach. I will try out the question strategy.

[ArchivalUser]

One question if I may: how well do we need to know current guidelines? New ones have come out for the mgmt of cholesterol etc (ATP 4), will we be expected to adhere to these vs the old ones?

[ArchivalUser]

you should know them just in case .. you never know what can be asked and what could be left out.

its always better to be safe than sorry

[ArchivalUser]

check up on USPTF's website regularly or check for recently published guidelines

like for eg: there's a new guideline that USPTF just put out recently in Dec. 2013 about lung cancer screening. You should know this since it poses a new test question that q.banks may or may not have included yet.

[ArchivalUser]

I prepared for step3 for 6-7 months.
Material used: step2ck Kaplan notes + uw-2 times
USA: 185
Nbme 2: 170
So I cancelled my exam and didn't took it.

Really devastated. Took break for two months. Now again started. Have read Kaplan step2ck again. But not satisfied. What other material should I use?? I have read mob but it is similar to step 2 ck Kaplan notes.
Your advice will be highly appreciated. Thanks.

[ArchivalUser]

Can u reply me about how m.y exam must have been? I m concerned about ccs. 8 cases i did almost accurate near perfection, two cases didn't improve though i did in good way, one case i just didn't do good like it was ac pyelonephritis and i forgt to do BC and UC. And changed antibiotic grom ceftriaxone to piperacillin. And one case just went in vain, as i did all hit and trial and was worsening and lastly i gave BZD at 19th min and just popped out saying pt feeling better. How will this ccs performance will yield the final result?

[ArchivalUser]

Hi doctam3, I really need your advice please on the below specific questions:

Background:
I am half way through MTB3 and have done Kaplan Live lectures. I have made notes from Kaplan into MTB3. I have not actually read all the Kaplan lectures notes but have read the supplemental cases and completed these.

I really want to do well on Step 3 and did CK 6-7 years ago. I have done the first Archer lecture video on Cardiology which is also excellent and very high yield and now feel maybe I should complete these even though they are time consuming.

I was initially planning on doing MTB Step 3 HY videos and MTB IM videos, but now feel I could skip the MTB Step 3 HY videos and do MTB IM videos instead. I am hoping this will really reinforce my IM knowledge. The Peds, ObGyn, surgery etc would be covered by MTB3, Kaplan and Archer lecture videos. I am running short of time.

I have not started CCS yet and my exam is in June and I am working full time.

Question 1:
Do you thing it would be okay to skip MTB Step 3 HY videos?

Question 2:
You mention Premier Review notes and I have seen some old notes and they are very detailed. My feeling is they cover a lot of cracks that MTB3 and other hight yield material miss. Do these provide you with a very strong foundation for understanding the medicine when answering questions in step 3? Are they a must?

If you are happy to exchange emails please let me know.

Thanks

[ArchivalUser]

Apologies for not responding back to all the posts on this thread... have been occupied with other things.

Will do so shortly to all posts.

[ArchivalUser]

@drdss ... while reading step 2 ck books is helpful to get a good base start, I would not rely on them. They should not be your primary source of reading material for the step 3. Instead, try MTB step 3 or as some have recently suggested in the forums: Next step in management (its a new book on amazon and people have great things to say thus far). The key step is do as many questions as you can as frequently as you can, from varied sources:
- possible sources include : uworld #1, kaplan q book, kaplan qbank, lange Q & A for step 3, 150 practice questions from usmle's website.
- another key thing to note : even if you dont fancy book reading, fine...but then understand thoroughly the explanations for every answer and every wrong answer for the questions you do. Frankly, I think knowing the wrong answers are more helpful than knowing why you got the question right (also important however) because knowing the wrong ones sets you up to possible score 3 or 4 additional questions on the real test.
- Lastly, know the concepts first before you can really understand the answer descriptions. If your grasp on your concepts is weak, it wont matter how many times you read the explanations.

- hope this helps.