Hey guys,
I got my score report for Step 2 CS and I passed! I have been thinking long and hard about what to write on here and I figured, people have bunch of advice on what to do, but it’s just as important to know what NOT to do…
Don’t wait until the last 2 weeks before the exam to practice! I did that the first time around and had to push back the exam date. NOT fun!!
Don’t take it lightly. I agree it’s a very doable exam but if you take it lightly, you’re subconsciously not going to remember the important points. Plus it’s worse if you fail such a ‘doable’ exam!
Don’t just practice with a study partner, it helps tremendously to practice with someone who has taken and passed the exam! Because they know what they did right and what they messed up on. Learn from their mistakes!
You don’t have to do all the cases in FA. I didn’t. By the time I got to case 30, I realized that if you have your own algorithm down, you can tackle any case. History: Pain: LIQOFPARAA (I kept forgetting Frequency, so I had to stick it in there). Other symptom: DOC FA PAA (again, frequency!) ROS: THEN FR CS PUB SAWED. PAMHUGSFOSS One of my friends told me to ask, “do you have pain anywhere right now?” It's like a blanket question, covers any region you may have missed.
I didn’t take any courses. You don’t have to, but if I had, I would’ve definitely felt more confident on test day.
On the day of the exam, as soon as I read the patient info, I quickly came up with at least 2 possible Differential diagnoses and wrote them down. In case I lost track, I could go back to the DDx and fine tune them.
Don’t talk to SPs as if it’s a business meeting; believe me that tone can set in without you even knowing because you’re so stressed. Talk to him or her as if one of your friends came in with a health concern. But remember to BE PROFESSIONAL and courteous. What helped me the most was pretending that these patients were real, (tried real hard to ignore the gigantic glass window!) and forgetting that you’re taking a test. That helped me relax and focus on my questions. Most importantly SPs need to see that.
There’s only one thing (well, one thing times 3) I can say about the patient note: PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE!!