hey guys, the nightmare is finally over. step 3 is a tough exam. please take it very seriously. i studied for 1.5 months only and scored 230. not a great score but decent enough (i am just happy to finish USMLE). Few tips for the beginners :
1. u world is the key. do it at least twice.
2. MTB + conrad fisher's ccs + kaplan ethics . that's all you need. please do not read elaborate books. there is no time, besides step 3 tests your background knowledge and common sense. If you prepared well for step 1 and 2, this should be easy.
3. Uworld ccs is the best. I did not use archer's notes. Do not miss the read outs. Make flowcharts or algorithms to guide your thought process. Also do practice the 6 ccs cases on fred v2 software. The 8 min cases are the hardest. They test your approach and presence of mind. Do not panic if the cases don't end. some cases are designed that way.
4. Finally take both the mock tests nbme and uwsa. The real exam is no where close to any of the mock tests however uwsa is a good predictor of your score.
5. Gap between two exams should not exceed 1 week. You kinda lose the drive to study after the first exam.

set a time limit. donot exceed 3 months of preparation. 6 months is unnecessary and a waste of time. Good luck to you all. learn to relax because its your presence of mind that is being tested. do not lose your cool.
edited by on 7/28/2016

Thank you!!! and Congratulations!

thank you
congrats

Hello, Congratulations for passing with such a good score. I need some help regarding guidance to study for step 3. I used all the materials you mentioned, did Uworld 3-4 times with all explanations, UW CCS practiced all cases three times and UWSA was 217 but I did not passed the exam. Is there any better way to prepare or do u see anything I can improve for my exam. On actual exam day, I think I was balanced and cool, not over stressed. Do u think I should try Kaplan question bank as I remember most of the Uworld questions by now.

Appreciate your help.
Thnaks

So after a lot of praying, got a pass on the exam!
It is not one of the easiest exams and sharing my advise just because all the blogs and thread did help me during my prep time and I feel I must write back and contribute:
1. Prepare for at least 2 months.
2. MTB step 3 is an absolute must. If you have basic understanding of medicine (which you should, given the fact that you are writing step 3)
3. Read that book as many times as possible. You must remember the text in bold. They are potential questions. Believe me or not, but they are!!!
4. Do your Uworld as many times as possible. That is a must but you may try to skim through MTB once before you dive into Uworld.
5. No other material is actually needed.
6. Bio stats is crazzzyyyy important. Cant stress this enough. I felt after the first day that I will fail because I messed up my biostats. Do that from U world. No need to buy the separate subscription but just the questions. Try to do them in timed mode because time is an issue in the actual exam where each block can have two drug ad questions.
7. CCS: Very very important. I passed because I did borderline well on that( MCQs I was borderline to low). So it does matter.
8. Subscribe to the Archer lectures. Listen to the videos once before diving in to the Uworld CCS. You ,must buy CCS from Uworld because you need to dominate software.
9. ALL my CCS cases finiushed in like 4 minutes, be it 20 min cases or the 10 min cases. I didn't know what to do and I did panic a bit, but I was like whatever I know I am doin it right since there is no wrong way to manage status asthmaticus. Don't panic in exam if your cases are ending beyond time. It means you are doing really well or you are really going opposite to what you are supposed to do.
10. Lastly, don't go mad. Just an exam and take it like that!

Best,
HG

Thanks HG. and congrats.

not sure if repeating uworld mcq is a must for everyone, some people remember the questions and select the right answer based on that, in which case, i'd opt out for another qbank.
wouldn't hurt to redo all wrong cases, but again, scores based on that should be taken with a huge grain of salt