How I scored 259 on USMLE Step 2CK.

MY STEP 2Ck Experience by Dr. Tariq Hassan

I begin this in the Name Of Allah Almighty, The Most Benificent and Merciful.

ASSESSMENTS

Nbme 6- 258 (2 months before exam)

Nbme 4- 260 (1 months before)

Uwsa1 - 265 ( 7 days before)

Nbme 7- 235 (5 days before)

Uwsa 2 -255 (2 days before)

Real Score - 259

Test date- 26 july 2017

Result date - 6 sept 2017

Step 1 score -244(6 dec 2016)

STUDY SOURCES:

1) Medicine(mtb 2 with lecs)
2) paeds (kaplan with lecs)
3) Gyn/Obs (kaplan with lecs)
4) Psych, surgery (mtb plus uw2 + FA for step 1 for Psych)

5) Uw step 2

6)CMS forms all including neuro
7) FA step 1 go through all systems plus biochem, pharma, immuno and other important topics atleast once during CK preparation.
😎 Biostat( UW + step 1 notes+ FA step 1)
9) uworld step 1 (my notes)

I took my step 1 on 16 nov 2016, and started prep in the last week of December for my CK. Bought 6 months subscription for UW nd started doing subject and system wise (untimed). Although i had done my step 1 before, but still i found completing one block of uw in one hour really hard. Almost took me 1:15 hr to complete one block nd then another 3-4 hours to review nd take notes.
Since i had my tempo built up from step 1 so would do one block of uworld daily (subject and system wise) and did same subject nd chapter from text book which i mentioned above for relevant subjects. That took me around 2 months to cover. Doing textbook was easier, it was UW that took more time. And after first read i did another round of UW, this time doing2-3 blocks a day(timed, random) plus reading textbook or my UW notes which i took from first read. This took another month and i still had some weak concepts in certain things. But i took nbme 6 after 2nd go nd got 258 which helped boost my energy.

I reset my Uw for 2nd time now nd went for 3rd read of uw, working on my shortcomings nd simultaneously revising the stuff already memorized.
In between i started doing CMS forms which, blv me, are really important if u want a good score. Quite a lot of the questions or concepts were repeated from them in my exam (i dont remember them now exactly though)

During my 3rd go of UW i took nbme 4(260). Nd i repeated my entire routine of UW , textbook and UW notes. Keep revising UW notes until they become your reflex. Took uwsa1 got a great score(and since i knew it overpredicts, i was quite happy that i got 260+ on that) nd 1 day after that took nbme 7(wierdest of all self assessments , it was more wierd than difficult), got a low score in it but i had my mind prepared for that too. Nd then came uwsa2(which is said to be the closest predictor of exam score).
255 was pretty decent score one could hope for in this assessment nd since i took that only 2 days before exam, it had to go well to keep my morale up and Alhamdulillah Alhamdulillah it did. Nd in the last 2 days i went through uw step 1 nd step 2 notes nd relaxed.

EXAM DAY:

The night before exam i went to bed at 10, put my headfones on nd started a sleep hypnosis audio on youtube nd within half hour i was fast asleep. Got up at 5 am for Prayer and went back for a one hour nap again. Finally got up took a shower, breakfast and a beta blocker(coz my palpitations were out of control)
I had a good night sleep on exam night and 2-3 days before so i was quite fresh that day. Exam started at 9 am and the very first block was so difficult plus the stress of exam was at its peak but Alhamdulillah it got easier as i relaxed myself.

I did first 2 blocks without any break nd all rest with a toilet break after each, just to move around nd frshen up. Keep eating or drinking during these breaks. I took a 20 min break for lunch and Prayer.

Exam was more or less like a love child between nbme 7 and uwsa 2. It was difficult as uwsa 2 and wierd as nbme 7. I would go through the entire BLock in about 30 mins nd attempt 20-25 qs in one go (coz most of the questions were really easy) nd the remaining time i would spend on marked/unattempted questions.(my advise, dont waste time on question u know that u womt know the answer to no matter how hard u try, instead , try doing that which u can get with less effort first).

All of the blocks were well balanced. None was entirely easy or entirely difficult. I got abstract in block 3 nd it had 38 qs in entire block nd those all were quite small and easy so i had around 15 mins in the end of that block to review marked question nd to do the abstract qs. But it was so difficult that no matter how carefully i read , i couldnt figure out the answer so i didnt waste much time on that nd took random educated guesses.

I had 2 auscultation qs(both were really simple), 3-4 ecgs and 3-4 x rays, 4-5 images, and 1 ultrasound picture(which i knew jack about).

In summary i would say that exam was Doable, timing was really not an issue(which i had feared that most) , each block was perfectly designed so u had enough time for most of the difficult questions after solving the easy ones.
Uworld and CMS forms should be your primary study sources and if u do step 1 before CK it would be of great help coz quite a lot of qs are based on that knowledge.

MY ADVICE:

1) Make Uworld your primary source. Do it atleast 3 times before taking exam. It is the best source for CK out there. Exam is very difficult but most of the questions are doable with UW knowledge directly or by slight extrapolation.

2) In first read of Uw, just focus on taking notes of all things wether u consider them important or not, wether u can memorize all of that at once or not, just write them down nd go through them daily, u will automatically memorize thm. coz blv me when i tell u, if its in UW, its important. And with every next read revise old things while adding on new things which u missed in first read.

3)do CMS forms carefully, use them as learning tool rather than assessments.

4) take self assessments with real honesty and with a good preparation as u would a real exam.

5) take atleast 1 day off per week. Relax, watch movieS, hang out with family and friends.

Have a good night sleep before exam. Relax, everyone can do it. Pray to Lord Almighty for His Help, coz there is no one except Him who can.

Although i didnt participated much in the group but i was kind of a silent spectator nd this group was really helpful for doing CMS forms nd also ramdom stuff, plus watching ppl eagerly studying kept me motivated and Alhamdulillah Alhamdulillah i cant be more happy abt my score.
Thank u everyone.

I would be more than happy to answer anyone of your questions if i missed something in my experience. Take care. Work hard and you will be rewarded اِنشااللہ.

By Dr. Tariq Hassan

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'Dr. Tariq Hassan, a graduate of 2015, is a shining aimcite who has attained dozens of distinctions and honors in his academic career at AIMC. We congratulate him for such an amazing score on USMLE Step 2 CK and wish him the best for the residency match. We hope that this step wise guide will make the process easier for the juniors. For any questions please go ahead and contact us.'

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