- Step 1 maybe pass/fail in a couple years,
but until then, we still have numerical scoring.
So, it's important to crush Step 1.
And then, Step 2 is gonna become even more important.
So here's how I studied for both Step 1 and Step 2CK.
I want you guys to learn from what I did well,
but also from the mistakes I made
and what I would do differently.
(soft music)
We're gonna cover three components.
We're gonna go over resources, the schedule,
and the study strategy
for both Step 1, and then for Step 2.
So, Step 1,
I use the tried and true traditional UFAP Protocol,
not to be confused with NOFAP, which I also did.
UFAP is you UWorld, First Aid, and Pathoma,
and then I also added Sketchy, as well.
Now, in terms of schedule,
I began studying for step in September,
which is the beginning of my second year,
and I took step in April,
or end of April, of my second year.
At the beginning, I was mostly using First Aid and Pathoma,
and I would use it concurrently with my lectures.
So, if I was doing cards in lecture,
then I would look up cardiology in First Aid,
cardiology in Pathoma, and then study alongside.
I didn't start using UWorld until,
let's say, October or November.
And even then, I was doing like five questions a day,
five days a week or three days a week.
It wasn't much,
it was just a matter of me getting used
to the question style and the type,
rather than actually plowing through question blocks.
And I ramped up from there.
So, in January, that's when I was really hitting it hard.
And I was pretty much skipping lecture
for essentially the entire second year,
but I would still go to class or go to the school
and then study during class time
because sleeping in or studying at home,
I wouldn't be as focused and disciplined
to get those results that I wanted on Step.
And also, around January,
is when I completely stopped studying for my class exams.
I just focused on Step prep.
And, if you're competitive, like I am,
then you need to remind yourself
that it's not that important
to do well in your class exams that are pass fail,
you want to do better in Step.
So, your resources,
your energy is better allocated there.
By focusing just on Step prep
and not worrying about my classes,
I was still passing with a good margin,
definitely wasn't at the top,
but I was able to focus that energy
and do better on my Step 1 exam.
Now, I began my Dedicated period about five weeks out.
So, around the end of March is when I started Dedicated.
And that was a whole another process.
I have a video on the Med School Insiders channel
that you can check out.
Now, in terms of study strategy,
obviously, active learning is key.
Now, before slamming through those UWorld blocks,
I was using a lot of First Aid and Pathoma
and studying with my good friend Amit Pandey,
who you guys did see in previous Day in the Life videos.
And, we would just Feynman technique with each other.
We'd be teaching each other simple terms,
using the whiteboard, really effective.
I've gone over how to use that technique
on the Med School Insiders channel.
Spaced repetition is also, of course, crucial,
and I was using Anki from September
all the way until Dedicated.
Now, I actually stopped using Anki, for the most part,
during Dedicated, because I was so focused on just UWorld.
If I could do it again,
I would have started my Uworld blocks a few, you know,
a week or two earlier,
so that I could have kept up with my Anki practice
throughout Dedicated.
The only thing I used Anki for during Dedicated,
was actually microbiology,
which brings us to Sketchy.
Now, Sketchy was super clutch
in helping me through microbiology.
Memorization is not really my strength.
And, that's a big part of why obsess so much
over memory techniques,
and I make all these videos about
how to memorize more information more effectively,
because in medical school,
a lot of it comes down to memorization.
And I didn't actually schedule time
to watch Sketchy videos.
What I would do is I would watch one or two videos
while I was eating lunch,
or while I was eating dinner,
and it was more enjoyable that way.
I would sometimes take notes,
and then I would take a screenshot of the final,
the ending of the video,
put it into Anki,
and then, I would review those
every time I was quizzing myself on a microbiology concept.
Now, Sketchy has since expanded and improved their products,
so you don't have to do Genki Anki card thing that I did.
But, we'll get to that later.
Now, Step 2CK is an entirely different animal than Step 1,
for a few reasons.
First of all, in your preclinical years,
a lot of schools now are pass/fail.
In your clinical rotations,
you get a grade.
You get honors, high pass, pass,
or, depending on what your school is,
some variation of that.
And, doing well on your shelf exams
is going to be a big part of your final clerkship grades.
Preparing well for your shelf is also very important
for setting a good foundation for Step 2CK.
So, in your preclinical years,
if you don't optimize for class,
you optimize for Boards,
you'll probably do better on your Boards,
but, with the shelf exams,
they are very representative of what's gonna be on your
actual Step 2CK exam.
And lastly, you generally have a much shorter time period
to study for Step 2CK.
Most students, around three to four weeks.
Now, the actual specific resources
for each during your third year,
kind of beyond the scope of this video,
but I generally stuck to the tried and true resources.
So, Step-Up to Medicine for medicine,
and then Pre Test, Case Files, things like that
for the other rotations.
And, of course, UWorld was huge staple
in studying for all my clerkships.
Now, the key, the main difference was how I used Anki.
I started with medicine
and I had one Anki deck, just Step 2CK,
and I put all my medicine Anki cards into that deck
and I just reviewed it.
And then, when I started surgery,
I added surgery cards to that same deck.
Because of Anki's algorithm,
those cards would mature,
but I would still have them relatively fresh in mind,
I wouldn't have forgotten them.
So, by the time Step 2CK rolls around,
you've already been reviewing
all the content from your entire third year.
Now, in terms of schedule and study strategy,
again, active recall, spaced repetition, practice problems,
those are your core fundamentals.
The key to crushing your clinical rotations
is all about efficiency,
because you need to be spending time and effort
in the hospital, helping out your team with patient care,
but then you also need to be studying
and looking at Board prep materials
to do well on your shelf exam.
Now, I was ruthless in this regard.
For example, ortho.
I would have to go in around 3:30 or four, pre-round,
get the list ready before the intern
or the other residents would come in.
And, sometimes I would finish early.
I would get my phone out,
of course, I have the Anki app,
and just plow through cards.
Similarly, if I'm in the operating room,
and you help get the patient ready for surgery,
but then you're waiting for someone or something,
which often happens in the OR,
then again, phone out and just plow through Anki cards.
So, this meant that each and every day,
I was able to get through most of my Anki cards
before I even got home from the hospital.
Now, I took a little bit over three weeks
to study for Step 2CK during my Dedicated period.
And I took it right after finishing my third year.
I generally focused on doing Anki cards and doing UWorld.
And then, I started doing my incorrects on UWorld.
Now, at the beginning of Dedicated period,
I actually took a practice test,
and it was mid 260s.
And then, later on,
I eventually took the real thing and got high 260s.
And, I think a big part of that
was laying a solid foundation
by doing well on shelf
and doing a lot of Anki cards
for the duration of third year.
And, of course, my daily schedule for the day-to-day
wasn't as hardcore as Step 1,
but I was still definitely doing those reps.
Now, when I was studying for Step 2,
I was still watching my Sketchy micro videos
and looking at my Anki cards
that I made from Sketchy micro,
even though that was designed for Step 1.
But now, you guys are in luck,
because they're rolling out
a whole suite of videos to help you guys out
with Step 2CK.
They currently have SkecthyIM.
And, on March 11th,
Sketchy ultimate level two bundle with Surgery and Peds
is officially released.
Now, if this resource was available
when I was studying for Step 2CK,
I would have definitely used it.
It's not gonna be a replacement
for high yield resources like Uworld, obviously,
but it is a very powerful supplement.
Watching Sketchy videos while you eat
is, obviously, a very efficient use of your time.
That's what I was doing with Step 1
and what I would recommend with Step 2, as well,
or with your shelf exams.
It's not Game of Thrones,
but it's definitely way more entertaining
than other content review videos out there.
And, because it's highly visual,
and because of the narration,
it's still high yield just watching along,
you don't have to take notes.
In fact, they actually take care of that part for you.
So, once you're done with the video,
you can actually see the review sheet
and review each concept in chronological order.
And, if you wanna quiz yourself,
you can turn off the symbols
and then incorporate
some of that sweet, sweet active recall.
I've watched a few of their Step 2 videos,
like the intussusception, under Peds section,
and cardiac tamponade, under Surgery section,
and these videos are going to help you remember details
that you would otherwise forget.
But, you do need to remember,
you have to watch the video a couple times
and definitely review the sheets at the end.
You're not gonna magically remember everything, you know,
all 50 concepts, just from watching a 20 minute video once.
Now, the cool thing
is they also incorporate clinical vignettes,
which is, obviously, much more appropriate for Step 2
and for your clinical rotations.
And, they also link to other differential diagnoses
that are separate videos.
So, for example, on the cardiac tamponade video,
or on the review sheet,
they actually link to the tension pneumothorax video,
because, I mean, let's be real,
that's gonna show up on your actual test day
and you don't want to mix those two things up.
If you wanna check out the Sketchy ultimate two bundle,
use the coupon code MSI15 for 15% off your subscription.
If you buy now, during the presale,
they will also throw in one month free
on your six or 12-month subscription.
Check out the link in the description to learn more.
All right guys, that is it for this video.
Good luck studying.
Much love to you all.
And I will see you guys in the next one.
(soft music)