Dear Doctor, Please allow me to introduce myself. I am Dr Mary June, Author of the 5 star rated ‘Target USMLE Step 2 CS Handbook’ and Co-author of the First Aid Book for the USMLE Step 2 CS (3rd edition). I have been training students since 2009 for the Step 2 CS exam from across many countries. I founded Target USMLE (www.targetusmle.com) to help students during their CS Prep and am proud to say we have thousands of successful students over the years, maintaining a 99% pass rate. ‘ I want to share with you 7 'MUST KNOWS' ABOUT USMLE STEP 2 CS EXAM’ 1. This exam is VERY EASY to PASS but VERY EASY to FAIL as well. I have had exceptionally bright students with good medical knowledge and acumen fail it more than once! So know your cards before you play the game. It ruins your chances at interviews for residency if you have an attempt or two. Not to mention its expensive one too. 2. The CS exam is a unique exam where exam taking STRATEGIES UNDER TIME PRESSURE is more important than actually preparing on the content of the exam. You need to have an ORGANIZED MIND to execute flawlessly. 3. Step 2 CS exam preparation is a PROCESS. There is NO QUICK FIX! You may be able to cram the First Aid material in a day or two or even a week but to imbibe it, make it your own and to execute on the real exam day – that is a totally different ball game! 4. You – You ALONE are going to take the exam and manage your time and your thoughts, what you have to ask, perform and type. You need to get your act together and ensure any coaching class or tutor makes YOU CONFIDENT at the end of the training period. Not in a group but individually. Believe me! You will know it when YOU are READY. 5. DON’T MOCK YOURSELF my taking a mock exam BEFORE you are actually ready! If you don’t know how to go about one case correctly in the right methodology you will land up just doing the motions without ensuring you are on the right track. Take a mock only to check if you can change gears from one case to another effortlessly in a time effective manner. Of course a few things here and there every student forgets but I am talking about the MAIN COURSE here! The bread and butter of passing ICE – Data Gathering & Patient note. Most students seek our help after they have failed when we could have helped them to pass it the first time around. 6. PRACTICING with a study partner is a must. Like I say in one of my videos on You tube ‘10 tips to Pass CS the First time’ which has about 160,000 views “Practice. Practice. Practice.” Be careful to choose your study partner though. They can undermine your performance and zap up your time if they are not in par with you. Actually speaking, you need someone is above your level of performance, so you can learn from them. Here is where practicing with experienced MD tutors help. They can not only gauge your thought process while acting as your SP but analyse how you process that information while your rule out and rule in differential diagnosis. They can also point out your time wasters. 7. REMEMBER YOU ARE THE DOCTOR! Standardized patient is not even a real patient. So don’t be intimidated by the SP at all. The ball is in your court for most of the encounter. You are asking the questions and you direct the encounter, right? When you have your thoughts organized on your BLUE sheet (In fact that’s our first personal skype session out of the six sessions in the Complete Comprehensive Course https://www.targetusmlestep2cs.com/personal-coaching - ‘The BLUE SHEET BLUEPRINT’ class). More important is wrapping your brain around the whole encounter from start to finish – sort of like an EAGLE’s EYE VIEW of the whole 15 mins in your head… and the rest is just a cake walk! Step 2 CS - Do it once. Do it right! Helping you shine at your best, Dr Mary June For a FREE CS STUDY PLAN email us at support@targetusmle.com with your name and exam date. #USMLE STEP2CS #step 2 cs #clinical skills #patient note
