How to Prepare for the USMLE Step 2 CK Exam

How I earned a score of 264 on my step 2 CK exam!

1. Prepare your timeline: when to take USMLE Step 2 CK and how much time needed to study for Step 2 CK

I took 5 weeks to study for step 2 and I took it right at the end of my third year of medical school when our school gave us a few weeks off to study. This was the perfect amount of time, but I probably could've taken a few days or a week less to study and still gotten around the same score. Anywhere between 4-6 weeks is sufficient.

2. Get in your zone

By now, you've figured out exactly where you study best. For me, this is at my desk in my apartment at home, where I have access to school supplies, snacks, open windows, and mid-day walks outdoors as needed. You may study best at libraries, coffee shops, your parents' house, your boyfriend's house, etc.

3. Practice exams

It is very important to take one of the NBME practice exams on your first day of studying. This will be the basis for the creation of your study schedule (below). Take the second NBME exam halfway through your studying. Take the third approximately 1 week before your exam. Schedule the UWorld practice exams to fill in the gaps. Don't do more than one practice exam per week, but approximately one per week is good.

For me, scores on the NBME practice exams were far lower than my UWorld practice exams, and I actually ended up scoring almost the same score as my last UWorld practice exam!

On May 12, I got a 232 on my first practice exam NBME form 6. On May 31 I took my second practice exam and scored a 237. Approximately one week later, I got a 259 on one of the UWorld practice exams. A week after that, I got a 263 on the next UWorld exam, which was just a few days before my test date.

4. How to make your step 2 CK study schedule

After taking the first NBME practice exam, take a look at all the subjects and order them from hardest to easiest for you based on how well you scored on each subject. Spend the following number of days on each subject, adjusting as necessary based on your score. Print out a monthly calendar and assign each day to one of the following subjects, starting with the hardest subject on day one and proceeding from there.

2-3 days cardiology

2-3 days ob/gyn

2 days endocrine

2-3 days GI

2-3 days hem/onc

2 days ID

2 days psych

1-2 days renal

1-2 days respiratory

1 day rheum/MSK

1-2 days neuro

2-3 days biostats

1 day derm

3. Complete 4 question blocks (40 questions each) per day.

After you have assigned each day to a subject, it's time to plan out what you are going to do on that day.

I did 4 blocks of 40 questions each day of studying. I may have started early on doing just 3 blocks as I got into the swing of things. Starting with the first day, for example, cardiology, you will spend the first two 40 question blocks doing only cardiology questions. (Check the box labeled cardiology in UWorld and select all rotations.) The next two blocks each day do completely random.

Make sure you are doing these on "timed" mode so that you can review all questions at the end.

4. Reviewing your question blocks

Review question blocks immediately after doing them. Make sure you are taking on "timed" mode so that you can review all questions at the end. This is very important because it will save you a lot of time. Review the questions you got wrong first and then just skim over the ones you got right for key information. It is better to do more practice questions than to meticulously read the answer to every single question, especially for questions you got correct. Hopefully you've already read through them all throughout your studying for your shelf exams third year. The second time around you don't need to be as meticulous. It is very important for you to do 4 question blocks per day as questions are the most efficient way to study!

5. Fit new knowledge into the foundation you've already built during your third year of medical school.

Please review my "How to Study During Third Year of Medical School" post. Hopefully you have a system like this already in place when you start studying for Step 2 CK. This way, you have notebooks with tabs in them for every subject you are studying. When you come to a key piece of information from UWorld, write this down in the notebook on the correct page (color-code so all info from UW is the same color). This will place it in your brain in an organized way and let you review other key information about the topic while you're looking at the page.

6. Anki

For tidbits of information that you think you are going to have trouble remembering, create flashcards in Anki to review. Make sure you set out 1-2 hours per day to review anki flashcards (see below). This will help you memorize the toughest concepts and expose them to you by spaced repetition for the most effective studying.

7. Amboss

I highly recommend supplementing your UWorld question bank with Amboss'. They have a fantastic question-bank with ways of approaching topics that are different than UWorld. You may have noticed that you begin to see the same thing over and over again in UWorld. Amboss will help this problem.

8. Skip the review books!

Instead of using clunky books for review that are most certainly outdated, use Amboss' knowledge bank feature to quickly look up topics. They have fantastic features including a "high-yield" setting where you only see high-yield information for the topic, and a great way to teach you radiology by shading and labeling x-rays and CT scans. I highly recommend!

9. Putting it all together for your day to day study schedule

Here's a rough sketch of my day to day study schedule. It is okay to be flexible depending on how you're feeling and what tasks take more or less time.

6:00am wake up and eat breakfast, drink coffee (one cup only!), read the news, check email

6:30am begin question block 1

7:30am review question block 1

9:30am review anki questions while eating blueberries and dark chocolate (highly recommend)

10:00am short 10-15 min break

10:15am question block 2

11:15am eat lunch

11:45am review question block 2

2:00pm go on a run and shower

3:00pm question block 3

4:00pm review question block 3

6:00pm eat dinner

6:30pm question block 4

7:30pm review question block 4

9:00pm read, relax, and go to sleep!

10. Your health

I took every Saturday off from studying to catch up, clean my apartment, cook myself a meal for the week, do laundry, go to the grocery store, etc. Try to take some time to watch TV or read a book as well.

Schedule in time every day to exercise, even if it means just taking a walk outside. Some fresh air and an afternoon break will highly increase your effectiveness of studying.

You've got this!

Step 2 CK is much easier than step 1! You've already been studying for this your whole third year. You are going to do great!