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Dedicated period:

I did not have a classic dedicated period for Step 2. I started studying at the beginning of December when I started to study for Comp. I told myself that I would study for Comp as if I was studying for Step 2 because I did not want to start all over again when it came to Step. My study period lasted from December to mid-April, but I did have some breaks in between due to other things going on. I was finishing up third year and then started fourth year right away, with only a 1 week break in between. I chose not to take a break because I know that I don’t do well with them. I perform better when I am in a routine, and it helps me stay more productive to get my work done. This is not the case for everyone though. You must be realistic with yourself when it comes to making a study schedule and you have to consider what works best for you. What someone else does may not work for you, and that is absolutely okay! And how much time you need may also vary from others. I thought these 4 months would be too much for me but with rotations and moving to a different state, I was taking a few days off here and there, so the 4 month timeline was crucial for me to cover all the material. 

What resources did I use?

UWorld: UW was and will always be my number one resource. I did questions as much as I could and used them to learn from. I know many people like to use Online Med Ed, Anki, etc. but I did not want to overwhelm myself with resources. Over the course of 3^rd year, I made notes for all the shelf exams, and I used these notes to study for Step 2. I printed out the notes and had it binded so that I can use it religiously and refer to it while reviewing over questions. I would write in any additional notes that I learned from the practice exams as well. 

NBMEs & UWSA: It is crucial to take practice exams and learn from them. I know there is always this fear of performing poorly on them and feeling like you’re not progressing but, you can learn a lot from these questions. Not only does it help you build stamina for test day, but it helps you review over material you may be getting wrong consistently. I performed poorly on majority of the NBMEs and the first UWSA. And yes, it did tear me apart. But, I took extra time to review through the questions and learn from them. And, I scored about 15 points higher on the real deal. 

Emma Holliday & Divine Interventions: Whenever I felt like I was in a slump and needed a change, I would listen to Divine or watch Emma Holliday on YouTube. These two are great at discussing high yield topics in a short time span. I would recommend using these two resources whenever you’re not able to full focus on questions or need some more clarification. Divine Interventions was also super helpful for Epidemiology & Biostats. 

What did my schedule look like?

Unfortunately, I don’t have a set schedule because I was doing rotations at the same time. I tried my best to wake up earlier in the morning to complete at least 1 UW block before heading into the clinic. If there was downtime at work, I would review through the question block or start a second block. My goal was to do 2 blocks/day and review them. On my days off, I would try to get more done. Towards the end, I would listen to Divine Interventions while going on an evening walk. One advice I have is to give yourself a break when you need one. I know it’s difficult to take a break and get off schedule, but you will not be doing yourself any good by forcing yourself to keep going. 

Overall experience:

My experience with Step 2 was a lot better than with Step 1. I scored 22 points higher compared to Step 1 and I think the biggest contributing factor was that I started doing UWorld questions at the start of 3^rd year. I felt more prepared because I had seen this material all year long and was in a routine of doing questions. And the questions for Step 2 were also more clinical, and it made a huge difference since I was seeing these scenarios in real life. There were days when I still felt like a failure or as if I did not know anything but having a good support system helps a lot.