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Done with CK and my collection of high yield pictures!

9K views 40 replies 15 participants last post by  Haptoglobin 
#1 ·
hey guyz..how are you!!

Well..I just took CK on 23rd of this month..am not sure how it went, it didn't go bad, it didnt go ..like "wow" either..let's see what happens..

I used this forum and it was of great help to me..I shall be glad to answer any questions you might have regarding the test..

one thing...below is the link to all the pictures I collected during my CK prep..of course most of them are from internet, but at least you can now find them at one place..I found these pictures quite useful coz not only u may see anyone of them in ur exam (especially the new born rashes),, but also they help u to understand and remember the topic as well..

I hope they will be of help to you too..

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#3 ·
The time issue!!

yea..thats the same question i kept wondering about before the exam..
Regarding my exam.i did NOT have a time issue and here is the reason why :-
I already, from practice (like UWSA test) knew that time can be a serious problem,so i knew exactly how much time i could allot a question and once that ws over i would move on to next question.
The length of questions is variable..u will find questions that are much shorter than in UW,to questions that are equal in length to UW (most of the questions r),to few questions that are much lengthier than UW (say 15,20 percent of all questions).
Also the most important thing is your reflexes in solving the questions.i mean,the more extensive ur knowledge is and the more practice of mcqs u do,u can guess from the beginning of the scenario where this question is leading to,and u start collectin clues which favour or rule out a particular diagnosis, that comes only with practice and trust me UW provides u exactly that,if u do it properly.
So,bottom line is...yes,time can be an issue if u r not aware of it,and the key to avoiding this issue is to practice as many questions as u can(not necessarily in time mode..point is to be comfortable and familiar with most scenarios), and during exam,don be greedy and be prepared to leave(educated guess and move forward) a question if u cant do it in a specified amount of time.
i hope that helps
 
#6 ·
yes,i did take UWSA,almost one month before exam,and my score was 268/800..
i took all the nbmes too,couldnt score them coz i couldnt find any reliable keys,,so mainly used them to practice mcqs..
About UW Qbank, honestly,i was interested more in learning from it than score,i think it should be used more as a learning tool,to fill gaps in ur knowledge..But yea,during my second read of UW,i was scoring above 75..
Guyz i would highly recommend that u give ATLEAST 2 READS to UW QBANK..there is no point doing it once and then forget it ,coz trust me u wont remember much of the stuff if u dont do it 2 times,even if u have taken notes during the first read.
 
#5 ·
Hi. I hope you did well. :) Could you please tell us how long you took to study? I see that a lot of people have taken four months or more to study but I have barely 2 months and I want to do well. Do you think it's possible to finish studying for this exam in 2 months?
 
#7 ·
Well..it took me 12 months,coz few thingz came up and i got caught up in that and had to be away from studies for sometime..but honestly i believe that 6 months should be enough..and i think 4 months is a minimum if u r an IMG..This is beacuse ,unlike step1, it takes more time to review CK notes,coz there every thing is to be focused on,..like if u r doing a topic,u have be first know what it is,then its risk factors,then presentation,associations,workup,treatment,,u see it takes time..Also, the Question bank takes substantial amount of time, i can bet u, u wont be able to do more than 50 Qbank questions with explanations in a day especially if u are taking notes too..and i if u use UW q bank,it has like..more than 2000 question, even if u do 1000, it will still take qutie some time, and then, as i said before, u have to revise that too coz most of that u would have forgotten..
so, i think u should reconsider ur decision of taking the exam in 2 months, especially if ur an IMG...make it four months at least...u can still have hope for participating the next match..
 
#9 ·
About Psychiatry and use to step1 notes

@ Shum
Well....although u can use step1 BS ,but to be honest with u there isnt need for that..coz the main focus of CK exam is on psychiatry,not behavioral sciences,so its better to try to understand and learn the psychiatry given in step 2 notes.Biostats is almost exactly the same in both books so thats not to be worried about..perhaps the only thing from step1 book to look for is the Defense mechanisms,and personality disorders coz they are explained in bit greater detail.otherwise,u shouldnt waste ur time with step1 book.
i would highly recommend u do the two blocks of psychiatry given in kaplan Q BOOK,and ofcourse the U world psychiatry mcqs,they will help u not only to understand important concepts,but also few additional info which u will find useful!!
 
#17 ·
% of questions

Thank u very much to post the links, that is very helpful. I'm about to take CK2 exam and I would like to know if u can tell me the average of questions per specialty, what do u think was the % of questions for Internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics, etc Just and estimate, because I know is not going to be the same every exam and now that u already took the exam what are ur recommendations for the ones that are in the process of taking it?
Wishing u the best in your exam!!:happy:
 
#18 ·
Thank u very much to post the links, that is very helpful. I'm about to take CK2 exam and I would like to know if u can tell me the average of questions per specialty, what do u think was the % of questions for Internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics, etc Just and estimate, because I know is not going to be the same every exam and now that u already took the exam what are ur recommendations for the ones that are in the process of taking it?
Wishing u the best in your exam!!:happy:
Its medicine mainly,i would say 50% medicine, rest is almost equally divided.got a fair share of gynaen obs, and paeds as well..surgery especially trauma questions,and then psychiatry questions..Biostats question were few and far between,but still had questions from biostats too
 
#19 ·
You've been so generous with sharing your experience and the images, thank you. I wanted to ask if perhaps you still have your answer keys to the nbmes? I can't afford to them online and have managed to find 2 different ones neither of whom have been made with much certainty. I have less than a month left and won't be able to search out too many right answers in case of conflicts. Think you could help with this? Much appreciated, and thank you.
 
#20 ·
Honestly..this is the very same problem i faced when i was attempting the nbmes.Despite my best efforts i was unable to find the right keys.As i already mentioned i didnt score my nbmes due to this fact.so i dont have the answers(or atleast the reliable ones to share with u),i wouldnt want u to waste ur time searching for the answers.instead just use the nbme as a source of practice questions,something tht lets u know of ur weaknesses,i.e, what sort of questions u were uncomfortable while attempting,don get obsessed with the answers.u have almost one month left for the exam and i believe u might be giving ur last read to the review books,ryt??,i think that now is the best time for u to take UWSA test..it has high quality questions,and its fully explained,costs 30 dollars..i believe it will be useful for u...Best of luck for ur exam!!
 
#26 ·
How many hrs you used to study??..i know quality is imp than sitting for long hrs...but still want to know..

If u find anything deficit which book you used as compensating.....congratulations once again and all the best....:)
i studied for like 7,8 hrs a day,in the last month before exam,it went up to like...10 hours..bt not more than that..
but u r ryt,its the quality not quantity that matters most..
i gave the answer to ur other question in the reply above..hope that helps
 
#25 ·
yea,i kept it pretty simple...i did kaplan notes +UW qbank+kaplan Qbook(not bank)
along with offline nbmes and online UWSA test..i also listened to kaplan OBGYN lectures and CVS,rheumatology medicine lectures.
thats pretty much it..honestly i have no idea what FA for CK or MTB is..
 
#32 ·
i gave three reads to kaplan notes and two reads to UW...i couldnt repeat all the questions of medicine but i managed to repeat 700 questions..for everyother subject i gave UW two reads
About kaplan Q book,,i would say its a MUST,it really helped me,and there are few topics in kaplan q book that u wont find it UW or kaplan lectures,so..yea i think u should do it
 
#39 ·
Best derm source for USMLE, here are all the pics

Hey guys, Checkout the book "Dermatology for the USMLE" in Amazon.

Cover all derm topics for the boards, excellent source to score high. It has HIGH quality pics for every disease you may encounter in the USMLE's.

Bought it in amazon 5 months ago, it is awesome. A must have...
 
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