But if you want to have the exact algorithm in your head-okay, someone comes in with exertional chest pain, what do I do next? You can cover that in two-lines, that's why I like FA Step-2, because it's the only resource I've seen that really condenses things down to only what you need to know for the diseases it has. It's great for having vague ideas about what, say, the true diagnostic algorithm for stable angina => PTCA. Step-up to medicine just contains way too much detail for you to reasonably be on top of even 1/3 of the stuff in there in only 8 weeks. This is why I'm not a fan of the traditional go-to's, like blueprints, casefiles, or Step-up. By the end of it you're not going to know any of the details in any of those books. But I found I've done much better when I'm not trying to squeeze 5 300-page+ resources into a one-month rotation.
It is very possible to over-extend yourself detail-hunting because this is, unfortunately, a detail-heavy exam. I then take notes from UW and the extra resource into FA-Step 2, because that way I have one resource to review for Step 2, and one and only one QBank to review.
for OB/GYN I used UWise, for psych I used FA-psych. I've been using the following for my shelves: UW, FA Step 2, and one other resource that is rotation-dependent.
You have a large vignette that takes lots of time to read and comb through, so you have to know SIGECAPSD like the back of your hand, and be able to rapidly recognize it from the details given in a question.Īnd because there is so much detail to know, there really is no one best go-to source that can collate all of the high yield material down to one thing. The distinction between, say, major depressive disorder versus adjustment disorder with depressed mood will now come down to whether the patient has 5/9 or 4/9 SIGECAPSD symptoms, for example. Problem w/ Step 2 that isn't present with Step 1 is that it is a detail-oriented, and less concepts-oriented exam.