Best Step 2 Anki Deck

Step 3 is kind of a mix with day 1 being biostats/Step 1 and day 2 being more Step 2 like with cases.

Anki Step 2 worth it?

I used anking for Step 1, what should I be using for Step 2? Do I need to keep up with step 1 cards?

is step 2 basically all the shelf exams in one exam at the end of the year?

nyctopdoc

New Member

it’s almost like that, with a few twists here and there

Redpancreas

Full Member

Joined Dec 28, 2010 Messages 4,953 Reaction score 5,975

I used anking for Step 1, what should I be using for Step 2? Do I need to keep up with step 1 cards?

is step 2 basically all the shelf exams in one exam at the end of the year?

There is some overlap, but this is the basic concept.

Step 1 is a basic exam. Ex. Patient comes in with X diagnosis. What is the MOA of the drug that treats it. There’s some logic and thinking you can think to logic your way through the question. Think of Step 1 like learning a language. Diseases are like nouns, mechanisms are like verb conjugations.

Step 2 is more of a clinical context exam. Pay attention to gender, vitals. They won’t ask you what is the classic treatment for a disease. There may be a twist. Now that you’ve learned the language, can you assess some things in that language.

Step 3 is kind of a mix with day 1 being biostats/Step 1 and day 2 being more Step 2 like with cases.

—–
I think Anki is helpful for Step 2 but not as helpful as it is for Step 1.

For Step 2, it differs from the shelfs a bit. Hard to explain exactly how so. The topics that Step 2 tests are a little different from the shelf boards which are more in line with the specific specialty. For example, for the OB shelf, ACOG is great but for the boards use USMLE Step 2 UW and specific Step 2 resources are better. Of course, both complement each other with minimal contradictions. The key to step 2 which I think isn’t spelled out to a lot of people is that it’s not like the more facts you know, the better. On Step 1, UW would introduce a new concept like how digoxin worked for example. That’s a concept that’s fair game for the exam. For Step 2, there are UNLIMITED topics/concepts they can test. Focus less on the topics/knowledge content outside the objectives which are fairly well covered by onlinemeded and other resources. Focus more on the scenarios. They’ll give you a question where the patient is crashing in hypercapnia with inability to protect airway with respiratory acidosis (it won’t be spelt out but if you read, you’ll gather that). That’s the scenario. One answer will be some pneumonia antibiotics. Which antibiotic..who cares, the patient is crashing. One will be fluids, but the patient is in respiratory failure and it doesn’t appear to be a sepsis picture. C will be intubate the patient phrased in doctor speak. Probably should do that. Don’t get me wrong, Step 2 tests a lot of new knowledge based content too, but much less so than Step 1 and there will be some Step 1 stuff on Step 2 for those with great memories to boost their score.

I personally am a better Step 1 taker and noticed a high Step 1, a drop off on Step 2, and noted Day 2 MCQs were harder than Day 1 on Step 3. Step 1>Step 3>Step 2 for me percentile wise. Some are like me, but from most SDN and Reddit posts, most people are the opposite.

What do you think about this long-term step2 study plan?

I just finished M1 and started my summer last week. I’ve started to think about how I’m going to approach step2 because step1 will be pass/fail for me. I’m thinking about using the anking step2 deck to prepare for step2. There are about 16000 cards in the deck. Right now I’ve only unsuspended about ~500 cards. There are only about ~6000 cards in the step2 deck which are also in the step1 deck-ie. preclinical material. My plan for now until early next year (when my rotations will start) is to make my way through these 6000 cards. I’ll then make my way through the other 10k during the rotations. Does this sound like a good plan? I’m interested in a competitive specialty and I’m going to have to dunk on step2 so give me any advice/ critiques you have that you think would lead to a better plan.

Lawpy

42% Full Member

Joined Jun 17, 2014 Messages 63,099 Reaction score 154,689

So this is the new Step 2 game. Start using and practice from Step 2 resources and Anki decks before entering clinical years?

I legit thought using Step 2 resources/Anki decks to study for shelfs and doing well on wards is more than plenty to excel on Step 2 but looks like i’m wrong

DrStephenStrange

Neurology PGY-2

Joined Oct 25, 2017 Messages 3,623 Reaction score 5,781

So this is the new Step 2 game. Start using and practice from Step 2 resources and Anki decks before entering clinical years?

I legit thought using Step 2 resources/Anki decks to study for shelfs and doing well on wards is more than plenty to excel on Step 2 but looks like i’m wrong

Removing the stress associated with one aspect of medical education means shifting it to another lol.

deleted1079620

I’m a rising OMS-2 also, so I’ve been reading the P/F step 1 threads hoping to figure out what is “enough” to ensure I pass with ease, but also get a good foundation for step 2. So far my plan is to try and do really well in my year 2 classes (my school follows board material closely until around March of 2nd year), using board prep materials alongside class materials (BnB, FA, Pathoma, sketchy), along with a qbank to prep for Comsaes and in house exams (they give us true learn and I already have usmle-rx). Once dedicated starts I’ll switch to uworld, with the ultimate goal of getting 4,000-5,000 questions in before boards. I don’t think this is overkill but I don’t want to be stressed that I won’t pass either.

Redpancreas

Full Member

Joined Dec 28, 2010 Messages 4,953 Reaction score 5,975

So this is the new Step 2 game. Start using and practice from Step 2 resources and Anki decks before entering clinical years?

I legit thought using Step 2 resources/Anki decks to study for shelfs and doing well on wards is more than plenty to excel on Step 2 but looks like i’m wrong

Agreed. Step 2 differs from Step 1 in a few ways that, in my opinion, reduce the necessity of ANKI. but everyone knows I own stock in Quizlet and come on SDN only to repeatedly bash ANKI.

1.) The error bars are wider than they were Step 1.
2.) It’s more reasoning than knowledge of esoteric diseases/medical language/new material which is where spatially repeated flash card methods excel IMO
3.) There is no UFAP equivalent for Step 2 (yet) so I’m not sure what material people are using to make 1000s of these cards. OME and UW I’d imagine, but my test wasn’t reflective really of either source.

I’m not saying Step 2 cannot be cracked by cards like Step 1. It’s fundamentally spaced repetition which is the most efficient learning method. I just think there needs to be a more thoughtful approach to it rather than plug in your Step 1 plan and apply it to Step 2. I also think studying for Step 2 before you even know what’s stressed in clinical years is a waste, but I guess everyone’s free to do what they want with their time. I would at least wait until there’s consensus on what the new best deck is. It may not be Zanki/AnKing as I’m sure those Anki worshippers are now in residency and aren’t updating their material. Maybe someone can discuss that? I’ll admit I’m not the best one to ask. The best people to ask I think are these people as they seem pretty knowledgeable on this stuff. These are people who’re most likely going to do well and have prepped for the exam and can tell you what may be useful to do in your position OP: