How to study for the USMLE Step 3 exam
UCSF residents, like many residents across the nation, take their Step 3 exam either in their intern year or their second year of residency. The exam is two days and all residents must pass the exam to get a permanent medical license. For starters, you will find everything you need to know at the official USMLE Step 3 website, http://www.fsmb.org .
TIME LINE
1. Go to http://www.fsmb.org
2. Download the application form
3. Download the application instructions
4. Photocopy your medical diploma
5. Take your original diploma, your photocopied diploma, and your completed Step 3 application to a place to get your passport-sized pictures and your application notarized
6. Once you have completed the form, gotten your pictures, and have everything notarized, send all of your materials to the FSMB
7. In approximately 6 weeks, you will receive your permit for the USMLE Step 3. You need to call Sylvan Prometric to schedule a time to take your test. You should call as early as possible to guarantee that you’ll get the date and location that you want
HOW MUCH TIME TO STUDY
How much time you dedicate to studying for this exam is purely based on your study habits, learning style, and ability to retain information easily. For most, a month of studying is enough. Students studying for this exam found it particularly difficult balancing studying for the exam and the requirements of being a resident (s). One SDN poster took two weekends to study for the exam (s), but most residents need more time than this.
WHEN TO TAKE IT
When you can take Step 3 depends on you, your residency program, and the state law. “The way that Step 3 works is that based on the state that you are trying to get licensed in (i.e. where you are doing your residency), there are stipulations on when you can sit for Step 3. Some allow you to take it immediately upon graduating med school, some make you wait a month and some make you complete” (s)
Surgery resident: ” Trust me – the earlier the better (especially if you’re surgical). I learned nothing during intern year that was useful for that test. 3/4 of the test is outpatient FM-type clinic stuff (the kind we never do).” (s)
Surgery resident: “Take it during your PGY-1 year…..trust me. You’ll thank me later.” (s)
Surgery residenty: “Take it early, before you forget all your Peds, Psych, OB, etc. I took it fall of my PGY-2 year. ” (s)
Surgery resident: “Almost everyone in my intern class took it in the middle/late part of the year. I’ll echo what others have said, as a surgery resident there’s no good reason to put it off. The material is predominately OB,FM, peds type stuff that you aren’t going to be exposed to as a surgery resident anyway. You can be assured of forgetting this material the further away you are from med school. ” (s)
Surgery resident: “I’m waiting for my Step III score to come back. I’m a 5. I haven’t thought about dermatomyositis or minimal change nephropathy in 5 years. I should have taken it sooner. It’s kind of a hassle to take it, but it only gets to be more of a hassle as the years go on. ” (s)
Surgery attending: “The longer you put this off, the more of a nuisance it becomes. I took it February right after my first ABSITE. This is not one to put off because you double your pain if you don’t pass it. I was glad to have it over with and a P in that column. ” (s)
Internal medicine resident: “TAKE STEP 3 AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! APPLY FOR IT NOW! NO MATTER HOW FAR ALONG YOU ARE IN RESIDENCY, APPLY FOR IT AND TAKE IT NOW! IT IS MUCH EASIER TO TAKE STEP 3 WHEN YOU ARE AN INTERN BECAUSE YOUR RESIDENT CAN COVER FOR YOU. IT IS MUCH HARDER TO TAKE STEP 3 AS A RESIDENT. (so take it as soon as possible). STEP 3 IS RIDICULOUSLY EASY. DON’T DELAY TAKING STEP 3 BECAUSE YOU ARE AFRAID OF TAKING IT.”
Although the consensus is to take it early, a program director in Internal Medicine writes, “Why are you trying to rush Step 3? Most residents take it in their PGY-2 sometime, so there will likely be room in the schedule to do so. Remember that if you apply for a fellowship, all of your step scores will be reported. A crappy Step 3 score will NOT help you if you’re applying for a competitive fellowship. Hence, I recommend to my residents that are applying to fellowships to delay Step 3 until after applications, unless they play to take it seriously and rock it. ” (s)
MAIN RESOURCES
Downloadable information and practice questions
http://www.usmle.org/Examinations/step3/step3.html
MAIN BOOKS
Books that have been recommended by students who have taken the test (and have done well) include Kaplan’s Master the Boards (s). Some students find Crush USMLE Step 3 helpful (s)(s)
SUPPLEMENTED BOOKS
Some residents feel that they need to supplement the main books with field specific books. One student used Blueprints OBGYN as a supplement (s).
LEARNING STYLES (ANNOTATION, FLASHCARDS, ETC)
For some students, annotating their primary book from what they learn from other books and from test prep softwares is key. One student gave an example of how he annotated his main text and created notecards from the CCS cases (s).
TEST PREP SOFTWARE
USMLE CD
The USMLE CD containing an interactive tutorial, sample test questions and case simulations will be mailed to you upon receipt of your application.
USMLEWORLD
Residents have found USMLEWORD (s) particularly helpful in preparing for Step 3. Your goal is to complete all of the UW and 50+ UW CCS case scenarios. One resident compared the softwares and felt that the CCS questions from UW were a lot more helpful than the sample ones on the USMLE Step 3 software (s). Another resident felt that the UW questions were very similar to the actual questions on the exam (s).
USMLE STEP 3 software
Residents have also found the USMLE Step 3 (s) software to be helpful too. First, you should acquaint youself with the sample software.
NBME exams
Residents also completed the questions from NBME as well. One resident remarked that one should take a look at the sample questions because they are more representative of what you’ll see on the exam.
WHAT TO DO A FEW DAYS BEFORE THE EXAM
One resident reviewed the explanations of all of the CCS scenarios on USMLEWORLD that he had completed (s). You should also try to do the UW questions over and over again (s).
RULES OF THE ROAD: PATIENT MANAGEMENT FOR USMLE STEP 3
Below are tips from residents who have taken the exam.
- When you order antibiotics, always counsel the patient regarding compliance and side effects of the medication, then reschedule them after 1 week or 10 days (s)
SCHEDULING THE EXAM
“You have to go through the same crap with Prometric as the other steps. Scheduling is also a little more sparse because it’s a 2 day exam.” (s)
WHAT IS THE EXAM EXPERIENCE LIKE?
Residents who took the exam found it mentally exhausting (s).
WILL FELLOWSHIP PROGRAMS USE MY STEP 3 SCORE?
Do fellowship programs put any stock in step 3 scores when we are applying to fellowships? The answer to this is it depends.
It seems that for surgery, it doens’t really matter. One general surgery attending writes, ” Nope. It is simply seen as something you must pass to be eligible for a license. I would go ahead and take the exam as soon as you can but not because it might help you with residency or fellowship. ” (s)
It seems that for Internal Medicine, it might matter. I’m requoting the Internal Medicine program director who writes, “Remember that if you apply for a fellowship, all of your step scores will be reported. A crappy Step 3 score will NOT help you if you’re applying for a competitive fellowship. Hence, I recommend to my residents that are applying to fellowships to delay Step 3 until after applications, unless they play to take it seriously and rock it. ” (s)
HELPFUL WEBSITES!
The Federation of State Medical Boards FAQ page on the USMLE Step 3
http://www.fsmb.org/usmle_faq.html#q04%29:
WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR SOMEONE WHO IS GETTING READY TO TAKE STEP 3?
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SOURCE
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=718969
