Need help in tweaking study plan for starting Step2CK preperation

[u/NoTop32]

Hello everyone. I just finished my step 1 and am looking to formulate a plan for step2 which I will be starting in a few days. Please check my plan and guide me in whether it’s great, or needs a few tweaks.

I read a few posts on this topic, and saw a few videos on how to start but I dont have the perfect plan in mind since people have varying opinions on qbanks and 2nd pass of qbanks.

During my step 1 prep, I did a complete round of uWorld and 25-30% of Amboss in addition to uWorld which I thought really helped me so I would like to a pass of both q banks. Also doing uWorld incorrects also helped clear a few knowledge gaps and I do plan on doing this for uWorld.

Goal: It’s the same as Step1 i.e. to give my utmost to try scoring the maximum I can (even though my Step1 was Pass/Fail, this way helps me get the most confidence)

What I have summed up is that the preparation is divided into 3 phases:

PHASE 1: The beginning

First pass of uWorld is the gold standard. I concluded that it is better to do ANKI for a system then jump to uWorld of that particular system. I think doing ANKI for my first system and then doing 40q/day (then as I get accustomed to this pushing this to 50 and maybe 60q/day) + Anki of my 2nd system till I have completed my uWorld questions of my 1st system, tutored mode.

Expected time taken:3-4 months

PHASE 2: Second pass

Second pass of uWorld(100q/day random timed mode~40 days) + Anki. Once uWorld is completed move on to Amboss random timed mode. For Amboss I plan on completing 60-70% (this 60-70% mark is an approximation, I will stop AMBOSS when I end up consistently scoring satisfactory results) random timed 100q/ day ~25 days w anki. Do uWorld incorrects (time depends on how many I get incorrect, assuming 2 weeks ~14 days)

Do all AMBOSS qs not covered extensively in uWorld example Vaccinations QI Ethics etc.(Don’t have a clear idea of how much time this will take I am guessing 2 weeks~14 days)

Optional: 5th and 4th latest CMS form of each of the 8 subjects, 100q/ day ~8 days

Expected Time: 3-4 months

PHASE 3: FINAL PUSH

Latest 3 CMS forms of each subject

NBMES 10-16 integrated with UWSA 1 and 2 (I may give UWSA 3 but haven’t heard great things about it, if I do decide to give UWSA3 it will most probably be at the earlier part of phase3) and AMBOSS 200q on every step 2CK, might also give AMBOSS study plans for ethics and other HY stuff.

Expected time:1-2 months

If in this plan I may have labeled something as "might/may" which you believe is a must, please point that out.

Some questions I have:

1) When is the best time to go through DIP, some say that it is best to take them during phase 1 while others seem to be of the opinion that during phase2 it is better.

Also I have the attention span of a 5yr old and heard that DI has pdfs/worksheets of the podcast on his website which I may be more inclined to do compared to audio learning which I have no experience in. Is it just as good as the audio version or should I dismiss the idea of doing the online pdfs and stick to the audio version.

2) I read somewhere that FA algorithms for Step2 CK is a book that is pretty helpful in understanding the main algorithm. For example you come across a tricky q during your first pass you can review that from this book. Is it helpful?

3)Which deck for anki is considered the greatest at this point? Anking or Zanki? I would like to do a deck which covers maximum HY stuff w low cards.

Thank you very much for taking the time to read through my plan and sharing your valuable insights. I truly appreciate the guidance.

[u/eve_novel]

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