Master the Boards USMLE Step 2 CK

This book is a great addition to the set. Conrad has done a great job of putting a lot of hard information into simple form. This also goes well with the Kaplan if you are taking that test prep course. Conrad is the best in this book. The book is very good with many tips on how to think and how to exclude wrong answers. Very straight forward compared to other step 2 prep. I used it after I read First Aid step 2 ck. Both are good but I prefer this one because it is more exam oriented.This book is very logical in its thinking, has lots of tips for guidance on steps needed to be taken. It also helped me do well on my exam as well.I bought this book and also used uworld to practice. I do feel like there is a lot missing still on which I had to go to first aid to supplement.

too much controversy about this book yet it's best selling! Here's my points of view about this book and will tell you at the end if you should buy it:The Good: just think of it as the first aid equivalent to step 2 CK, it covers all the main subject tested from surgery, medicine, GYNOB, paediatrics, psychology and epidemiology (all in one Book). Its a good source for review if you're close to test day and have no time to work through books. And it highlights vital informations you might have missed while preparing.The Bad: we all know you can't fit medical school in one book, right!! So you'll find some missing subjects on your way and this is way I don't recommend it as the only study material and just keep it as a review book( unless you're not looking for a high score). I studied Kaplan books as primary source and if you're good in making notes and creating management algorithms then you don't need it.So for me the bottom line is;I consider it a review and it does help pulling the strings as one book show before exam day but for me it is NEVER the only source to prepare.Here, hope this settle the case for you

I got this book to help me prepare for step 2 CK. I have not taken the exam yet, so my review does not encompass how well this book preps your for the USMLE; however, the book is definitely of high quality IMHO. First of all it is very easy to read. The easiest of all step 2 prep books (Yes, I have seen most if not all!). It is the only book that directly tells you how to answer questions on the board, rather than just give you a bunch of factoids. But the part that impressed me the most was how consistent this book is with usmleworld! I guess there is no doubt that usmleworld is the best Q bank out there, and this book seems to encompass the points in UW. Almost as if the author wrote the book after reviewing the contents of UW ( which to me is fine even if he did!). I am very optimistic about this book, and I am planning to pair it with Crush step 2 or secrets for a winning combo.

*** disclaimer, I have not read the entire book, so my review only reflects the first 40 pages on infectious disease - I found this book so difficult to follow and I did not trust it therefore I stopped reading it ***I bought this text with the intention of using it for STEP 2CK studying alongside Step 2 Secrets and UWORLD. I have heard that this book is missing a great deal of high yield information for STEP 2 CK, which I understood prior to reading this resource. However, what I did not expect for this book was the odd and illogical organization. The book seems to jump from subject to subject listing random facts and then jumping back to a subject it already touched on. The organization simply made no sense to me. Also, the book seemed to list the presentations of certain diseases in bullet format, but poorly touched on the background information behind these conditions (i.e., for Lyme disease is just listed the symptoms, but did not discuss localized vs. early-disseminated vs. late-disseminated and the time frame of these specific complications). It went oddly into detail on the diagnosis of certain infectious diseases and antibiotic combinations. The antibiotic section was oddly organized and not conducive to learning the medications well in my opinion. It went into detail on all of the different combinations of antibiotics, which I found to be less high yield. Whole classes of antibiotics were left out or not even discussed. There is outdated information in the HIV section (i.e., the diagnosis of HIV is outdated as is information on when to start HAART in these patients). Once I reached this information I decided to put the book down and focus on UWORLD and Step 2 Secrets from now on. Wish I could get my money back and the hour of precious STEP studying time that I wasted reading this book (and now writing this review).

THE BOOK ARRIVED ONTIME AND NEATLY PACKAGED. THERE WAS NO DAMAGE TO THE COVER OR PAGES (THANK YOU AMAZON). I AM SO PLEASE WITH THE LAYOUT OF THIS BOOK. IT IS EASY TO READ AND FLOWS VERY WELL. IT HAS JUST THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF IMPORTANT AND PRECISE DETAILS NEEDED FOR YOU TO FOCUS YOUR ATTENTION ON, MAKING IT A FANTASTIC REVIEW FOR THE MEDICAL BOARD EXAMINATIONS. I WOULD ABSOLUTELY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK FOR ALL THOSE PREPARING FOR THEIR BOARD EXAMS. JUST A NOTE: I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND USING THIS BOOK ALONE. GREAT REFERENCE BOOK TO KEEP IN YOUR LIBRARY.