First Aid for the® USMLE Step 2 CS: Clinical Skills Exam

by Tao Le, Vikas Bhushan

A STUDENT TO STUDENT GUIDE

Genres: Medicine, Medical, Textbooks, School, Nonfiction

336 pages, Paperback

First published June 24, 2004

Reviews

[Koraima Cedeño · Rating 5 out of 5]

& another one bites the dust. I must recommend this book as well as Sherazi notes for a first pass on the USMLE Step 2 cs. Did all 44 cases once, more than enough to pass the exam. Good luck guys!!!

[Muhammad Kandeel · Rating 2 out of 5]

If clinical skills is your first step in the USMLE track and you're an international student, don't read this book first. Everybody kept telling me that this book is the bible for the clinical skills part. I think this is true after taking Step 2 CK which supplies you with the knowledge you need for the new system of the exam. If I were Tao T. Le, I would totally rearrange this book, and add a lot to the patient note part after each long case. The minicases part is sorted in a bad way and needs to be facts instead of cases.

[Chad Lillestolen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. When I say the plot is thick in this book, I mean it. Never have I delved into a book with a storyline as hard to follow as this, with plot twists that nobody could have foreseen. Osler-Weber-Rendu Syndrome? Wiskott-Aldrich? Under the same cover as the common cold? Unthinkable.

If you’re looking for a book where you never know what you’ll find when you turn the next page- and want to remain as entirely unsure once you’ve seen it- this is the book for you. Don’t just read to learn. Read to enjoy. Read to ask “why?” And just maybe never find out.

[Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

pretty much the standard for step 2 cs study.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

For those of you who already have a decent knowledge base, First Aid for Step 2 CS is a great way to test and expand your skills. The most valuable part of this book for me were the full cases toward the end of the book. I highly recommend finding a partner with whom to go through these cases, switching between the physician and patient roles. I looked up as much information as I could about how Step 2 CS was set up - make sure you know how much time you have to complete the patient encounter and the note and when you are given time warnings. I would recommend using a timer with your partner, simulating the case, and then both of you should practice typing the note within the 10 minute time limit. There is a good template for you to practice with online. The combination of OSCEs in medical school and practicing with this book made me feel fully prepared and relaxed come exam day.

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good structure with mini-cases and full practice cases in the back, but the book isn't updated yet for the new test requirements. Since we're confined to only 3 differential diagnoses now, we probably need to know how to taper down our differential and the number of diagnostic tests to only those relevant, and First Aid lists many, many diagnostic tests for each case. I would also stress open-ended questions more, and I would add a paragraph or two explaining that open-ended questions are more important than trying to hit 80% of the listed questions for each practice case.

I'd still recommend the book, but I would stress that you need to read the information on the official USMLE website too.

[Lafe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wished I had read this before third year!!!

[Kaily · Rating 2 out of 5]

not as helpful as I had hoped

[Sal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had to r d the book because I needed to pass the test super easy to read and is a must for medical practitioners I guess now with the COVID all my efforts and success won’t be in vain