Mistakes I Made on CS exam

Mistakes I made:

1. I was very nervous before the exam and slept only 1 hour.

2. I wanted to know more and was studying things that are not important for the exam. Didn’t had to go into details that much. I had to learn the symptoms and the DD for these symptoms, instead of following FA and UW case by case and trying to memorize the way they present the cases, DD, and the workup. Even csprotocol blog is full with too much information to remember. Big time mistakes. I had to make general strategy with very simple questions and to follow this pattern.

3. Despite the fact that I practice on my communication skills, I made some mistakes because of the crazy speed on the exam. I had to practice more on this, instead of figuring out ways to remember how to ask all the questions for specific case. I had to be simple and fast not chaotic and slow.

4. The exam is 90% general performance and 10% medical knowledge. I did it the other way around. Stupid, but fact.

5. Some of the Pts had really weird roles and there were 2 cases I couldn’t figured out where the catch is. I had to spent more time on working to find out what they want to tell me, and to try anything to make them feel better.

6. It seems like there is no better way to know more about the CS exam than to go and try how the exam works.

There will be more.

 

CS gave me a lot of hard time

Today I had my CS exam. Overall it was way more difficult than I expected. It is a crazy race. I didn’t have any time to get my act together. On some cases I did stupid mistake, on others just didn’t do what I had to do, and left the room 5 minutes earlier. I don’t think I will pass this exam. Anyways, lets see the results first.

 

Differential Diagnosis Mnemonic For Patient c/o Chest Pain after MVA

This is an alphabetical mnemonic.

TSRP

T-Thorax: 1. PneumoTHORAX 2. HemoTHORAX

S-Splenic rupture

R-Rib fracture

P-Pneumonia/Pleuritis

[Mnemonic generated by dokidok]

The Mnemonic is made based on First Aid for USMLE step 2 CS

 

A letter from 3rd. year Medical student

As a life-long resident of Massachusetts, and a future physician hoping to practice in the state, I am happy to see that our state is not only continuing to support health insurance for every resident, but also looking to improve upon the anticipated shortage of doctors by involving the University of Massachusetts School of Medicine.

There is also the possibility of making it easier for foreign-trained doctors to obtain their visa in order to practice here.

I am currently a third-year medical student studying in Guadalajara, Mexico. Under our program here, we are required to study for four years in Mexico and return to complete a fifth year of clinical rotation through the Fifth Pathway Program, affiliated with various medical schools in New York, in order to obtain our M.D. This route to licensure has been functioning for over 35 years and churning out some of the most skilled doctors in the country, with more than 13,000 practicing graduates of the program.

 

Differential Diagnosis Mnemonic for pain during sex case (dyspareunia)

Vaginal PACE

V-Vaginitis/Vulvodynia/Vaginismus

P-Pelvic tumors

A-Abuse (domestic violence)–>Physicians must do serial screen for abuse in any case of dyspareunia

C-Cervicitis

E-Endometriosis

[Mnemonic generated by dokidok]

The Mnemonic is made based on First Aid for USMLE step 2 CS

 

Busy with studying for USMLE step 2 CS

I am crazy busy with my studying for step 2 CS. I am slowly improving though, but it seems like this exam is not that easy as some people told me. It takes quite a lot of time to get yourself familiar with the cases, and to learn some of the basic skills for taking focused Hx and do focused Physical exam. It feels easy when you read and watch the UW videos, but when you have to do it, all the information in your brain is gone, you blank out, get nervous and panic. So, to avoid this, be really well prepared. Try to practise as much as you can with yourself (talking to the mirror), with friends or colleagues.

So far I found 2 very important things for usmle step 2 cs:

1. Pracitise, practise, practise. It is a practical exam, so you have to practise.

2. Take FOCUSED history and do FOCUSED physical exam. Remember, you don’t have that much time. Be specific!

I won’t be able to post that often for the next 2 weeks. However, I have a lot of mnemonics and materials I would like to share after I finish with CS. Wish me good luck and feel free to share your tips for passing CS exam.

By the way I started 3 new blogs. One is related to my personal life hacks, the other one is my bodybuilding/running/diet diary and the last one is my preparations for the CS exam.

 

 

FEW QUICK ALPHABETICAL MNEMONICS FOR CS

1. Listen for carotid Bruits with the Bell of the stethoscope. However on the picture on the right, the doc doesn’t use the bell. Who cares? It is just a picture for a website.

2. Meningeal signs: 2.1. Kernig test–>extend the Knee after you bend the hips and the knee to 90 degrees.
2.2. Brudzinski test–??? Can somebody help here?

3. McMurry’s test assesses for Meniscus injury.

4. Tinel’s test for carpal Tunnel syndrome. The second test is Phalen’s test. How to remember the name PHALEN. OK, carpal tunnel syndrome presents with pain/discomfort and numbness/tingling in the PHALANges of the hands.

 

Acute Cough Mnemonic

Many of the CS mnemonics are already made. Today I came up with a Mnemonic for differential diagnosis of ACUTE COUGH. Hope you will like it.

A–>Acute Bronchitis; Aspiration

C–>Coxsackie viruses are the culprit for Pleurodynia (uncommon acute illness, which occurs in summer and early fall and presents with acute severe paroxysmal pain of the thorax and abdomen that worsens with cough or breathing)

U–>URI-associated cough (acute cough frequently follows URI)

T–>oTher Pulmonary Problems: Pneumoinia (when the case is respiratory always think of Bronchitis, Pneumonis, TB, Lung cancer); PCP pneumonia (if the Pt has STD Hx screen for HIV)

E–>pulmonary Embolism (check for risk factors like DVTs); pulmonary Edema (signs and symptoms of heart failure will be present)

[Mnemonic generated by dokidok]

The Mnemonic is made based on First Aid for USMLE step 2 CS

 

Save more than 40% on Step 1, Step 2 CK, Step 3, and COMLEX Qbanks

Kaplan are still unbeaten with their textbooks material and courses, but the Kaplan Q-bank doesn’t show that much popularity compare to usmleworld. Kaplan Q-bank is also  more expensive. Now, Kaplan announced new prices which can increase their sales as an alternative of usmleworld. I have never used Kaplan, and have no idea how good the questions are.

Here is the rest of the information and the prices:

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STOP SMOKING WITH QWITTER

Another option for the geeky smokers. If just quit smoking is too boring for you, give a try to qwitter. I don’t know how effective it is. In my opinion if you really wanna quit a bad habit just start doing it NOW, instead of looking for some fancy alternatives and excuses.