Opinion about Youel Prep Video Lectures

In short, I'd recommend Youel's over Kaplan or Princeton. Dr. Youel, himself, is not the most dynamic speaker but his information is excellent. He uses a lot of pheumonics and "hand signs" that really help you remember specific details. Also, his "core of the core" facts that you have to know cold are absolutely essential to help you figure out those questions that show up on the boards that are not straight forward. He has a lot of test-like questions that are uncannily accurate to what I got on my Step 2 test. I'd say that the best out there is probably Youel's Prep or the PASS program. Dr. Francis at the PASS program explains things very generally "The 90%" and Dr. Youel focuses on the 10% very well. They're both really helpful. Much more so than anything else I've seen. I hope that helps.

http://www.usmlestep.com/youelprep-step2.htm

Secrets for USMLE Step 2 - free download

Step 2 Secrets is another good series for USMLE Step 2.
You can download them here:

http://4usmle.net/step-2-downloads/1522-step-2-secrets-series-new-post.html

Usmle - Pass Program Notes

Usmle - Pass Program Notes

Are you looking for Pass Program Notes or Pass Program Videos?
This shall be 300 pages of notes that are accompanying 72 hours of video.

The Pass Program Notes will cover the following topics from USMLE Step 1 and USMLE Step 2:

1. Biochemistry
2. Microbiology
3. GI
4. Renal
5. Cardiac
6. Pulmonary
7. Immunology
8. Physiology
9. Vitamins/Metabolic/EKG
10. Neurology / Endocrinology
11. Hematology

Try here first

Review of Pass Program course by Dr. Francis

1) PASS program is less expensive and less time. ($3K vs $7K+...4
weeks vs 6 weeks from what I've heard)

2) Kaplan course sits you down 8 hours a day in lectures and gives you
huge notebooks of things to memorize. PASS is also about 8 hours a day
with decent breaks but then has individual tutoring and teaches you
how to systematically learn all the material instead of just giving
you thousands of pages of material and saying "memorize this!"

3) PASS program has a VERY high pass rate with students who are
retaking the boards (which speaks well if you haven't already had the
experience of failing...) Dr. Francis was actually investigated by the
USMLE people for cheating at some point because he had so many
students passing (he was cleared).

4) The PASS program still highly recommends that you do the qbank and
works with you in individual tutoring sessions to develop a style of
answering questions quickly and accurately.

Blueprints

Blueprints Obstetrics and Gynecology (Blueprints)

Download from 4usmle.net


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Blueprints Pediatric Infectious Diseases (Blueprints)

Download from 4usmle.net


Designed as a quick read for both students on a pediatrics rotation and others who want to
know more about the specialty, Blueprints Pediatric Infectious Diseases covers the
essentials of pediatric infectious diseases that every practitioner will need to know.

Pocket-sized and practical, these books will cover the most common conditions students are
likely to encounter. Each guide focuses on the essential content students need to know
during a rotation allowing for a fast, easy read. The text emphasizes pathophysiology,
diagnosis, and treatment. Twenty-five multiple-choice and matching review questions are
included to help students test their understanding of the subject.

The book also features valuable appendices on career and residency opportunities,
commonly prescribed medications, and a list of suggested additional reading for those who
would like to learn more.

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Blueprints Pediatrics (Blueprints)

Download from 4usmle.net


More than just Board review for USMLE, Steps 2 & 3, Blueprints Pediatrics, 3rd edition can help you during clerkship rotations and subinternship. The new edition has been updated with the help of residents to maintain a student-to-student approach. Features include:

* Concise, accurate, clinical high-yield content covering all you need to know for the USMLE and rotations
* USMLE style questions with full explanations provided in the answers
* Key Points in every section highlighting the most important, high-yield information for each topic
* Color-enhanced design to increase the usefulness of figures and tables

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Blueprints Medicine (Blueprints)

Download from 4usmle.net

Can help you during clerkship rotations and subinternship. They are especially helpful
when studying areas outside your specialty. Physician assistants, nurse practitioners
and osteopaths find Blueprints a helpful companion to their study materials as well.

Delay in STEP 2 CK SCORE REPORTS

Delay in STEP 2 CK SCORE REPORTS

Normal score reporting for Step 2 Clinical Knowledge (CK) usually occurs in 3-4 weeks. However, because of necessary modifications to the test item pool, it will be necessary to delay the reporting of scores of some examinees for an additional 3-4 weeks beyond the normal turnaround period. The target date for reporting Step 2 CK scores for most examinees testing from August 3 through the middle of August will be Wednesday, September 13, 2006.

Change in Minimum Passing Requirements for Step 2 Clinical Skills

Change in Minimum Passing Requirements for Step 2 Clinical Skills

The USMLE Step 2 Committee is responsible for setting and monitoring pass/fail standards for the Clinical Knowledge (CK) and the Clinical Skills (CS) examinations. Initial standards for the CS examination were set by the Committee in November 2004. Because this process was completed with less than a full year’s cohort of examinees, the Committee decided to closely monitor cumulative data on CS during the following year and to undertake a review of the CS standards in the Spring of 2006. This review has been completed. Based upon the review, the Step 2 Committee has decided to raise the performance levels required to receive a passing outcome on two of the three Step 2 CS subcomponents: Integrated Clinical Encounter (ICE) and Communication and Interpersonal Skills (CIS). There will be no change to minimum passing requirements for the third subcomponent of Step 2 CS, Spoken English Proficiency (SEP). The new passing requirements will be applied to Step 2 CS examinations taken on and after July 16, 2006.

Read more about this at:
http://www.usmle.org/step2/Step2CS/Step2Indexes/Step2CSIndex.htm#change

Kaplan Notes for USMLE Step 2

Kaplan Notes for USMLE Step 2

There a 6 books covering the following topics:

Cardiology
Endocrinology
Gastroenterology
Hematology
Infectious Diseases
Nephrology
ObGyn
Preventive Medicine
Psychiatry
Pulmonology
Rheumatology
Surgery

There are 2 editions of USMLE Step 2 Notes available: US and international.
They are same in terms of content - the onyl difference is the quality of paper used for printing.


You can get scanned notes or hardcopy notes from here:

http://usmlestep.com/kaplan-step2-notes-2005.htm

Usmle Kaplan Material

What are the most popular USMLE Kaplan materials?

They are available for all steps:

Step 1:
Kaplan Video Lectures - 200 hours of video on 17 DVD
http://www.usmlestep.com/2005-kaplan-step-1-dvds-lectures.htm
Kaplan Webprep - 70 hours of audio
Kaplan Qbank
Kaplan Qbook
Kaplan Notes

Step 2:
Kaplan Video Lectures - 140 hours of video
http://www.usmlestep.com/step2-kaplan-video-dvd.htm
Kaplan Highlights - 50 hours of video
Kaplan Qbank
Kaplan Qbook
Kaplan Notes

Step 3:
Kaplan Video Lectures - 100 hours of video
http://www.usmlestep.com/step3kaplandvd.htm
Kaplan Qbook
Kaplan Qbank
Kaplan Notes

Try startting here: