USMLE Step 2 Secrets

Firstly, I also own the 2nd edition (must have been printed ages ago, and looks old; I don't even own the 3rd) that I had purchased off Amazon probably a year ago for 2 dollars, but now that I'm closer to my real Step 2CK and have begun to get more serious, decided that I'd just take the hit and pay the higher price for the fully updated 4th edition.

Highly annoyed I am, considering the content of the books is PRACTICALLY IDENTICAL. Ostensibly, the book looks highly updated because it's on whiter paper and has blue tables, but practically every entry is identical to the SECOND edition. The only part that is updated that I notice is the screening guidelines for cancer, HOWEVER, these are questionable as well, since there are inconsistencies with UpToDate, so even though they're updated in the 4th edition, I don't actually trust them (for my 2CK, I'm just getting my screening guidelines from UpToDate).

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But now are you ready for the big blow? I'm going to quote some stuff from the 4th edition and you tell me what's wrong:

P.124:

"Glucose-6-phosphatase deficiency - X-linked recessive."

Firstly, it's glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency that is XR. G6Pase deficiency is autosomal recessive.

ALL on P.144:

"What are the important elements of the history when anemia is present? Important points include medications, blood loss...glucose-6-phosphatase deficiency..."
"Chloroquine and sulfa drugs cause hemolysis in patients with glucose-6-phosphatase deficiency."
"Heinz bodies (glucose-6-phosphatase deficiency)"
"Bite cells (classically, glucose-6-phosphatase deficiency; other hemolytic anemias"

I mean really? Are you serious? Knowing this is G6PD deficiency, not G6Pase deficiency (which is von Gierke's disease), is probably one of the most BASIC concepts in medicine. On p.124 I let it slide, but to make 4 errors consecutively later on, as has been done in this book, shows that the writer really has a very limited idea of medicine, and makes the rest of the text, validity-wise, pretty much a joke.

P.157: "How do you recognize glucose-6-phosphatase deficiency? This genetic disorder is X-linked recessive..." I rest my case.

P.159: Shows a table with PT, PTT, BT, Platelet count, RBC count, etc. For warfarin, it lists PT high and PTT normal; for heparin, it lists PT normal and PTT high. Now obviously you follow warfarin with PT and heparin with PTT, however BOTH PTT AND PT ARE HIGH WITH BOTH WARFARIN AND HEPARIN. Just think about their mechanisms of action. Goljan even talks about this in his audios, how students easily mess up this point. This book makes retarded errors. I feel like I'm reading something written by a medical student pre-Step1.

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On top of all of that, I've learned very little NEW material. Most of it is "yeah, yeah, know that, know that." Nothing really new that sticks out where I'm like "oh, I'm so glad I got this book to review."

Would definitely go without it. But if you do decide to purchase it, just get the 2nd edition, which costs like 2 dollars. I regret buying the 4th edition. I could've spent that money on some good pizza and stout.

Everyone studies differently. I learn best from doing practice questions so was on the lookout for a good supplement to UWorld. Tried reading Master the Boards - which is a great book - but was not working for me; it was too passive. Secrets introduces topics by asking questions, which made it engaging.

I took a lot of notes on UWorld questions and annotated Secrets accordingly and felt well-prepared for CK.

P.S. If you are reading this early in the MS3 year: there is no substitute for preparing thoroughly for each shelf!!

Must have for Step2. I got several questions right on my exam because of this book

Nothing's gonna top First Aid for Step 1. For Step 2 CK UWorld is undoubtedly the best resource for studying, and it's hard to find a great book to study from alongside it. I got Master the Boards and Secrets based on online reviews. Between the two, I definitely prefer Secrets because 1) It's portable so I can easily carry it around in my white coat and read it while on electives 2) It packages material into Q&A format so you're getting just small digestible pieces at a time 3) The material is all pretty high-yield.

Overall I would recommend it, it's good to read when you're sick of UWorld questions and want to switch things up.

Just to set a little pretense, I am the type of person who gets done studying for the day after my hard cutoff and within 15 min I am freaking out that I had not studied enough, or I get random thoughts run through my head on some random tidbit of info that I feel the need to look up immediately. So I am a bad study stressor.

This book was a great after hours tool to help mitigate a lot of that. I was able to read this and not totally neglect my wife during my STEP study time. It's brief and to the point enough where it makes a good general review book. But it really only functions as a review book of high points which is exactly how it is marketed. Don't use this as a prime study tool. I found it's only benefit is review and pointing out holes in your knowledge that you then need to then fill with a primary study book or more qbank questions. It does stress a lot of high yield info upfront in 100 top study points which I did end up seeing a few in some shape or form in the actual STEP2CK exam.

Summary: good overview and adjuvant assessment of your knowledge breadth, along with an abundance of high points. Not detailed enough to be used as anything more than a paired study tool to round out your sessions.

Easy read. Great way to make sure you have covered and understand all of the highest yield topics.

Anything concise that hits the high points is a win for me. I'm glad I bought this book. Not comprehensive obviously but a good one to have in your library.

Perfect reading before bed. High-yield. No frills or fluff.

Awesome, awesome, awesome. Those are the only 3 words you need to know for this product. Great for Step 2 CK.

Haven't even read through it yet and I already love it. It's the perfect size for my white coat pocket. I really wanted a little book that I could carry around while I'm on my clinical rotations preparing for Step 2 CK, and this book is absolutely perfect. Easy to read and full of information. Perfect read for any downtime during my day (especially at the hospital/clinic when I don't want to be seen on my phone). Very happy with this purchase!