The total duration of the preparation was around 12 months (with a full-time job)
-Study materials:
*Kaplan Q bank (once) overall performance 77%
*UW step 2 CK (once). Overall performance 78%. Did not get time to do a second round. Only did the wrong questions in Peads, OBGYN and psychiatry.
*UW biostatistics subject review
*Uptodate; occasionally to clarify some concepts
*Did only the new CMS forms in peads, OBGYN and psychiatry
-Assessments:
*UWSA1 = 276 (one week before the exam)
*NBME8= 247 (4 days before the exam)
*UWSA2= 254 (the day before the exam)
*step1 score= 241
*Real deal= 261
-Exam day:
*Very long day and mentally exhausting. The most important thing is good night sleep the night before and plan your breaks beforehand
*Did block 1 and 2 back to back without a break. After the second block until the end of the exam I took a short break about 5-7 minutes after each block. The lunch break after block 4 was a bit longer 15 minutes. On each break, i had a protein bar and a small cup of strong turkish coffee which helped me to maintain my concentration. The prometric centre allowed me to have a bottle of water at the computer disk. Every now and gain had small seps of water which helped me not to get dehydrated.
I wish you all guys the best of luck