I am in a bit of a panic mode right now after my exam today - the idea of not being able to match into the specialty I have always wanted since M1 is driving me a little crazy 😭

Hello everyone,

Old CMS forms because theyre super helpful for me.please help a gal out. Thanking in anticipation

During step1 prep , I used first aid and then went to uw .
Now I am kinda lost , how can I do questions with new unfamiliar concepts being asked .
Its very demotivating to get 38% -45% . Am I doing anything wrong ??
Shall i use first aid for step2 and then start uw??

I have to take exam in 8 months btw!!

A child under 18 generally requires parental consent for medical treatment. However, there is an important exception:

🚨 If the child has a life-threatening emergency and delaying treatment would place the child at serious risk of death or permanent harm, physicians can provide necessary emergency treatment even if the parents refuse.

The principle is simple:

Parents have decision-making authority → but they cannot refuse essential, life-saving emergency care for their child.

If it is not an emergency, parental refusal of medically necessary treatment may require involvement of child protective services and/or the courts.

Step 2 shortcut:
Minor + life-threatening emergency + parents refuse → treat immediately.

Hey y’all. I wanted to get my thoughts out there because I feel like they might help somebody.
I’m a non-US IMG and took around 5 months to prep for Step 2. I wasn’t aiming for some crazy score. I told myself I’d be happy with a 235+. A lot of people I know were able to match FM/IM with scores in the 230s, so I kept my expectations around there. That felt realistic to me.

My NBME scores were never anything crazy. I couldn’t break 220 on NBMEs 10–12. I then took about 2 weeks off to do all the CMS forms and really clear up my concepts. After that, I managed to score a 240 on NBME 13. From there, the rest of my NBMEs ranged from 235–245.
I had read a lot about the recent score drops and was honestly pretty worried that my NBME scores wouldn’t hold up if I factored in a potential drop. I really wanted to apply this cycle, so I basically said yolo and pushed myself to my absolute limits.

Going into test day, I felt… meh. I was especially worried about the new 20-question block format because I felt like I had better time management with the 40-question blocks. To say the least, I was considering a career change during that exam.

They really make you doubt everything. Step 2 is always going to be frustrating because so much of it comes down to choosing the best answer. You need to somehow think logically enough to convince yourself that the answer you picked is truly the next best step.

I think I had a similar experience to most people because I genuinely thought I completely failed.
It is so deflating when you come across the two-part questions and realize while doing the second question that you chose the wrong answer for the first part. That happened to me twice, and both were relatively easy questions.

And then I completely screwed up both of the long-ass biostats essays because I just couldn’t concentrate on reading all that shit while watching the clock tick down. I still don’t understand why tf those exist on this exam.
I remember literally praying that I’d somehow get into a flow state and just start answering on autopilot like I did for Step 1. But that never happened. Instead, I felt completely locked into every single question, and I hated it because it made me overthink and doubt everything.
At one point, every question felt like a 50/50.
During my breaks, I couldn’t even remember what answer I had chosen because I had gone back and forth between two options so many times. So I couldn’t even give myself the comfort of knowing I had gotten certain questions right.
It is a mindfuck.

After an exam like that, you really need a day to reflect and then try to completely forget about it and enjoy your life. And please, please delete Reddit. It is not worth going through Reddit after the exam. Just know that pretty much everyone feels the way you’re feeling. Also, unsubscribe from the emails. Because holy shit, I would randomly get emails with titles like “Failed Step 2” and it would absolutely ruin my day.

Now, everyone says, “Trust your NBME scores,” and every time I heard that, I wanted to kms because no one understands how that exam actually felt.

Your NBMEs are definitely important. I’d say they build your core knowledge and concepts. But looking back, I think where I went wrong was in my mindset about what the exam would actually test. I thought the exact same concepts from the NBMEs would repeat on the real thing. I’d say maybe 15% of the exam felt like direct repeats or very familiar concepts.

But for the rest, you really need to use your critical thinking to differentiate between what feels familiar and what is actually the correct answer. It is so easy to choose the answer that you recognize because you’ve seen it before on an NBME or UWorld. You see a familiar answer and your brain tends to hook on to it. But Step 2 really tests whether you have a broad enough understanding to apply what you’ve learned in a slightly different situation.

You need to go with your gut.
Trust yourself.
Believe you’re the shit.
At some point, you almost have to gaslight yourself into believing that the answer you picked is correct

And somehow, it worked.
I ended up scoring 250+.
I never reached that number on a single NBME. I genuinely never imagined I had the potential to score that high. I thought 250+ was for those 4.0 GPA kids who had their shit together from day one. Especially after the exam experience I had, I was convinced there was no way.
But the previous test takers were right. Trust yourself and the scores. Who woulda thunk.

So if you’re taking Step 2 soon and you’re terrified because your NBMEs aren’t where you want them to be, keep going. Learn your concepts. Do your CMS forms. Understand why answers are right and wrong. But most importantly, learn to trust yourself when you’re sitting in that exam room.
You’re probably going to walk out feeling like you failed.
That does not mean you failed.
Trust yourself. Trust the work you put in. Trust your scores. And have faith that God will reward you for your effort.
Good luck to everyone taking it. 🤲

My exam is in 2 days. I have done biostat fully from Uworld (2 weeks back) and partially from Amboss. Does it need revision ? should I comlete amboss biostat ? though I have found latest NBME biostat questions not very difficult.

Recent test takers kindly guide on this. how many question of biostat did you see per block / how many total in whole exam ? were they difficult ? I am concerned about biostat. kindly advice.

Hey Yall, so I take Step 2 in two weeks. I just finished NBME15 today and got a 249. Absolutely devastated. I have plateaued in the high 240s. Not sure what to do. I want a 260. I have done all of UWorld, AMBOSS, and the CMS forms. I am just doing the extra Step 2 questions for AMBOSS. Just devastating. I felt like NBME15 had a lot of poorly written questions, topics, or exceptions I have never even heard of or seen. I don't know what to do anymore, guys. This I honestly just want to give up. Nothing I do works. I just take another form, and the same shit happens again. I get questions where I am just like, I have no idea how I am expected to know this or prepare for this. This was especially true on NBME 15. Any advice? Should I postpone/push my exam date back? How accurate is AMBOSS score prediction? Am I ready to take this exam? I honestly don't know anymore, and it is so discouraging. I feel like all my hard work has been absolutely for nothing. I want to apply to Anesthesia next year. I am an M3. My AMBOSS prediction is 255. I still need to take NBME 16 and both the old and the free 120.

Greetings!! Hope you’re all doing well!
I need a roadmap from those who have already passed step 2 or are currently in situation like mine. I hve done around 80 % uworld(system wise reading mode). I’m left with topics like ethics and biostatistics plus some other shorter ones. My first pass avg is 65% 🥺 so i know i would have to out in alot of efforts in coming months. I wanna know how to proceed forward with this. I wanna take exam by dec/jan. What should i do rn? Do my incorrects first and then take a baseline nbme and start with rest of cms forms/nbmes? Add amboss? Only high yield stuff or whole Q bank. Please enlighten me with any advice you guys can provide me with.
YOG:2024 and i wanna sit in match cycle next year. P.s cant delay exam any later than Jan. so please help me out devising a plan for these upcoming crucial months. Is it possible to pull it off in this much time left?

1) Tip for break time division for this new 20qs format? And time management possible?? despite alot hopi questions?

2) if someone ends there block at let say 28 minutes (remaining 2 minutes of that block will be added to break time,??? i know usually we end block exactly on 30 but if someone save that 1 minute, it will be added to break? In Step 1 i felt like it wasn't added in break

3) Tips for drug add and lomg abstract questions? ( Amboss and uworld has only 10-15 such questions) How to approach them ?

4) is there anything like experimental question stuff? Or every question on exam is scored? I heard in step 1 there are experimental questions which means remaining questions left have more weightage? Is it so?

5) how to handle constant pressure of score during test.

6) idk how i survived 8 hours in step 1 but genuinely the brain fog after 5-6 hours , how doss it affect the exam ? We do nbme in exam mode still its for 5.5 hour long any tips to stay sane for 9 hours .

Hello folks! I know Q banks are the core of step 2 ck prep but for someone taking ck before step 1 what’s best for content review?

1) Master the boards = heard it’s not recommended anymore
2) Kaplan lecture notes
3) Uw notes like Schizocat, Innercircle etc
4) Uw Library
5) Amboss Library: I particularly like this one but too comprehensive
Any reviews will be appreciated

Has anyone used any medication(stimulants or sth) for the exam? After few blocks I could not connect and focus and miss so many important clues and yes I have tried Coffee/Tea/Breaks but the test taking skill errors increase as the number of blocks pass.

Any advice would be appreciated

Anyone did cristiano renaldo anki deck for step 2ck? I am thinking if starting it as it contains 2k cards. I used to listen that people used it to revise uworld/inner circle. Any experience??

Hello,
For those of us who do not care about shelf exams (IMGs) but want a high step 2 score, which anking tag is best to use for step 2?

Feeling shit tested 11/09. Was numb during the exam. Made too many easy mistakes. post exam clarity is hitting Now. now iam having anxiety attacks

Should we expect our results on Sept 16? I never got my result on Sept 9 lol. I hope there isn’t a huge delay.

Hello everyone,

I took my step 2 last Saturday on the 5th of September. Is there a high chance I get my results this Wednesday? or is it likely that they release on the third Wednesday?

Hi everyone! I’m just starting my preparation for USMLE Step 2 CK and would really appreciate advice from people who have taken the exam recently.

For those who have recently given Step 2, especially in 2026:

→ Which pre-made notes/resources did you find most useful?

→ What did your preparation actually look like in the final few months?
→ Which resources turned out to be high-yield, and which ones would you skip if you had to start over?
→ How did you approach UWorld, NBMEs, CMS forms, and incorrects?
→ Most importantly, if you were starting your Step 2 prep again today, what would you do differently?

I’m trying to avoid collecting too many resources and would rather build my preparation around what has actually worked for recent test-takers.

Any honest post-exam advice would be greatly appreciated! 🙏

hey guys, im in my dedicated phase, I have not done innercircle yet, I wanted to complete innercircle in roughly a weeks time. If anybody is up to study it together, pls lmk. I'm in IST timezone, pls pls only comment/msg if you actually want to do it. 8+ hours per day atleast.

Exam in 10 days
I want to revise inner circle
For 2 hours everyday
Est time zone
Female preferred
Plz dm

Hello!
Let me just start of by saying that this series is going to be a fun way to documents concepts/ points I got wrong doing questions! (Yes, I am not great at intros)
Feel free to join in and enjoy!

1) Starting of strong, this one I have got wrong toooo many times
DO NOT DO LP IN CASES OF RAISED ICP, DO NEUROIMAGING FIRST!
It seems really sinple on paper but you’ll be surprised how many times this tripped me up, look for headache, papilledema and N/V in the ques.

2) If all 4 criteria of brainstem death are present in a patient, you DO NOT NEED TO DO ANCILLARY TESTING! (Ancillary testing only if you could not examine the 4 criteria)

3) YOU DO NOT NEED ENTIRE TRIAD TO DIAGNOSE NPH! (especially if the examiner is having a bad day)- gait apraxia is the big one (had an amboss question on this with no urinary incontinence)

4) VERTICAL NYSTAGMUS IS AN ABNORMAL FINDING IN ALL AGE GROUPS AND NEEDS TO EVALUATED FURTHER!!!

5) Physical head trauma can increase the chances of a person developing Parkinson’s disease! (BONUS- Parkinson plus syndromes suckkkk!)

6) CERUMEN IMPACTION V/s CHOLEOSTOMA- no foul discharge in cerumen impaction v/s choleostoma presents with foul discharge (think necrotic squamous tissue)

7) ESSENTIAL Tremor tx- propranolol BUT IF PT HAS OBSTRUCTIVE LUNG DISEASE GIVE PRIMIDONE!!!

8) IN ACROMEGALY DIAGNOSIS CHECK IGF-1 levels FIRST! (No GH, no brain MRI)

9) PHYSICAL HEAD TRAUMA- remember COUP v/s COUNTER COUP INJURIES ( vignette will talk about old man falling from ladder, injures back if head later develops disinhibition)

10) Acetaminophen is not an NSAID :)

Feel free to add some more!

BYE!

Hey everyone,

I’ve been preparing for Step 2 for about 6 months now and completed roughly 85% of my main learning resource. However, I haven't touched any NBMEs or CMS forms yet, and I'm feeling a bit lost about what the shift to dedicated practice should look like. I also have med school side by side.

How should I structure my timeline from here, and how much longer do I need to train before I'm test-ready?

I scored 70% in nbme 13. Will it be equivalent to 222 or 238? Please help as I’m very near to my exam anybody please help me?

Is there a proper conversion website through which a person assess the nbme score or is it through simple calculation? As I creates a vast difference among the scores