Samantha M.
Step 2 CS success!
I went to NYCSPrep through the recommendation of a friend and I could not be happier with my decision to take the review course. I have not had clinical experience in a while and was anxious about tackling Step 2 CS. Dr. Somas was very straightforward and thorough with his lessons that, in 3 days, we covered everything from how the test is broken down, how it will be scored, what is expected of us during the exam, what should be included in the history and how to do a focused physical exam. It seemed overwhelming at first because I felt like I knew minimal to nothing and came in without reviewing First Aid. After the review course, we were free to come in and use the facilities. It was easy finding people to practice with, and within the first week I had my history and PE down to 13 minutes. Writing the note was a challenge for me because I did not know how to format it and I felt as if my HPI made no sense. With the help of Dr. Abhiram Pillai, I was able to improve my note drastically within a few days. Dr. Abhiram was very nice and friendly, he made sure to come up to us to see if we would like to have our notes reviewed. He would copy and paste the HPI to notepad and reformat the data collected so that it flowed and was precise. He also taught acceptable typing shortcuts come test day. It was because of him I was able to structure my note in such a way that I could describe my three differential diagnoses within the first few sentences, along with the relevant qualifiers per symptom. The mock exams and SP sessions were also extremely helpful in guiding my studies and preparing me for my exam. Overall, I highly recommend NYCSPrep for anyone who wants to feel comfortable and confident in taking Step 2 CS.
