First Aid for the USMLE Step 2 CS (Clinical Skills Exam)

Rating:
Summary: Response to "Completely Worthless" review
Review: This is in response to another review deriding this book. First and foremost, a disclosure: I am not in any way affiliated nor associated with the authors or publisher of this book, so let's get that out of the way. Likewise, I am not here to write a glowing review gushing about how this book will help you ace the exam, although this whole series of books had had a favorable impact on my other exam scores.

What prompted me to write is to counter both the rating and comments that another reviewer had posted. Granted, everybody has a right to his or her opinion in the US of A. However, this book may not have been written primarily for US medical graduates. A small but significant and growing percentage of USMLE examinees are, like myself, foreign (or, to be politically correct, international) medical graduates.

For some of us, it may not be so easy as "basically doing your rotations, remembering how you spoke to them and examined them, and then speaking English," as the other reviewer wrote, because (lo and behold) the patients you saw in medical school and afterwards in practice may NOT have spoken any English at all.

Sure, one can argue that international medical graduates would need to adapt to, and conform to, US medical standards as well as language requirements. Many of us that stay, eventually do. It is heartening that US graduates will now be subject to the same set of basic medical, clinical and skills (read language and rapport) testing as well as financial setbacks (the CS exam costs as much as thrice the salary of foreign medical residents' salaries). Unfortunately, these issues are beyond the scope of this review.

It would be too presumptuous and conceited to think that every review book is right for every medical student. However, it would be foolhardy to dismiss a guidebook as laughable without putting its contents and purpose into perspective.


Just my two cents, or as some IMGs would see it, 1 Phiippine peso, or 0.87 rupee, or .02 Euro. Whatever.

Rating:
Summary: Completely Worthless
Review: Unless you have never examined a patient during your time in medical school, there is absolutely no need to buy this book to prepare for the worthless exam that is the Step 2 CS. I honestly didn't buy this book, but took a look at it in my medical school's bookstore and had to laugh. Preparation for the exam is basically doing your rotations, remembering how you spoke to them and examined them, and then speaking English (which is 1/3 of the exam). Shame on anyone who purchases this thing, but if you want a good laugh, by all means, pick it up and take a look.