USMLE STEP-2 EXAM advises

This is mostly clinical exam so do not expect much of mechanism of diseases and drugs but concentrate on diagnosis and management.

COMPUTER BASED STEP-2, CBT
This is the experience from one of IMGs, who took it very recently and explains the facts..."I gave CBT and i felt it does not make any difference.I was able to complete the questions just in time. some are short and some are as long as the whole screen."

MCQs books- the book which i found closest to the exam was NMS. Swanson (family practice) is good. Other for practise harrison mcq ,southland tutorials

50 % of question were from int. medicine. the rest was mixture of ped ,trauma,ortho ,opth,obg,surgery. the no of match the coloumns were quite a lot.the joices for one best answer for many questions were from a to g.

medicine-respiratory-ca lung and its complications and treatment,pneumonia,copd,pulmonary TE.
CVS- pericarditis,tamponade,one of MI,aortic dissection,MV prolapse.
breast malignancy,fibroadenoma.
CNS-syncope,tia,multiple sclerosis,neuropathy,headache types and its managment,lumbar disc prolapse. blood-B12 def,ALL,Cml,blood trasfusion and complication. SLE,dermatomyositis,gout,osteoarthritis. endo-parathyroid,DM was asked quite alot and its complication and managment.
git-duodenal ulcer , alcohol related complications were quite a lot,angiodsyplasia,ibd,ca colon. pancreatitis ,antiobiotic associated colitis. fluid and electrolyte as standard was asked quite a lot. pediatrics-abuse,pku,alcohol teratoginicity,congenital heart dis., peds. ortho. psychiatry-schizophrenia,drugs and its side effects,child psychiatry. trauma was asked say around 20 questions.
ob/gyn-ovarian dz,preterm delivery,amenorrhea. toxicology ,heat related disorder,substance abuse. HIV and depending on CD4 count the prophylaxis ,anaphylaxis. Just solve as many mcq as possible that really helps. It is my impression too that the exam is easier now because lesser no. of questions, more time, less tiring, and just one day. good luck for bigger scores fellas!!! First aid for step-2 has been recently published by DR.VIKAS BHUSHAN , who wrote for step-1 also. its a good book..New Book , very highly recommended, "Prescription for the Boards, author.. FEIBUSCH and BREADER, publisher LIPPIN-COTT".. Try this book it is helpful......
Medical/Clinical Ethics books for STEP-2 and step-3 1. Clinical ethics : a practical approach to ethical decisions in clinical medicine by Albert R. Jonsen, Mark Siegler, William J. Winslade. ......2. Practical ethics for students, interns and residents: a short reference manual by Charles Junkerman, MD and David Schiedermayer, MD. ..1. MEDICINE: Washington manual/ NMS/ Med-study series booklets/ for reference read "Essentials of CECIL". 2. OB/GYN: Hecker Moore/ NMS. 3. PSYCHIATRY: Appleton-Lange (MCQs)/ for ref. NMS. 4. PEDIATRICS: Appleton-Lange (MCQs)/ for ref. NMS. 5. EPIDEMIOLOGY/PUBLIC HEALTH: NMS (Don’t do all the details just surf through) 6. SURGERY: Just do TRAUMA/ BURNS/ ORTHOPEDICS. 7. DERMATOLOGY: An Illustrated Text. (author… Gawkrodger, publisher.. Churchill Livingstone), excellent book.