Hi!

Great question. My personal opinion is that Med-Anesthesia programs are a tool looking for a solution. In theory it sounds tempting, however, I agree with your assessment – I haven’t found a compelling use case, outside of critical care, where the added skills justifies the time involved.

To me, the question isn’t, “is knowing internal medicine helpful?” Of course it’s helpful, but then again, so is knowing obstetrics, pediatrics, surgery, or ANY field in medicine. The question is, “is knowing internal medicine worth the opportunity cost?” That is a much more challenging question, but given your ambivalence and known lack of interest in critical care, I’d guess probably not.

The “perioperative home” has been talked about since before I entered residency, and at least at my experiences in MGH, seems even further from actually being implemented effectively. That could always change, but then again, if you’re not interested in critical care, then “perioperative home” may not be too appealing to you either.

My advice: be very clear on what you want your future to look like. Then ask yourself, “what is the best way to accomplish that goal?” Most people don’t know themselves well enough, so they spread themselves too thin going for anything that “might” help them. Instead, take the time to know yourself – you’ll thank yourself later.

If you have the chance (and access via your school’s intranet), I’d recommend Clayton Christensen’s article, “How Will You Measure Your Life” https://hbr.org/2010/07/how-will-you-measure-your-life. He also wrote a book with the same title, which is excellent.

Alec

That’s a hard question. I’m less of a fan of Kaplan for Step 2 CK, although I think it’s great for Step 1. If you are going through clerkships and will be doing QBanks over the course of 1+ years, I’d do UWorld twice. If you have a short period (e.g., 3-months), I’d probably do Kaplan, then UWorld.

What do you think about Medicine/Anesthesia residency? Do you feel that the field of perioperative care might be possible some day? I’m from a program that has this dual program available, but I struggle with finding a place, clinically where you can really utilize both specialties (besides critical care). And if not interested in critical care, would you not recommend this program?

Thank you!

Regarding choosing a Q bank for STEP 2 CK, would you recommend Kaplan over UWorld/Rx?

During step 1 prep, the question structure in the Kaplan question bank has been very helpful for improving question interpretation. is the same true for Step 2 CK?

Thank you.

Also I only use my Android phone and so I would only have ankidroid app with me to review my cards.. Would that work?

Thank you for your emails

I have a few questions though as my exam is in two days

I just did Uwsa 2 and Nbme 22 and I got 241 and 225 respectively… I must say I’m really disappointed as I’m targeting a 250 but I’ve been preparing since October 2018 and I’m at that point where FA makes me sick.
My UWSA 1 done about 4 weeks ago was 243 , nbme 21 was 236.
What do you suggest I do within these two days.
I’m really just tired now
Thank you I’d be expecting your respons