Each year all of the California medical students take the MACY exam which is basically our state’s version of the Step 2 Clinical Skills exam. This test basically is supposed to be a measure of how well you can see a patient’s chief complaint, form a differential diagnosis, talk to the patient, ask the pertinent questions according to your differential, do a focus physical exam, and explain your findings to the patient after and your overall plan. I took this test last Tuesday, and truly the days leading up to it for filled with terror. I hadn’t exactly been given super high scores during my sophomore and junior physical exam tests, so my confidence was shaken as how I would get through this MACY exam. But as I have often realized in my medical school journey, when I feel my weakest, God steps in. I praise God for a certain classmate who I saw at church who invited me to study with him. In the 6 hours of studying I did with him, I felt more prepared than ever, and when I finished that MACY exam I felt as if I aced it (which is not normal for me). So once again I give God all to the honor and praise for hearing my prayers and sending me a classmate who could help me. The great thing about this MACY exam is that it really gives you a glimpse of what Step 2 CS is going to be like, so now I feel a lot less apprehensive about that test too, which I am scheduled to take on August 17. Speaking of Step 2 CS, for any 3rd years reading this blog, MAKE SURE YOU SCHEDULE STEP 2 CS EARLY IN ORDER TO GET YOUR DATE. The test is only offered in like 5 places in the U.S. and Los Angelos is one of the hardest places to get a spot. I was on the waiting list for a spot for like 1 month before a spot opened up. You can wait a little longer to schedule Step 2 CK, but don’t procrastinate on Step 2 CS.
In other news I am basically on a 2 week research elective which really means that I get to study more for Step 2 CK, while finishing up some of the reasearch projects I was working on. I have been using the Usmle World question bank and the Boards and Wards book to prepare for the test. In my previous post I mentioned that I wasn’t pleased with my last practice test but things are going a lot better now, praise God. I think my issue was that I hadn’t done internal medicine since the begginning of the year and I was really weak on a lot of concepts that I had previously learned but forgotten. I am still doing my best to study hard in order to do better on Step 2 than I did on Step 1, so keep me in your prayers.
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