Customer Reviews

Boards and Wards: A Review for the USMLE, Steps 2 and 3

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Boards and Wards is probably the best "in a nutshell" review book on the market. While it may not cover every topic under the sun or go into painstaking details, the book provides a very no-nonsense review for most of the topics you can expect to see on Step 2 and 3. Also, because this book is so concise and relatively small (I can squeeze it into the front pocket of my white coat), it is the ultimate timekiller for when you have some free time on the floors.

If you could take Step 2 and 3 as open book exams with only Boards and Wards as your reference, you could probably score in the 90-95th percentile. Highly recommended.

I definitely recommend this book not only for your step 2 studying, but for your time on the wards as well. In terms of using is in conjunction with my rotations, I found that it was most helpful as a last minute review. I don't think that you could solely use this book to study for your rotations, but once you've used another series like Blueprints, this provides excellent review. In terms of studying for the boards, sections that stood out were internal medicine, surgery, and ob gyn. I also found family medicine helpful as I had not completed this rotation prior to taking the boards. One drawback is the lack of an emergency medicine section as EM is tested. Overall, I highly recommend this book and think it will definitely facilitate your studying for step 2. I also recommend First Aid.

Small and concise. Great for the spare time you have on the wards so you can make the best use of your limited time. Very complete and hits most, not all, subjects well. Easy to read and organized well. Excellent diagrams and algorithms. The practice questions are great as well.

I'm somebody who used several different sources in my review for all 3 steps. This turned out to be an excellent resource to use in conjunction with blueprints books, First Aid, and Prescription for the Boards for step 2 review. This would also not be a bad book to review while on clinical rotations.

I just graduated from my PA program and I have to suggest this book for PA students for rotations, board prep and real life. It covers the basics: Surgery, Internal Med, OB/GYN, Paediatrics, Derm, Radiology, Outpatient Med & Opthomology. I found this truly useful in surgery as it is not my "forte'" and it got me out of some sticky "on-the-spot" moments especially when I had to write orders. I saw other med students using it and they loved it as well. It covers the most commons and the "zebras". So, all I can say is do it, you will not regret it!

This book packs a tremendous amount of information into a tiny package. It is great for Step 2 CK review. I used this in conjunction with the UCV series and achieved excellent results. However, the information is packed in a very dense fashion and is not suitable in my opinion for primary reading. As a review, on the other hand, it is second to none.

This is book is a must-have for Clerkship rotations. This book is informative because it cuts out excessive discussion and cuts to the point, making it a great quick reference. Because it lacks some subjects and some more detailed information, you might want an additional book specific to your clerkship.

I used Boards and Wards with positive results for Step 2 and for Step 3. This of course means I passed both exams. It is a solid review book with enough detail. I read through Boards and Wards about three times for Step 2 and used two question books: NMS Review for USMLE Step 2 and Brochert's Usmle Step 2 Mock Exam. For Step 3, I read through Boards and Wards once since I was already familiar with it and used Kaplan's online Qbank (which is also solid). This is what worked for me. Good luck!

I strictly used this as a quick review before my shelf tests in 3rd year. I think it hit a lot of high points and gave me as much as I wanted the day before an exam. With any review book, there is going to be stuff that's missing, but overall I'd buy this book and highly recommend it for the 3rd year medical student.

This is my favourite book. As an international medical graduate, I used this book to prepare for USMLE Step 2 CK. I passed the exam on the first attempt. If I did, it is also due to this book. It is clearly structured, very practice-oriented and Step 2 CK-based. The appendix with eponyms and syndromes is also very concise and useful for the exam. Some criticism regards the orthopedics section -too concise-, and the psychiatry chapter, which is good, but could be better structured.
I don't know, whether this book alone would be enough to pass Step 2 CK. Personally, I used it together with other, more comprehensive resources, and I am now very happy about my result.
I recommend buying this book.