Customer Reviews

Crush Step 2: The Ultimate USMLE Step 2 Review, 3e

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Overall I am pretty disappointed in this book. Its treatments of the topics are, as others have said, overly simple (dont get me wrong, simple is usually a good thing, but the book is worthless if it dosent give any more detail than what the avg med student can regurgitate from memory any day of the week). It only makes a few basic points about each disease, which includes mostly stuff you should already know. It then ignores the more complex aspects, such as basic mechanism etc that are likely to be tested (usually through a 2nd or 3rd level question that appears more clinical in nature). The book also contains a large number of errors, which are largely conceptual (as in the author is directly saying something that is incorrect) as opposed to grammatical. I dont have any other step2 books to compare to, but i'd avoid it and try one of the others.

The reason this book is so popular is that its light on information and provides a false sense of accomplishments as readers can finish this book rather quickly. Brochert's other book USMLE Step 2 Secrets is a much better than this and one that I recommend. This book is a joke. Unless you already have a sound base of information, this book is useless. It's too light on information and you will not pass the USMLE Step 2 if you read this book alone. I would definitely purchase First Aid or Step Up as they are better sources especially if you are seeking a comprehensive book to learn from. This book is like a kindergarden version of a Step 2 book. Brochert has enough sense not to make a Step 1 version of this book because he knows he couldn't get away with that. There is a reason Brochert has USMLE Step 2 secrets and all of the platinum vignettes because this book is so light on information.

Crush Step 2: The Ultimate USMLE Step 2 Review is less of a review book and more of an "intro to" book. By that I mean most of the topics covered in Crush do not go into detail at all but just provide an overly simplistic definition of a disease. That type of styling and information presentation may be fine for STEP 1 if you were doing a last second skim-over where you just want to get a limited/basic gist of things, but for STEP 2 it is totally inadequate. The "treatment and management" of many diseases are missing and the illustrations and pictures leave much to be desired. This book should NOT be used as a primary source of information for studying...I wouldn't even use it to supplement any other book because I guarantee you that you will know approximately 90% of the information provided here and probably in more detail! The book does do a good job, however, of telling you what diagnostic investigation to order and because of the books simplistic presentation and wording you can fly by the ~300pgs in two or three days.

All in all, skip this book. Only use this book if you want a very basic and simplistic way of reviewing some materials 2-5 days before the exam. I suggest you instead invest your money in First Aid STEP 2 CK or Step Up to STEP 2.

Probably worth using with First Aid CK together if you are able to get through books fast. I believe this one is better though to cover all bases. First aid tries to update every few years, but end up messing you over by concentrating on specific Q's that were asked on previous tests, but not the overall picture of Step 2. Questions come and go, but this book covers all the principles, and augmented with USMLE world you should do well. They haven't had a new edition for a while and it's still just as relevant. Plus google McMumbai podcasts that go right along with it if you have a long commute, it helps solidify it a little more. Honestly not that great of a pod cast like Golgian, but helpful if you end up using this book. Step 2 secrets is EXACTLY the same as Crush, just in question format that I didn't think was as helpful for me.

This book provides comprehensive preview for step 2 CK. Focuses on next step in management of commonly asked diseases. Uses paragraphs instead of bullets for easy, coherent reading.

I bought this book thinking it would be a good review for step 2. IT IS NOT

The book is perfect if you haven't looked over any materials for a while, and need a quick re-fresher on
common (very high-yield) diseases. Management in the book is horrible.

Good book for review while in rotations, but horrible for detailed step 2 CK.

Crush Step 2 is a nice read for being a medical board review book. It reads like someone is giving you an informal lecture rather than the alternative options which provide the loved by some, disliked by me bulleted format. The way I learn best is of course practice questions, however, sometimes reading books is necessary. That is where this comes into play. It is a great adjunct to qbanks, however, cannot be used as a primary source in and of itself. It misses a lot of information about certain topics that other books cover (I also have step up which is short but DENSE). Good students will know these missing bits of info so it wont be a big deal, but students who have a poor long term memory, go to a school with poor clinical education, or have taken some time off will be left wanting more. A great read for the above average student to reinforce the bread and butter of the boards. Not a good choice for the struggling, or out of practice student.

Great book, and a great purchage. Item arrived quick, and was as expected. Perfect! Was very happy with the experience. Nothing more to add.

This book is incomplete. I reviewed the necessary material and was using this as something to build on, to use as my study guide. Turned out that I had to build a TON. I've spent so much time adding additional notes, searching for something that would not be in the index which fails me 90% of the time. More reliable sources contradict the text, resulting in me having to cross out or ignore certain text. I'd invested too much time in this book for me to switch to another, only increasing me in my loathing of this book the more time I've spent with it. I strongly recommend using a different book--not First Aid though.

Crush 2 is ok at best. Detailed but may need other books to supplement the material. A definite read to get started.