Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
if you were to use just one question book...., June 5, 2005
Hopefully you have more time than that. I took my step 3 in 2005, used both NMS and Qbook for questions and review, given this edition of NMS was published in 2002 and Qbook 2004, and I was paranoid. But if I only had time for one question book, I'd prefer NMS, as Qbook tends to go into too much detail that I probably would not need to pass my exam, and NMS really did a very good job in the explanations.
Do you need Qbank? I didn't get it because, 1. it is very expensive; 2. it lacks the flexibility in studying as it requires you to sit in front of the computer; 3. it can be very tiring, as if I no longer feel bad enough that I had to dish out $600+ for the test and sit through 2 days of exam; 4. after step 1 and 2, I really do not need to familiarize myself any more with the computer interface (NMS also comes with a computer question format along with the hardcopy); 5. Qbank is pretty up to date if that's a concern. And I have always wondered if the questions overlapped between Qbook and Qbank. I wrote to Kaplan, they never wrote me back.
Now, hopefully NMS will come up with a newer edition soon, otherwise if you are taking your step 3 in 2006 or later, you may want to think twice. However, I will still give this a 4 star in 2005.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
It stands alone!!!, November 12, 2004
Ultimately, the true measure of any preparatory text lies in the results and successes of its users. In this regard, I found this text to be an enormous success!
I used this book as my sole source for preparing for Step 3. The strengths of this book are as follows:
1) Detail: All answers are meticulously written with clear, thorough explanations, such that you're never in doubt as to why your answer may have been wrong and why the correct answer is the best choice.
2) Consistency: As with many texts, this is written by two authors, yet it is impossible to tell question-styles apart. Furthermore, the editing is superb in that the answers to questions that cover the same topic but are in different sections of the book are always consistent with each other.
3)Up To Date: The answers in this book reflect the authors' up-to-dare knowledge of controversial areas, as they always present you with the right answer but often provide you with an additional explanation if the area is controversial.
4) Breadth: The book's 750 questions allow it to cover an enormous range of material, more than enough to adequately prepare you for the exam.
There are few weaknesses of this text. The most prominent one is the lack of any pictures, which makes dermatological preparation difficult. For that, I would suggest picking up a supplemental text. For all other topics, you can't go wrong with this text!
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
It's enough, May 26, 2004
Great!!!
I used this book as the sole source for step 3 (sometimes a little bit of Crush Step 3) and was more than enough. Use it if you as myself were exposed to peds, gyn, psych and other stuff some years ago. The book is most current and well written with good pictures but does not get 5 stars because the questions do not reflect the actual USMLE-MCQ style but it was not a major problem.
It is written in 5 practice test with total 750 questions that cover most of the topics tested in step 3; it is coming with a company CD ROM that to be honest I never used, has the same questions as in the book.
In summary a great buy and was really good for me. You do not need anything else.
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by Adam Brochert MD
by Kaplan
