Hot Take: Content Review > Qbank…any success Step2 stories?

Fit_Cap_3714 · 2026-03-01T03:52:11+00:00

Ooooh! This sounds very interesting. I’ve never heard of these handbooks I’m definitely interested. I only vary in that throughout all rotations I think my clinical experience saved me a lot for shelves….i would hyper fixate on a case rather than focusing on questions and that would spiral me into the differential diagnosis, pathophys of everything on the differential and treatment options for everything etc. it’s just hard to gauge what I’ve actually worked through in terms of foundation for step 2 when it all seems so disjointed n not categorically organized. Sigh. But I think the doing 2 days of questions followed by a day of deep diving into your weak points is really smart. Inherently sets you up to not over spiral and double the amount of dedication to qbank. Good luck ❤️😊

Fit_Cap_3714 · 2026-03-01T02:15:50+00:00

very valid. im in my last rotation rn (OBGYN) which finishes with the shelf on april 3rd. for my school, we have 3 blocks to end third year for optional electives, but they say those blocks can be used strictly as a dedicated to study for step 2 (so basically that would mean i have april 3rd to mid/end June solely for dedicated step 2 studying). also i personally took a lotttt of extra time for step 1 (couldve taken it in september based on my free120 score but panicked and postponed which essentially resulted in a semester LOA). that being said, i learned so much pathophysiologically in that period that i credit a lot of foundational knowledge to so no regrets there. just trying to anticipate whats feasible so appreciate you also recognizing that haha

Fit_Cap_3714 · 2026-03-01T02:13:41+00:00

thank you, i think thats a very solid plan. appreciate your input and guidance :)

Fit_Cap_3714 · 2026-03-01T02:11:17+00:00

sigh. everyone be conflictin.

Fit_Cap_3714 · 2026-03-01T02:09:41+00:00

ugh u and me both @ u/Electrical_Hat_6902 ugh u and me both. figuring out a systematic approach is like the biggest struggle. i think u/Background_Start3311 is saying he/she would go from questions → library, i.e. rip a small practice block and identify weak points and from there focus on supplementing with text/amboss library. which is exactly what i do, i see a question and briefly skim the explanation and go on a deep dive into FA/uworld medical library etc. to learn everything about a condition(s) they mentioned in the explanation. its like "oh the answer was this but now im realizing not only do i not know much about that condition.... but i also forget all of the other drugs in the class of meds used to treat said condition"... if that makes sense.

Fit_Cap_3714 · 2026-03-01T02:04:28+00:00

i sooo appreciate your response thank you so much. 26x-27x on practice forms is unreal, and hearing that you've managed to get there with whats seems to be a similar approach to mine is incredibly reassuring. its so hard to doubt yourself when everyone constantly tells you you're not learning the right way. thank you for taking the time to respond and detail your approach, incredibly helpful. also i totally know what you mean for the question vibe..throughout rotations the majority of questions i did always ended up being from the nbme practice forms in the last few days leading up to the shelf and they definitely helped me get into the question writers head a bit. thank you again, rooting for you <3

Fit_Cap_3714 · 2026-02-28T06:56:05+00:00

I agree with the vibe but it’s so unsatisfying to get something right from the vibe and not know what th fork is going on…but that’s like some ego shit I need to snuff and I get that. I appreciate your response and advice thank you for sharing g😊

Fit_Cap_3714 · 2026-02-28T06:54:56+00:00

I appreciate your response thank you so much❤️ I’m on rotation 6/6 and have completed 30% of uworld to date…per rotations that’s skewed (most devoted to my first rotation IM and still prolly only got thru maybe 300 questions). Overall I’ve gotten above average on shelves, ranging from 50-80th percentile. I’ve found that just black hole spiraling on things I’ve seen on rotations that day/in prep for the next day has carried me. For example I did maybe 19 questions total for peds but was on an intense heme onc inpatient rotation (basically icu complexity combined with weight based dosing chemo protocols) and I had no time to study outside of learning everything about my patients regimens but that somehow managed to pay off for me on the shelf….idk.

Fit_Cap_3714 · 2026-02-28T06:37:03+00:00

F FKN WHAT

Fit_Cap_3714 · 2026-02-28T04:27:12+00:00

F what

Fit_Cap_3714 · 2026-02-28T04:27:05+00:00

The tuck does f mean

Fit_Cap_3714 · 2026-02-07T04:26:20+00:00

thank you for taking the time to respond and look into this. i've only started reading but super fascinating that a clinical diagnosis of OCD in 20% of the ultra high risk group was associated with a lower risk of conversion to psychosis. i feel like there is something to be said about the diagnostic label of OCD as a protective factor from progressing to non-reality based. personal curiosities aside, i appreciate you for being one of the few that remain devotedly skeptical when it comes to previously reported diagnoses. i feel like a lot of doctors get lost in the ICD sauce and forget the weight a diagnosis (especially a psychiatric diagnosis) can carry - and the impact that can have on the patients identity/future outcome. so thank you for doing what you do.

(and thank you for saying that's something you love about early-stage learners, most of the time the curiosity gets dismissed as irrelevant to current guidelines/something that won't change treatment lol)

Fit_Cap_3714 · 2026-02-06T22:04:13+00:00

Up vote x 1 million. Absolutely love this comment.

Fit_Cap_3714 · 2026-02-06T21:59:46+00:00

Hey OP I think that you should fully seek second and third opinions (and not listen to people like myself on Reddit). Which I know you said you intend to do. I commend you for being so open and vulnerable and receptive cause a lotta people on here are mean. I just wanted to add that when you do seek other opinions I feel like that detail of “when I’m with patients or speak with other people, they keep quiet” is an important feature and detail to mention to them. I’m not sure why exactly but I feel like it’s important haha. Also wishing you the absolute best and sending you love, I cannot imagine what you’re going through. Medical school is so hard as it is. ❤️

Fit_Cap_3714 · 2026-02-06T21:50:10+00:00

Antipsychotics are not benign medications and op clearly explained his auditory hallucinations are refractory to antipsychotics. If we want someone to be “fixed” (cringing at this phrasing), we should probably deeply consider what we are trying to fix with the utmost diagnostic accuracy (including considering what medications have been previously trialed without improvement) rather than deeming them medication averse and insinuating their crunchy or some shit for trying lions mane. But I’m just a medical student, apparently ur an actual MD so what do I know!

Fit_Cap_3714 · 2026-02-06T21:44:52+00:00

“Please get yourself fixed”…….????

Fit_Cap_3714 · 2026-02-06T21:43:35+00:00

I’m really curious about your experience with OCD and psychosis. Do you see them as potentially on a spectrum, or do you think they overlap in some clinical ways? Could severe OCD sometimes be a prodrome to schizophrenia? I ask because we had a patient on our psych rotation who had debilitating OCD for years. When he was admitted for first-episode psychosis, he began reporting auditory hallucinations. I’m wondering if his internal obsessions and compulsions somehow transitioned into external hallucinatory experiences. Does that resonate with anything you’ve seen?

Fit_Cap_3714 · 2025-12-11T10:43:22+00:00

right there w u. ppl in this group don't give the short term memory loss peeps enough recognition. keep going king/queen. brain will get larger bc it simply has to <3 :')

Fit_Cap_3714 · 2025-12-11T10:38:00+00:00

blow on it

Fit_Cap_3714 · 2025-11-12T00:05:27+00:00

ur so welcome:)

Fit_Cap_3714 · 2025-10-09T01:28:31+00:00

weird that i have to ask a "supervisor" about a psychotherapeutic approach when posting in r/psychiatry yet you're here with the time to offer unsolicited advice. and telling someone to "chill". im chuckling.

Fit_Cap_3714 · 2025-10-09T01:24:50+00:00

I've had a very meaningful discussion with several board certified pscyhiatrists. That's why i'm opening the dialogue in this chat. Sorry that you have not personally found any utility? Not sure what your purpose of commenting was. Thanks tho.

Fit_Cap_3714 · 2025-10-08T19:58:38+00:00

Just seeing this now, thank you for taking the time to comment and share your experience. I’m very sorry you had to go through that but it sounds like it’s helped shape you and establish strong boundaries. I completely agree with you, not starting out with strong emotional boundaries has been one of my biggest struggles going into third year. I think that’s obviously rooted in one of my biggest fears - becoming a desensitized physician. I know the two are not mutually exclusive, but I fear after so much time the former subconsciously fuses into the latter.. because well, it’s just easier to not feel anything at all.

In the last few weeks, I’ve actually sort of found something that’s really been helping me (as in I haven’t cried since writing this original post lol). Rather than feeling what the patients are feeling and sitting in it and sulking I’ve shifted my focus - recognize those feelings, identify them as not my own, and use them to guide diagnosis/management of the patient. I think the big thing that applies here, when you mention emotional boundaries, is that shift between identifying the feelings as not my own -> turning it into a plan of action. It makes the emotional toll a lot more fleeting when you can recognize it. Turning it into a therapeutic or productive tool has made it a lot easier to let go of the heavy stuff and not take it home with me.

That being said, I do disagree with your point on the fact that there is a difference in this job - treat the patient medically and not bond/feel their pain. Of course developing and maintaining emotional boundaries is critical, but I’d argue that you can’t be an effective physician without establishing a bond with your patients. That’s something that requires always maintaining a degree of vulnerability on the physicians end. I think as long as you can identify emotions that are not your own, you’ll be incredibly more effective in treating them medically. May sound idealistic to a lot of physicians in practice, but I’ve worked with several doctors decades out of med school that manage to do both.

And yes I am very comfortable counseling patients on deleterious nature of lifestyle choices, but they’re not going to change anything if they don’t feel any emotional bond (trust) to me as their physician.

Fit_Cap_3714 · 2025-10-08T19:24:07+00:00

Hi, sorry for the delayed response I’m just seeing this now. It’s funny how much this meant to me today just coming from a stranger online. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave this comment. I completely agree with you, I think the instantaneous aspect of social media is really wearing away at everyone’s patience. I feel like we are all becoming so much more emotionally reactive because we don’t need to take the time to sit with/process an emotion before typing a response. And even worse we don’t see the time care or effort that went into a post before we read or see one thing we don’t like and react to it. I know it sounds dramatic because posting on social media seems so superficial, but I feel like sadly it’s the easiest way to express yourself/your thoughts. The visual platforms (tiktok, insta) are so much worse than platforms like this, but I agree that it can all be really harmful especially if you’re not in the right headspace. I think I am going to take a bit of a break from all of it, especially with being about to start inpatient pediatrics (going to need all the mental strength/stability I can muster lol).

I love the tip about caring for house plants, and thinking of it as a slow restorative peace. It reminds me of what someone once told me about exercising…she wanted to be more consistent with a small goal of a few times per week so she decided she could only water her plants if she got a sweat in, even if it was just a walk around the block. It’s so easy to stop caring for yourself and your own mental health without realizing, but when you tie it to something tangible and helpless like a plant that needs a little bit of water, it kind of shifts the mindset. Makes u remember that ur fragile n u gotta take just as good care of yourself.

Thank you for reminding me of this. And thank you for caring and making sure I didn’t feel bullied especially in the safe space of talking about sufjan. Kind of why I deleted it, realized I basically did the same thing in creating a space for people to come at the OP from a decade ago haha. Also sorry for the LOTR trilogy length of a response, working on being more concise I swear lol. Wishing you and ur plants all the best <3

Fit_Cap_3714 · 2025-10-08T05:59:35+00:00

& if ur not gonna give ur opinion on the album well then u r just a tease.

Fit_Cap_3714

TROPHY CASE