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To Dr Somas and all other NYCSprep staff - I hope you are all doing well.I am writing this as a testimonial to NYCSprep. I had one previous attempt at the Step 2 CS. I attended your course about a week prior to taking my
exam on the 25th January. The course was very informative about the little tips and tricks of the exam, the staff were all very helpful and friendly.Best of all, that the SPs we practiced on to be equivalent to the real
exam, and were more than willing to give their honest opinions on how we did. Finally, being able to meet fellow exam-takers allowed us to hone our new found skills and knowledge after the course.
With all that, I was able to sit for the exam with much more confidence and sense of purpose. I found myself having better pacing and much more efficient in obtaining history and examining patients. With the time
pressures decreased, I could use more time to establishing rapport as well as providing the necessary counselling. The results speak for themselves,as I passed, with marked improvements even in components where I
previously did better in.
My only regret is not attending this course before my first attempt, and I would wholeheartedly recommend NYCSprep to any student who requires guidance for the Step 2 CS. Thanks for everything!
Jesse Ngui, Malaysia January 2011Batch
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To NYCSPREP,
This was an excellent course. I am so glad I took the classes.All the sessions were very helpful in picking up Clinical Skills for the exam.
Nikki Kundamal, Mar2011 session
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Hi sir,
This is Madhan Kumar from chennai, india..i got my cs results today..and i got a pass.. thanks a lot for ur guidance..u gave me a positive hope sir.. thank you..
Madhan Kumar,Stanley Medical College ,INDIA 2010
October.
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“ Dear Dr. Somas, Yup I received my results the day before Christmas eve. I am working on the Canadian exam (to expedite visa purposes) + eras stuff. So I've been piecing together this email over a few days.
BREAKDOWN - STRATEGY GOING IN
I prepared so that, right after the history taking, I did my Physical Exam (PE) -I focused more on the CIS component, considering that I have strong Patient Note skills to compensate for the ICE. (Even you mentioned that I can type-up a lot,comprehensively, in a short-time).-Whereby if i had to sacrifice additional physical exam tests for counseling patients, then in those cases I focused more on counseling the patients -mind you, during the exam, I only ran out of time near the end, for 2 patients. The rest of the cases I was walking out of the room around 1-2 min. before the warning. Of course I could say that I could have spent that extra time on further Physical exam tests and questioning, but the main thing is I wanted to make sure to do was finish up all the History and PE so that I definitely would have time to counsel the patients at the end. -for about 3 cases, i found that i had a bit of time left near the end of the interview, so i made brief (<30 sec) one answer rapport building questions. (ie: how is the weather? Or "what sport do you play?").
REGARDING YOUR COURSE -again I thought the mock was good, because after experiencing how I reacted in that situation I was psychologically prepared for anything they were going to throw at me. -for those who want to write the exam soon after your course, I highly recommend going through the CS book and practicing prior to your program. Then come do your course to brush-up the ruff areas, and do the mock exam for psychological preparation as well. -doing the mock definitely made me a hell of a lot comfortable during the exam. In my mind i told myself, hey I already experienced this before with Dr. Somas mock exam, I just need to focus on each case and run my game plan. -even with regards to human psychology, I believe having exposure to the mock, gives one the confidence (less anxiety) when going into the CS exam.
-I honestly believe the feedback from your SPs is a very key/vital component of your course. It helped me to figure out what they were thinking , while we interview them, and I applied this understanding as well as their suggestions to the actual exam.
-I strongly advise your students to watch the introductory video (the one they also play just before the exam) on USMLE.org. So that it will get them psychologically prepped for the general layout of the exam area, equipment use, and what to expect. Again, I believe this helps with the psychological preparation of things, especially knowing beforehand what the place looks like and how things are setup in the official examination rooms.
-I definitely learned some very useful physical exam stuff from your program, which I will use in practice. All the best for 2011!!
Mario K, mario_kanges@hotmail.com, Saba University School of Medicine, Sep 2010.
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“
Dear Dr. Somas, Thank you very
much for your time reading
this letter. I am sorry for my
delay writing this letter I
planned to write immediately
if I know I pass the exam. I
attended Sep. course, I am CW.
Hope you still remember
me.Here is my experience. This
course is excellent, not as
long as 5 days, and if you are
about to take the exam within
one month, then I highly
recommend this course to you.
It is intense, but you will
get everything you need
exactly for the exam: how to
do a focused physical exam and
what exams should be done and
what can be ignored; how to
communicate with patients and
what are the weaknesses as a
FMG; most importantly, you
will get first hand practice
with standardized patients
here and their feedback is
very useful, which will
definitely boost your
confidence and get rid of your
anxiety. After this course,
you will think you cannot wait
to take this exam. For the
exam, practice, practice, and
practice. Good luck, everyone!
By the way, please do not
publish my name in your
testimonial in the website,
others things except my name
are fine. Thank you once
again. Happy new year! “
Dr
CW, 4th Military Medical
University, China, September
2010 |
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“
Helloooo to all!! I am Guzman,
from Venezuela, who took the
September course with you. I
am letting you know that I
PASSED MY CS. THANKS FOR
EVERYTHING.”
Dr
Guzman, Universidad Central de
Venezuela, September 2010. |
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“ I just wanted to say thank you for your wonderful prep course. I passed!!!!!!! I think the fact that I got to interact with the sps went a long way to help me prepare for my exams. Thanks again and keep up the good work. “
Dr Olufunmilayo Dosunmu, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Nigeria, September 2010.
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“ I went to NYCS Prep in Sept 2010 and took my exam immediately thereafter. I am very happy to let you know that I have passed thanks to the intensive coaching from your part. I had not worked with SPs before and your program got me comfortable working with them. The mock exam was like the real exam in every way. The feedback from your team and the SPs themselves was immensely helpful. I came out of the course knowing fully well what parts of my preparation/skills I needed to work on before taking the exam. And with the affordable fee and convenient weekend timings plus optimum course duration, I boldly recommend NYCS Prep to anyone taking the exam. Thanks once again.”
Dr Jayachandran. Christian Medical College, Vellore, India, September 2010. |
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“ I somehow could not find your mail ID. I hope this mail will reach you. I have passed the CS. I have benefited a lot from your course. Truly speaking after taking the course the exam seemed to be much easy. Thank you a lot.”
Dr Roy, Nilratan Sircar Medical College, India. September 2010. |
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" It was good.but made me feel frustrated about my way of preparation.The
course gave us the chance to know our weak points, we have to work on."
Dr Ghada, EGYPT, Dececember
2010 |
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"It's
a huge plus for the candidates
taking the USMLE Step 2 CS
exam. It feels like the real
test,remade easier and more
comprehensive."
Dr Ozturk, Turkey December
2010 |
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"I was confused whether or not I should take this course, after having
failed last April(2010). But I wanted to know what went wrong. I know what
to improve on NOW."
Dr Cemelus, UTESA, DR, Dececember 2010 |
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"You guys were great."
Dr Desai, IMG,Dececember 2010 |
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"The course was great. The feedback from the SPs were amazing and a great
teaching environment. "
Dr Ratner, AUA, December 2010 |
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" Great course.I failed once, and I thought this course was extremely
beneficial: learnt a lot.I learnt a lot watching others perform. Great
idea to have a mock test! Very similar to the real exam environment. Good
idea with the feedbacks."
Dr SB, AUC, Dececember 2010 |
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“It was a good learning experience to learn and get firsthand experience
of how to deal with the cases. One gets to know the overall idea of
clinical skills exam. One can have the idea of where he/she is deficient
in any area, and can improve upon them from the information provided by
the SPs assessment. “
Dr Karanpreet Singh, Manipal University, India.NOVEMBER 2010. |
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“ Perfect, very useful. Very organized and helpful for students. “
Dr
Siddharth, SMS Medical College, India. NOVEMBER 2010. |
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“The encounter covers the most important cases, to give us an idea of what
to expect. I think this course is very helpful. It integrates the basic
history taking, PE techniques you need. And offers you a hand on training
with SPs to just leave your nerves asides and put to practice your
knowledge.“
Dr Cabrera, Univ De Cuenca, Ecuador.
NOVEMBER 2010. |
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“ I think it’s a pretty much concise and nice course. I learnt a lot from
the SPs“
Dr Salauddin, USTC Bangladesh, NOVEMBER 2010 Delegate. |
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“ I would highly recommend the course to FMGs who don’t have clinical
experience, because this course will pinpoint weaknesses and I am sure its
better to know them before the test date, rather on it. ”
Dr Dergham, Bhagdad, Iraq. NOVEMBER 2010 Course Delegate. |
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“ I should say the course, shaped me to be sharp. Feedbacks from SPs were
really pinpointing and helpful. A must do course for all medical graduates
before CS. “
Dr Kattalai Kailasam, Tirunelveli Medical College, India .NOVEMBER 2010 Delegate. |
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“This is a solid course. It will give you confidence, practice and a
sense of what is actually important. This was great, great environment to
work with and become more acquainted with the exam. That is the most
important part. Mock Test- PRICELESS- the observed mock exams are
incredible. If only we could do more.”
Dr Maggi, Mount Sinai School of
Medicine, USA. OCTOBER 2010
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“The course was really nice. I was in the course on the second day I
landed in this country. Thanks to Dr Somas, I noted a lot of differences
in my confidence, after the course. “
Dr Sengottain, Coimbatore Medical
College, India. sengottaian@yahoo.com. OCTOBER 2010. |
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“Great course. Small class size. Instructor who’s passionate to teach.”
Dr Mario K. SABA University. mario_kanges@hotmail.com OCTOBER 2010 . |
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“ It’s a great course. You learn a lot. And the SPs help. “
Dr
Choudhry,King Edward Medical College, Pakistan. OCTOBER 2010 . |
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“ It was great to practice in what is actually tested in Real USMLE Step 2
CS situations. Seemed realistic. Dr Somas is very through and gives
practical “ real world advice”. And very good feedbacks from
SPs.”
Dr Pastor. St Luke’s College of Medicine, Phillipines. OCTOBER 2010 Course
Delegate |
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“ Great 3 day course. Good history taking strategies. I will consider all
the advices I got from the SPs as well.”
Dr Telles, UCLA, VENEZUELA.OCTOBER 2010 Course Delegate |
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“ Great opportunity to know my fault, and having a chance to practice.Excellent advice from SPs. Perfect course, as it is”
Dr Ghobadi, Essen
University, Germany. OCTOBER 2010 Course Delegate |
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“ Good practice with the cases. Self confidence, proper physical exam. “
Dr Jelloul, Mohamedi University, Morocco. OCTOBER 2010 Course Delegate |
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“Since most of the CS exam us SP based, having the SPs speak to you
afterwards, I really think is most helpful to assess one’s readiness for
the exams. I wish we had more cases.”
Dr Dosunmu, OBAFEMI AWULOWO College
of Health Sciences,Nigeria. OCTOBER 2010 Course Delegate
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“I feel much more confident about myself, after the course
“
Dr Belize Guzman,
UCV, Venezuela, Sept 2010 Batch. |
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“I can say with certainty that this course helped. Without proper practice
with the mock patients, I may not have understood my deficits. I am
confident; I am taking home a lot. I wish the best for this course and
will strongly recommend it.”
Dr Roy Bhaskar, NRS Medical College, India. |
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“I feel now more focused, an I know what is required of me in the CS
test.”
Dr Pagan LaTorre Moraima, CEUX. Mexico. |
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“It’s a great experience. I studied a lot from several books,
before coming to this workshop, but what I found out is, reading from the books is not
enough."
Dr Cui Chongwei, 4th military Medical University, China |
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“Obtained hands on practice. Exam like scenarios. If not for this course,I would not have expected the spectrum of emotions patients present with
and would have been caught off hand. ”
Dr Jayachandran Esther, CMCVellore, India |
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“ This is Dr Abhishek Nitturkar here . I passed !!!!!!! I passed CS !!!!!
It was a great relief ! My heartiest thanks to NYCS Prep . The experience
I gained from the practice exam , and during the classes was of tremendous
help . I was very anxious since I kind of gave exam in a hurry , missed a
class a day due to iceland volcano flight disruptions . Came directly from
Airport to the class. Oh my God !! dramatic circumstances of
attending the classes ! I am sure I must be a unique student in this
regard !! I passed things worked out ! Thanks a lot . I would recommend
the class to everybody to pass the CS !! Keep doing the good work .
Thanking You . "
Dr Abhishek
Nitturkar, India.abhisheknitturkar@yahoo.com |
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“I am Ailya Shah from Nov. 09 group. I wanted to inform you that I got my
results for CS last month, and I PASSED!!!Thank you for the support. It
would not have been possible for me to pass the exam without this course.”
Dr Ailya Shah, drailya@hotmail.com, Pakistan. |
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“Hi Dr. Soma, I passsssed thanks God, Really appreciate your support and
great effort this couldn't be done without you, the course really helped
me a lot to gain confidence in my performance and myself since I am a long
time graduate and I was in need to refresh my skills and put hands on
patients ...Last day Mock exam was of great benefit especially feedback
from SPs...good luck to everyone & thanks a lot.”
Dr Nada Abdulaziz,Univ. of Khartoum, Sudan.
drnada77@hotmail.com |
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I took the Usmle step 2 CS in October 2009 for the second attempt and
passed, after failing the CIS componente for the first time. The review
course helped me identify my weaknesses and overcome them. I have learned
tremendously from the instructors,Dr Soma, and his team. Their guidance
and remarks during the lectures were very contributory. The hands-on on
SPs helped me overcome my anxiety and gave me the confidence I needed to
succeed. Their feedback at the end of each encounter significantly helped
me to understand all that is expected from the examinees due to their
expertise on the matter. Moreover, I significantly learned from the
weaknesses and strengths of other colleagues physicians from different
medical background, with whom I was made partners.I utterly appreciate
your commitment and wish the best for your students.
Dr. Jose Mangala Mayimba School of Medicine; University of Kinshasa,Dem.Rep. Of Congo.
josmangala@hotmail.com
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“Good morning Dr. Soma and the rest of the NYCS staff! I am Dr. Ibanez from the Philippines and I am one of your students during your Feb 12-14 review course. I just want to let you know that I finally passed the exam! I took the exam last March 5 in Los Angeles. Thank you very much for all the guidance. Your review course really helped bring back my confidence and gave structure to my review as well as in my performance during the exam. More power to NYCS prep and may you continue your commitment in bringing success to your students. Again, thank you very much :-)”
Dr. Ibanez,
racqs_2006md@yahoo.com, UERMMC, Philippines. ( Feb 10) |
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“This course helped me feel confident and prepared for my CS exam, which I took a few days after taking this course. The mock exam helped me identify my weaknesses (time management, confidence) prior to my CS. The SP's were very professional and their feedback was helpful. I also benefitted from practicing physical exam manoeuvres during this course, with the instruments in the clinic. It helped me feel more comfortable and confident with the physical exam. The course could benefit from more emphasis on a script or dialogue that can be used during a patient encounter, because many students in my group (myself included) seemed to struggle with the communication component of the patient encounter. The teacher and assistant were very sincere and clearly wanted their students to succeed and pass CS.”
DB, Univ. of St. Eustacius School of Medicine, Caribbean. (Sept 09) |
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“During the 3-day course it became very clear to me why I failed my 1st c/s attempt in Houston. My weakness were identified and addressed by both the instructors and the wonderful standardized patients. After the course, believe me, I went into Philadelphia centre confidently and passed my 2nd c/s attempt. I thank Dr Somas / team for a job well done.”
Dr Charles,
charlesokpulor@yahoo.com, Univ. of
Calabar, Nigeria. (Sept 09) |
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“Passed on first attempt thanks to NYCS!!!. This is is a comprehensive course that helped me strengthen my history taking and physical exam skills. This program really gave me the strategies and confidence I needed to be successful on exam day, but more importantly this preparation changed the way I practice medicine and my approach to patient care. I recommend this course to anyone who is serious about passing step 2
cs.”
I Rodriguez,
openreadingframe@gmail.com, UNIBE School of Med. Dominican Republic. ( Sept 09) |
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“ Dear Dr. Soma, How are you? So happy to tell you that I passed the exam now. Thank you so much for you and your teams’ help all the time. So many things surprised me in the training process, I felt it is very good and helpful. But I would not let to write it down too early until I get the score. Now I would very happy to say it is really good, and hope more and more people can benefit from the training . First of all, they are very nice person. I am always an early bird, I arrived at the training place very early. And Dr. Soma came very early too. It seems I had so many questions about why I failed before. So I asked a lot of questions. Every time, Dr. soma will answer my questions very patiently. I thought even the class begain, I learned a lot. One suggestion, before you go to the training, it is better for you be prepared for the cs as much as possible. So when you go to the class,
you will know where you should pay attention. At that time, we had 7-8 students, most of us had taken the cs before, but failed. So we know where is the key point we should learn. Such as me, CIS is the weak point. Second, they are very professional. In the training process, I can always find some key points they told you, which is very important, such as: “ The physical exam above the head is half of the physical” . It means when you give a physical exam to a migraine patient, you should take time to do physical exam above the head, which is the point where they test you. “ Don’t pretend to do a physical, be professional, just like a real patient”. So when you take the test, be very careful to do very thing just like real, and not pretend. You will know how hard it is to be a real actor: pretend to be true. “ do not panic, it is just a talk”. So you should know, what they test you is your ability to talk and communicate with the patient. If you were too nervous, it means you were not well prepared. When I went to the training, and met other doctors in the future, and practiced a lot of cases together, I felt that I was not the worst one, everyone will feel nervous, makes all kind of mistakes. When you saw other person did some thing wrong, you will not do it again. Such as use proper voice, not too small, not too big; be focus, not to talk endlessly, et al. They are very experienced, the teacher is real doctor, he will let you practice the case you feel very hard for you, and tell you where is wrong, so you made big progress. For me, the angry patient really scare me, so I had a chance to see a very angry patient. I did a terrible job first. But they told me to calm the patient down first, and how to do it, then you can move on. Second time, I can did great job with these
patient, it become my strong point then. During the training process, I met many doctors. So after the training, I was still in contact with a girl, we went to Manhattan at the weekend and practice together, tried every effort to help each other, until we both took the exam, and we both passed. The training is at the weekend, so you do not have to take off from work, it is perfect for me who work as full time. After the training, they care about your scores. They will so nicely call you and ask how about your test. So they are such a professional team you will like. Best wishes.”
Xin Cheng,
cheng_xint@yahoo.com , Harbin Medical University, China. ( Nov 09) |
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“I’m happy to tell you that I’ve passed my CS exam. I think your course helped me find out what is really important to pass this exam. I just loved the mock exam; it helped me overcome all the anxiety and fear on the real exam. Actually on the real exam I was very calm and confident. I would highly recommend this course.”
Marwa Ahmed,
marwakambal@yahoo.com, Univ. of Khartoum, Sudan (Oct 09) |
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“I just got my result that I passed CS on Nov.16, 2009. I would really appreciate your dedicated instruction at NYCSPREP. Basically, as a second time exam taker, I felt more nervous about this exam. The course is perfect and it decompressed me a lot of this anxiety. I felt very comfortable and confidence during the second shot. I PASSED!!!!! I wish all of best of your students. Best regards.”
Zhang, ZhangK@HSS.EDU, Tongji Medical College, China. (Oct )
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