“Dear Dr. Swartz and Anna,
I am happy to tell you that I got the results this Saturday and I passed! It took only 4 weeks to get the results. I would like to thank you again for this wonderful workshop; it was more than that – it was an experience not only for this exam but for life and my future practice. I will be always grateful to you for this.
I did not find the exam too difficult. It’s really all about focusing on the patient and trying to remember what to do next. I found all the things you taught in the workshop very useful. I wasn’t nervous in the exam and that’s because I was well prepared. Most of the answers to the questions were “no” which did not make me concerned because I knew from the workshop that’s what to expect. I also never froze even if the patients were not cooperative – I knew that all what the SP do is on purpose, so I just tried to deal with it the best I could. I think the most important thing that you also told us is to treat the SP as a real patient – only this way you can be empathetic and caring enough. I hope these comments help.
Again thank you so much for helping me pass. Your workshop really stressed what is important – it’s all about the communication. I don’t think I would have been prepared in the right way had I studied alone.
It was also a real pleasure to meet you both. I think you are two extraordinary, highly knowledgable and very caring people, and your work is highly appreciated. I would also like to thank the actors – they were great and helped me a lot to prepare for the SP in the exam.
I hope you will keep doing the workshops for more years to come! I wish you all the best, and I will recommend you to all my friends who want to take the exam.
”
“Dear Dr. Swartz and Dear Anna,
As promised I write to you. I have passed Step 2CS and am very happy about that. Thanks for your excellent workshop. Now I am one step further ahead. LetB4s see where this road will lead me.
Thanks again!”
“Dear Dr. Swartz & Anna,
I took your course this past July, and I just learned that I passed the USMLE Step 2CS exam. Thank you for this great course! Those three days were a great learning experience.
It was a brilliant and VERY effective course and a real pleasure to get to know you and your wonderful team. After visiting your course in NYC, I felt confident that I not only knew everything I needed to pass, but I also received a lot of advice and many tips that will be useful throughout my professional career!”
“Dear Dr. Swartz,
I learned my lesson; I passed USMLE Step 2CS.
Maybe you remember my story. I had taken USMLE Step 2CS and failed before I attended in your course. Six months after your course, I was in Atlanta and passed the exam. All this made me very aware of the importance of clinical history taking and the examination.
I received the German certification for a doctor of internal medicine, and I am now working in a department of emergency medicine. I found this to be the place for improving my skills of history taking an examination in a broad range of internal (and neurological, surgical) diseases. Every day my illness scripts are getting better.
Thank you again!”
“Dear Dr. Swartz and Dear Anna,
Yesterday, I received my score report for the USMLE Step 2 CS. I passed in Chicago one day after finishing your course in October.
Thank you both for the good training! And good luck to the next fellows training with you!
”
“Dear Anna and Dr. Swartz,
After nine long weeks of waiting, I finally received my results and guess what…I passed! I took the Step2 CS Workshop in August, and thanks to you and your team I was well prepared not only for the exam but also for my future profession as a doctor.
I just want to thank you two and all at C3NY for your help and all the valuable advice you gave. The course was great, and I recommend it to all I know.”
“Dear Dr. Swartz & Anna,
I think I passed Step 2CS… how sure can I be with the “oasis-trick”… meaning trying to schedule a new appointment for the exam and getting a screen saying that I cannot apply because I already passed it and won’t be allowed to do it again…???
The results were sent on December 6th, and I guess it will take some time for them to arrive in Germany.
Did your workshop help?… Yes, yes, yes!!!
It really helped being prepared for this test! Without this workshop, I wouldn’t have known where to put the emphasis in the interaction with the patient, and I would have felt like a fool most of the time… which I did though,but it really helped knowing that certain things didn’t really care and focusing on what you taught us.
I’ll keep you updated.
”
“Dear Dr. Swartz and Anna,
I am happy to tell you that I got the results in June, and I passed!
I took the Step 2 CS Workshop in April and the exam in May. The course was great. I had hardly any time to prepare for the exam. The course supplied me with all the important information required to pass the exam. It was perfect to take the course before studying by myself.
I want to thank you two and all at C3NY for your help and all the valuable (!) advice you gave. It gave me a lot of reassurance for the actual exam.”
“Dear Dr. Swartz, Dear Ms. Lank,
This is Paula from Germany, and I am keeping my promise I gave you in the October class.
At the day of New Year’s Eve I got a very scaring e-mail telling me that my score report was available…..GREAT!!!! big party only a few hours away and then this e-mail!!! My heart rate was something around 200/min of sudden onset…almost a malignant VT!!! I only needed to sign in at OASIS and as soon as I did, a big note in red letters already told me that I have fulfilled all criteria for the ECFMG certification!!! Yeah….then I knew that I have passed Step 2 CS even without looking at the score report:-)!!!!!! And I really did!!!! I got a pass!
Even though these 2 months of horrible waiting were really awful! I felt horrible when I left the center in LA…it was probably one of the worst exams I’ve ever taken because you go out there and you are totally clueless of what you did right or wrong! I just kept in mind your words “when you go out there, you are going to feel terrible and it’s going to be 2 months of horrible waiting” and it was like you said….and I passed even though in 10 out of 12 cases I had no clue what the SP was pretending to suffer from ;-)!
Thank you and a happy New Year!!! It seems like I’m an American MD now….nice feeling!”
“Dear Dr. Swartz,
I received my report yesterday, but I only decided to open it this morning. I passed!
Although United States and Germany are both under the category “Western Culture,” there are still differences. Attending your C3NY Workshop makes you aware of those slight differences, and this awareness may be a key point for you to pass the exam. Step 2CS has a lot to do with exam taking skills: you have to know where the money is. Your workshop tells you where the money is!
Medical education in Germany emphasizes thoroughness, which may be a pre-implanted factor for candidates from Germany (and I suspect from other countries) to fail due to bad time management. You have to know when to move on, and again, where the money is!
Please tell Anna about my appreciation.
Thank you very much for all your suggestions! They were very helpful!
Sincerely,”