One of the exams that every third year medical student must take is the shelf exam. This exam is dreaded by most students because of how little time you have to study during wards and how much information you are responsible for covering. Kaplan Shelf Prep is a collection of 150 questions and answers based on the USMLE Step 2 CS and Step 2 CK exam format. The question bank offers two versions for both Step 1 and Step 2, so you can choose between them according to your convenience.

Which clinical rotation topics are  covered in the Kaplan Shelf Prep study course?

 The Kaplan Shelf Prep course offers you an extensive coverage of the clinical topics which are Internal Medicine, Ob/Gyn, Neurology, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Neurology, and Family Medicine, and Surgery.

How Many Questions Does the Kaplan Shelf Prep Course have?

 It contains a total of 250 questions made up of specialty assessments. Additionally it has specialty module quizzes. Each question has  explanations which are detailed and easy to understand even for struggling  students who are new to medical studies or haven’t had any prior exposure to clinical rotations.

Does the Kaplan Shelf Prep Course contain Videos?

Kaplan Test Prep offers a Shelf Prep video course for medical students preparing for their clinical clerkships. The course includes over 22 hours of high-yield video lectures covering the most commonly tested topics on the shelf exams. The videos are taught by experienced Kaplan faculty who are experts in their respective fields.

The course  videos are designed to be user-friendly and interactive as they contain quiz questions which assist you in practicing recall of important information.

The other helpful aspect about the videos is that they are broken down into smaller, easily digestible segments, allowing students to learn at their own pace and review specific topics as needed.

What is the cost of Kaplan’s Shelf Prep Study Course?

The price is extremely affordable. According to Kaplan Test Prep’s website, the regular price for their Shelf Prep course is $199 for 12 months.

This is quite a steal compared to other resources such as Uworld. For the shelf questions from a resource such as Uworld, you would have to purchase the entire Step 2 question bank.  The cost of UWorld for Step 2 CK (Clinical Knowledge) varies depending on the duration of the subscription.  For the USMLE Step 2 CK, UWorld offers different subscription options as well. The prices are as follows:

• 30-Day Access: $299
• 60-Day Access: $369
• 90-Day Access: $429
• 180-Day Access: $529
• 360-Day Access: $649

Pros of the Kaplan Shelf Prep Study Course

 The Kaplan Shelf Review has many advantages over other study resources, including:

•  A large number of questions for each subject area, making it easy for students to practice and get comfortable with different question types.
• It can be used as a standalone product or in conjunction with another review program such as UWorld.
• An online platform where students can access the entire library of questions and answer explanations; this allows them to study at their own pace and on their own schedule.
• each video comes with an available PDF format to make the information more easily absorbable and also allow students to follow along with important lesson plans.
• A mobile app that allows students to take practice exams on the go and track their progress against other students who have taken the same exam.

Cons of The Kaplan Shelf Prep Study Course

•  The Kaplan Shelf Prep Study Course is not available for purchase as an individual item. So basically you cannot purchase course material for one rotation at a time. You must purchase the entire course which contains lectures and practice questions on all the clinical rotations to get access.
• The Kaplan Shelf Prep Study Course does not offer any kind of guarantee or money back guarantee if students aren’t satisfied with their purchase.

How long does a subscription to Kaplan Shelf Study Course last for?

The subscription to the shelf prep lasts for 12 months. The Kaplan Shelf Study Course is an ongoing subscription service that students can cancel at any time. Students will receive access to all of the study materials, practice tests and online resources until they cancel their subscription or it expires.

users do however have the option to extend their course for longer int he following intervals. The price of extension will vary depending on how long you decide to extend your subscription.

Best way to use the Kaplan Shelf Prep Course for Shelf exams

Students can use the practice assessments at the conclusion of each rotation module to see if they are retaining the information. I would go through each assessment in the Kaplan course first and then move to another question bank resource such as UWorld, Board vitals or TrueLearn Question Bank I would recommend taking practice exams under timed conditions, just like the real exam.

Additionally if you have a lot of time before you exam, you may decide to only watch the videos first before attempting any of the questions that are included in the question bank.