Japan

“Dear Dr. Swartz, Ms. Anna Lank, and all the SPs,
Thank you for everything!
I wanted to tell you my good news. I just received my CS result, and I “Passed”. I have been kept waiting for a long long time, 9 weeks. I joined your 2-CS workshop held in July.
Even though I am Japanese, and not a good English speaker your program gave me the confidence needed for passing the exam! You all taught me the essence for success! You told me how to interview properly; how to speak to patient in a difficult situation; how to get patient’s credit, everything that is actually important for being a good doctor. I wish I could have seen you earlier, when I became a doctor. What you taught me was totally fresh and helpful.
I am grateful to you all!
I am now going to order your new published edition of your book.
Thank you.”
— Yusuke Hashimoto, M.D., Japan
“Dear Mark,
Long time no talk to you. I finally got Step 2CS result today, and I made it to pass!!!!!
Thank you for your all support. I never forget what you told me at airport at last moment “I believe you will pass the test”.
Currently, I work in hospital in Tokyo. But move to states this July to participate in fellowship.
Again thank you so much for your all help!!
”
— Ryo Suzuki, M.D., Japan
“Dear Dr. Mark Swartz and Ms. Anna Lank,
I am Norimitsu Kuwabara, the Japanese pediatrician who took your wonderful class in January 2010 and now I have passed Step 2CS!
I took Step 2CS in LA two days after C3NY Workshops. I owe what I am to you. I really appreciate all your help. I have now passed all my USMLE. I am ready to apply for peds residency.
Now I am going to move to Tokyo Metropolitan Children’s Hospital PedER/PICU fellow, the largest children’s hospital in Asia. I will write an article about C3NY soon and send it to the Japanese residency magazine. I want other Japanese doctors to know about C3NY and take your wonderful class!
Please keep in touch.”
— Norimitsu Kuwabara, M.D., Japan
“Dear Dr. Swartz, Anna, and all SPs,
My name is Shunji Nagai, emailing from JAPAN. I attended your Feb Workshop, and I took the exam on the 13th of Feb. My score report just arrived, and I PASSED!!
In accordance with your suggestion, I did my best to communicate with SPs and not to follow the LIST. Actually, I forgot to ask a lot of questions I was supposed to ask, but I was not concerned about that during the exam at all because I trusted you.
Honestly speaking, I didn’t have confidence in communicating with patients who are native English speakers until I attended your workshop. Through the workshop, you gave me a lot of confidence in communication with native English speakers as well as in speaking English. I wouldn’t have passed without your help. I really really appreciate you and all your staff.
Now, I am immersed in happiness, but I will have to do a lot of things to get the fellowship position for tomorrow. I may apply for the position at your familiar hospital. If there is opportunity that I go to NY again, I would like to say ‘Thank you’ directly.
I highly recommend your workshop to anyone trying to pass Step 2CS!”
— Shunji Nagai, M.D., Japan
“Dear Dr. Swartz and Ms. Lank,
I passed Step 2 CS!
I sincerely thank you for all your help and hospitality. I think I got an important message from you, not only for the test also for my career, which is going to be always helpful for the rest of my life as a clinician.
Again, I appreciate all your support.”
— Yukiko Nagashima, M.D., Japan
“Dear Anna,
How are you? I’ve not got contact with you for a while.
I’ve just got the result of the CS exam and I passed it!
Thank you very much for your help. I really appreciate it.
”
— Akane Ide, M.D., Japan
“Hi Anna and Dr. Swartz,
Long time no see. I am Goichiro Toyoda (Dr.Chiro!!). I took your 3 days course Jan 14-16.
I took Step CS on Jan 25th, and I got the result today. I passed!!
During the exam, I was able to enjoy talking with the SPs. I sometimes had difficulty talking because of my poor English, however, I believe I was able to talk with them in human to human relationship. Many SPs had quit smoking and I admired them every time. And all of them smiled and became very cooperative. If I had not taken your course, I would not have known to do so.
Anyway, thank you so much for giving a wonderful course and correct information!
Cheers,”
— Goichiro Toyoda, MD, Japan

Jordan

“Hi Anna,
I received my score report, and I PAAAASSSEED. I thought that I would not make it.
Thank you all in C3NY and special thanks to Dr. Swartz and the SPs.
The workshop was so good; I learned how to pass the exam. I think that this workshop is very useful, and it’s worth it to go to NY city to attend it even if you are far from NY.
Thanks again to you all. I’m very HAPPY that I passed and very happy that a lot of my friends who attended with me in the same workshop passed too.
”
— Yazan Suradi, M.D., Jordan

Bushra Awidi, MD, Jordan, Video Testimonial

“My dear Doctor and wonderful tutor Dr. Swartz,
I just checked my email after waking up from my afternoon nap to find a wonderful wonderful surprise: I PASSED THE CS-1st attempt.
I really really really want to thank you because before coming to your course I was a firm believer in the first aid book and as you noticed, I had memorized and practiced everything just like first aid book. And it wasn’t an easy task to switch all my methods in 3 days but I did it because I trusted you and your methods. In the test I had to many times bite my own tongue not to blurt out all the lists I had memorized and just go with the patient’s flow just like you taught us and it definitely worked.
You taught me something far beyond passing the test: you taught me how to interact with my patients in my real life and I’ll do that for as long as I practice.
THANK YOU so so so so much for everything.
Your Jordanian student,
”
— Bushra Awidi, M.D., Jordan

Lebanon

“Hello Anna,
Just wanted to let you know that I’ve passed my CS exam:)
I am so happy and I give all the credit for you and for Dr Swartz.
I was in the C3NY Workshop group in September 2012, and then I took the Step 2CS exam on October 3 (instead of 23).
I want to thank you all!
Dr. Swartz asked me to send him my PASS so he can add the first Lebanese flag on the C3NY web site! I am so happy I kept him my promise:)
Have a good day.”
— Elie Abed, Lebanon

Malaysia

“Dear Dr. Swartz,
My sister Vyjayanti and I came all the way from Malaysia just to attend your C3NY workshops from 21-23 September 2005. Your course came highly recommended to us.
The course helped us tremendously as it was strikingly similar to the exam. We took the Step 2-CS exam on the 28th September 2005. We are now back in Malaysia, working very hard.
We received our letters from ECFMG today. I am very happy to inform you that we have both passed. Thanks alot to you, Ms. Anna Lank, & the SP team for all their hard work & dedication.
We really owe it all to you & the team. I was worried about the exam at first, but after attending your excellent course, I felt that I could face the challenges from the SPs in the exam. I was able to do the necessary physical exams just as you had taught us, as there was just enough time for it. I was nervous with the first case, but then I remembered what Ms. Lank told me, & I took a deep breath & went into the room.
The course was amazingly similar to the exam & that helped a great deal. I will never forget the wonderful performances from the standardized patients in the course –> they were really talented & well trained.
We enjoyed the course so much & had a wonderful time in New York City. We really liked your good sense of humour too. You made the learning fun. Ms. Lank took good care of us & the map and tourist information that she gave us were very useful. Thanks for the afternoon snacks too. Also, I have made many new friends from the workshops.
Please continue conducting this excellent course so that other candidates can do well too. I would gladly e-mail to anyone who wants to know more about the course, especially doctors from Malaysia & Singapore.
Once again, thank you very much.
Yours Sincerely,”
— Vasantha Kasinathan, M.D., Malaysia

Myanmar

“Dear Ms. Anna and Dr. Swartz,
I got the CS exam result this morning, and I passed it.
This is my first attempt, and I am so happy I could make it. Thank you very much indeed for your kind guidance and inputs for me, which I deeply believe provided me with my passing result.
Thanks again to both of you!
Regards,
”
— Kyilay San, M.D., Myanmar (Burma)
“Dear Ms. Anna and Dr. Swartz,
I got the CS exam result this morning, and I passed it.
This is my first attempt, and I am so happy I could make it. Thank you very much indeed for your kind guidance and inputs for me, which I deeply believe provided me with my passing result.
Thanks again to both of you!
Regards,”
— Kyilay San, M.D., Myanmar (Burma)

Nepal

“Hello Anna,
I took Step 2CS on 14th Feb, and I passed.
C3NY workshop did help me. Mainly, the last day of the workshops was eye opening to me. Because of that, I felt no difficulties during the exam. However, there was anxiety, which is natural.
Thank you very much to Dr. Swartz, Ginny and all the SPs for their best effort to make us prepared for this exam. Let me know if I could be of any help for further workshops. I would be glad to volunteer.
Sincerely,”
— Sona Shilpakar, M.D., Nepal

Pakistan

“Dear Dr.Swartz,
I got my result today and passed the exam.
I owe it all to your course. You taught us to listen to our patients which I believe no other course could teach us that.
Thank you so much for everything. I was a part of your course starting on June 13, 2016.
Warm regards,”
— Zehra Jafri, MD, Pakistan
“I PASSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dr. Swartz I passed!!!!!!

Thank you SO SO MUCH!!!!! This would not have been possible without you! I owe you everything!!

The C3NY Workshop was truly an irreplaceable enriching experience.
”
— Hameeda Khan, M.D., Pakistan
“Dear Dr. Swartz,
Hope all is well with you. I took your Step 2-CS workshops in October, and gave my exam on November 17 th in Philly. I got result today and I passed.
I just wanted to let you know. Thanks a lot for a great course. It really helped alleviate my uncertainty about the exam. The workshop was amazing, very comprehensive and fun at the same time. The SPs you guys use can out do the ones on the real exam any day!! One of the things that helped me the most was the feedback from the SPs themselves, so please do thank them from me again.
Overall, the workshop was a great experience, and I recommend it to everyone who is about to take the CS. Also a very special thanks to Anna for reminding us to breathe before going in … it prevented me from hyperventilating once I actually walked in !!!!!!”
— Gulrukh Zaidi, M.D., Pakistan
“Dear C3NY,
Thank you C3NY. I took your three day course in June .
Please give my special thanks to Dr Swartz. I will never forget his kindness to me.
I feel myself very lucky to have attended his classes live as I was always consulting his book of Physical Diagnosis, and the workshops gave me a chance to see my long time teacher in person.
Bye for now,”
— Ruth Mahmood, M.D., Pakistan
“Dear Dr. Swartz,
I am writing this to you with immense pleasure that we passed our CSA exam held this March 2007.You and your team comprise small in number, but there is no doubt in my mind that your knowledge about exam outnumber your competitors. I am thankful to you for the special attention and dedication you gave to your students and especially to us.”
— Imtiaz Memon, M.D. & Gulnar Memon, M.D., Pakistan
“Dear Dr. Swartz & Ms. Anna,
What is the price of confidence?? Of course, it’s priceless. Without this confidence, I was unable to pass this exam. At C3NY, I gained this confidence rapidly, and passed my exam.
Hello, Ms Lank and Dr Swartz. A few seconds ago I found out that I have passed my CS exam. I wanted to tell you guys that it was 20% on my part and 80% on your part that I passed. I can’t possibly thank you and the C3NY team enough for this life-altering outcome. Today marks the day of my rebirth into this new life of medicine. Thanks to you that my ECFMG certificate will be in my hands within the next 2 weeks. I greatly appreciate all of your efforts. I highly recommend this 3 day program to any and all medical aspirants.
Thank you so much for everything from me and on behalf of my family, they all want to thank you too.
God bless you guys.
I’m so happy, I can’t believe it.”
— F.E. Siddiqui, M.D., Pakistan
“Dear Dr. Swartz,
I have great news! I passed my CS exam! What a feeling it was to see that “PASS” on my score report, and I owe it all to C3NY, Dr. Swartz, Ms. Lank and Ms. Merrigan. Every single day was a tremendous learning experience. This workshop helped me in learning the correct and the easiest way to approach the exam. The most important thing being, “TO LISTEN TO THE PATIENT.”
It has been a privilege to study under a teacher as great as Dr. Swartz himself. He has truly inspired me, and I hope that everyone gets an opportunity to come to C3NY and try to gather as much knowledge as possible from him. Thank you very much for all your help and guidance.
Lastly, thank you so so much for going out of your way in supporting me through out this time and helping me in making the right decisions.
”
— Fareeha Ali Khan, M.D., Pakistan
“Dear Dr. Swartz and Ms. Lank,
I took your course in March 2012, and took the CS in April 2012 and passed. I later got an externship and then got busy in the match process. I recently signed on to a pre-match spot for internal medicine. From the experiences I have gained in the past few months, I wanted to share some advice to others who might be looking for a good way to prepare for the CS exam.
To put it plainly up front, I would highly recommend everyone, especially if they are IMG’s, to take this course. Though I did not have problems communicating with others, I did have doubts about my patient interviewing skills. This 3 day workshop completely shifted my approach to history taking and made it one of my strengths as a doctor.
Ms. Lank is the communications expert and during her greeting exercises, she worked with each of us individually. She practiced with us until she pounded away the artificial and robotic formalities, and brought forth a very genuine and caring persona from each of us. She made us much more natural in our dialogue.
When it comes to medical interviewing, simply watching an expert like Dr. Swartz taking histories is invaluable for the doctor in training. He will guide you through his own thought process and approach to history taking and physical exam. Finally on day 3, we got to practice ourselves. The advice was surprising and valuable. Forcing us to do away with lists was more beneficial than I could imagine. Getting rid of these training wheels seemed like a scary prospect, but it unlocked the knots in my mind. Dr. Swartz showed us how to really listen to the patient, showing compassion while simultaneously analyzing the history to figure out what to ask next. I felt as if the gears of medical knowledge were churning in my mind in ways they never had before. I was no longer stunned trying to remember the next question on the list.
Many people pass the CS without taking any course and it is quite doable. You do have to be careful because the CS experience can be very unpredictable if you go in there not knowing what you are doing. Furthermore, I would argue that you need to learn the proper approach to patient interviewing now in order to help your career. The lessons I learned from the course had big benefits beyond the CS exam. During the externship I did later, I would take the histories of all the patients and make the notes for the attending. On numerous occasions patients were so impressed with their interaction with me, that they asked the attending to “hire him”, or asked for me on their next visit. A few thought I was the attending. This was quite a change, as the year before, during another rotation in the US, patients could tell I was someone in training. I also heard several patients complain to me about other doctors who “are rude” and just “fire questions” at them. Yes – this is what happens when you use lists and develop bad habits. They stay with you, and patients would often say “I’m not going back to him/her”. I recently saw a 3rd year resident at the clinic rapidly ask a list of questions from the patient, and I could see the patient rolling her eyes as she noticed how little this guy was actually listened to her.
As for the test I passed on my first try. My nerves did get the best of me as they do on most of my tests. Due to being nervous and some bad time management, I missed a lot of simple things (like forgetting the patient’s name on a few occasions). But using Dr. Swartz’s approach I would get composed quickly in each encounter and forget that I’m even in a test. I did gather good information and received a star and highest performance on the patient note and passed the CS on my first attempt. The “patients” in the CS notice your approach and they respect the fact that it is professional and will reward you for it.
I gained a lot from this course and I really felt the need to give back by passing on some thorough advice to others. Let me make this clear, especially if you are an IMG and can afford it – take this course. It was quite an honor to be able to learn from faculty as distinguished as that as those at C3NY. Good luck to you all and thank you.”
— Mohammad Farooq, MD, Pakistan
“Hi Dr. Swartz & Anna,

I got my results for Step 2CS score today, and I passed with high performance in CIS.

Thank you for teaching me, encouraging me, supporting me, and also giving me opportunity to practice the physical exam at such a short notice.

You guys are amazing!

Thanks again,”
— Maria Iram, M.D., Pakistan
“Dear Dr. Swartz & Anna,
Just wanted to let you know that I received my CS result yesterday, and I passed !!! I am so happy about it.
I was in your August workshop and appeared for the exam in October 2005 in Chicago. You two did a remarkable job in preparing us for this exam, and I thank you for that. Taking the C3NY course was the best decision I could have made for this exam. I know one thing for sure that after attending your course I was very confident to go into this exam, and you were absolutely right when you said that this exam is not about medicine rather than the exam of one’s communication skills. I am glad I listened to you and focused more on the communication skills rather than to read books all over again.
I think that you and your faculty are doing a great job in preparing IMG’s for this crucial exam. Keep up the good work.”
— Shabbar Sajjad, M.D., Pakistan
“Dear Anna,
I wanted to thank everyone at C3NY for their great support and professionalism services provided for CS Exam preparation. I passed my CS Exam last month.
Special thanks to Dr. Swartz for his dedication. What really impressed me was the fact that he never looked at his watch while teaching that really shows his sincerity and honesty to his profession. I learned a lot on those 3 days. I would highly recommend C3NY, especially to IMGs.”
— Faiza Rehan, M.D., Pakistan
“Hi Dr. Swartz and Anna,
I took my CS on July 25th in Atlanta , after attending C3NY course from July 17 to 19, 2006 . I just want to let you know that I’ve passed my CS with the Grace of God and because of you awesome guys. Thanks a lot in helping me out in clearing this huge exam.”
— Muhammad Akhtar, M.D., Pakistan
“Good evening Ms. Lank and Dr. Swartz,
A very delightful news which I received yesterday: I have passed my Step2CS.
I must say here without any compulsion that Dr. Swartz provided not only the broad knowledge and expertise but also motivated and guided to build confidence. Dr. Swartz, I am very much thankful to you from the core of my heart. You have in fact provided the torch for the life.”
— Shahnaz Begum, M.D., Pakistan
“Dear Dr. Swartz,
I passed!!!!! It says pass, pass and pass!
w0oh0o!
I attended your workshop 3 days before my exam in June. Thank you sooo much Dr. Swartz. There is no way I could have done this without C3NY!”
— Sobia Mujtaba, M.D., Pakistan
“Dear Anna Lank,
I am soooo happy now, I can’t even explain it! I just wanted to let you know that due to C3NY course that I took in New York in October, I passed my exam with flying colors. I have higher performance in everything! I didn’t use any lists and did everything that Dr. Swartz told us.
Thank you and Dr. Swartz soo soo much.
”
— Muhammad Saad A Khan, M.D., Pakistan
“Hi Anna,
I got my result yesterday, and I passed! Your teaching helped me a lot!
Thanks to you and Dr. Swartz!
”
— Samina Siddiqui, M.D., Pakistan
“Dear Ms. Lank,
I wanted to inform you that I passed my CS exam.
I got result on the 14th of December! I took the exam on the 5th of October.
I learned a lot from the classes regarding communication and interpersonal skills. This is the subject that I failed in the previous time, and I did quite well in it this time. So, I have to thank C3NY greatly for that. Regarding Data Gathering section, I found out that my learning was a little deficient.
Thank you and Dr. Swartz for all the help.
”
— Tariq, Pakistan
“Hello Anna,
How are you and how is everybody at C3NY? I took your workshops in May. I have passed step 2-cs. The exam was ok. I think I made a few mistakes, but I kept a lot of things you people told me in mind.
The workshops are very very good. I recommend them to everybody. Dr. Swartz has a very interesting way of teaching and he keeps everybody morale up.
Give my very best regards and thanks to Dr. Swartz. He has helped me in a very difficult time.
Take care,”
— Mammona Asghar, M.D., Pakistan
“Dear Dr. Swartz,
I got my result today and I passed.
Your course really made me to be able to pass the Step 2-CS. I’m really thankful to you and Anna. You are both very nice persons. From the first day when I met you Dr. Swartz, I became energetic after meeting you because I’m so much inspired by you.
Anyway, once again thanks. I don’t have those words to say in favour of you which you really deserve. I will also inform all my colleagues about you and your course.
Regards
”
— Eshwar Lal, M.D., Pakistan
“Dear Anna,
Today I got my result, and I passed my exam.
Dr. Swartz gave personal attention to every individual and really cares for the doctors. He is a very nice person. He taught us to pass all components of the exam. His feedback and yours during the third day of the course really helped me a lot to improve my weaknesses. Last time CIS was my difficulty.
Please convey my regards, thanks, and best wishes to Dr. Swartz.
Best of luck!”
— Pervaiz Qureshi, M.D., Pakistan
“I took the test in Philadelphia on June 22nd and got my result this Wednesday. I passed the test with high performance in the SEP and ICE components. I owe my success to the c3ny team. I attended the May/June 2017 session of the workshop and enjoyed it immensely. The workshop helped me understand what the test was all about and eliminated the misconceptions that I had. If you recall, I had difficulty with the CIS component during the 3rd day of the workshop. The feedback from the SPs made me realize that I needed to work on my interpersonal skills and I took 4 hours of skype sessions to do that. In the end, it all worked out and I have no hesitation in recommending C3NY workshop to anyone thinking of taking step 2 CS. It is a complete package with Dr. Swartz’s excellent lectures on the first two days, Ms. Lank’s greeting and breathing exercises, P.E practicum plus the final day when you get to practice on excellent SPs. The workshop prepared me for the test in such a good way that I didn’t suffer from nerves on the test day at all and enjoyed all of my patient encounters. I thank both of you for your excellent guidance. I’d also like to thank Sandra Parris and Stephen Hamm; the SPs that worked with me over skype. All of you deserve the credit for my success!

Best regards,”
— Hammad Aleem, Pakistan
“Dear Anna and Dr. Swartz,
Hi, my exam was on April 23 in LA. I received my result today, and I passed. Thanks to both of you and C3NY.
Good luck with your work!
”
— Fauzia Anwar, M.D., Pakistan

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