OB/GYN clerkship: the resource stack, and a free shelf tool.
To study for the OB/GYN shelf, make UWorld Step 2 CK your backbone and read every explanation. Add the free APGO uWise question bank for OB/GYN-specific reps, read Case Files or Blueprints OB/GYN, build frameworks with OnlineMedEd, and keep Anki running. Then take an NBME practice shelf before exam day.
“Gotten me multiple questions on practice tests. Helpful for those not keen on the Anki burden but who like spaced repetition.”From a 5-star App Store review titled "Solid Step 2 studying addon"
OB/GYN is two specialties on one shelf, and it lives on algorithms: prenatal care, labor abnormalities, the abnormal bleeding workup, and the screening calendar. You build a small stack and use each piece for the one job it is good at. This is that stack, positioned honestly by role, plus a week-by-week plan that weaves it together. Step Gunner is one tool in it, the fast daily recall layer, and we will tell you exactly where it fits and where it does not.
What resources do you need for the OB/GYN clerkship?
Each of these earns its slot for one reason. Do not run all of them at full volume. Pick your qbank, add the OB/GYN-specific bank, pick one reading source, and keep a spaced-repetition habit running underneath. The rest are supplements you reach for when a weak area shows up.
UWorld Step 2 CK
Use it for: your primary learning engine. Do the OB/GYN blocks and read every explanation, the explanations are the real curriculum here.
Highest yield for both the shelf and Step 2 itself. If you do one thing well, do UWorld OB/GYN well.
APGO uWise
Use it for: OB/GYN-specific question volume. It is the free bank written by the OB/GYN educators, mapped to the clerkship objectives the shelf follows.
A strong second bank, and free. Great for topics UWorld covers lightly.
Case Files OB/GYN and Blueprints OB/GYN
Use it for: your read-along text. Case Files teaches through vignettes that mirror shelf logic; Blueprints is the denser reference for targeted review.
Pick one as your main read. A chapter a night, or aimed at whatever weak area the questions exposed.
OnlineMedEd
Use it for: building the mental scaffold before the details. Watch the OB and GYN videos when a topic is brand new, then reinforce with questions.
Great for the prenatal and labor algorithms. Not a substitute for question volume.
AnKing, on Anki
Use it for: keeping what you already learned from leaking out. Unsuspend the OB/GYN subdecks as you cover topics, then do your reviews daily.
The habit that makes week 6 not erase week 1. Skip it and you relearn the same facts three times.
Divine Intervention Podcast and AMBOSS
Use it for: patching weak areas hands-free and adding reps. The Divine OB/GYN episodes are dense, high-yield audio; AMBOSS is a fast ward reference plus a second question bank.
Supplements, not a second full curriculum. Reach for them once you know which topics are shaky.
Where does Step Gunner fit in the OB/GYN stack?
Step Gunner is not your qbank and it is not your textbook. It is the 5 to 15 minute pattern-recognition tool you open between the big resources: between deliveries, in clinic downtime, while a UWorld block loads. It drills retrieval, not recognition, so the cardinal features stick. Here is the OB/GYN content, counted straight from the app, no rounding up.
What is actually in the app for OB/GYN.
Three question decks are tagged OB/GYN, each a different study mode, plus a small image set. These are real counts from the current build, not projections.
600+ OB/GYN cards across four study modes.
Source: Step Gunner app content database, current build, counted August 2026. Counts grow as content ships, which is why they carry a plus.
The Visual Dx image bank carries the classic gynecologic and breast slides above, worth a few reps before the shelf.
The honest part: this is a supplement, not a spine. It will not replace UWorld, uWise, Anki, or your reading. It replaces the ten minutes you would otherwise spend scrolling. The core is free to study; the Visual Dx image bank is the paid upgrade.
“This app makes studying so effortless and fun. Highly recommend.”
How do you study for the OB/GYN shelf, week by week?
OB/GYN blocks usually run 6 to 8 weeks, so treat these as phases, not fixed dates. The order matters more than the calendar. Early, you build the prenatal and labor frameworks. In the middle, you turn up question volume. In the final stretch, you consolidate and stop learning new things. Step Gunner runs daily underneath all three phases.
Build the framework, go slow on purpose.
Do not chase volume yet. You are learning how OB/GYN thinks: prenatal visit logic, the labor curve, and the abnormal-bleeding workup.
- OnlineMedEd OB and GYN videos for the topics on your current service, framework first.
- UWorld on tutor mode, untimed, 10 to 20 a day, read every explanation.
- Case Files chapters that match the patients you are seeing that week.
10 minutes of Buzzwords OB/GYN daily. Build the reflex of clue to diagnosis before you drown in algorithms.
Turn up the questions, start banking retention.
This is the volume phase. Move UWorld to timed blocks, add uWise for OB/GYN-specific reps, and start a spaced-repetition habit so the early weeks stop leaking.
- UWorld OB/GYN, 20 to 40 a day, timed blocks now, still reading every explanation.
- APGO uWise blocks on the objectives UWorld skimmed.
- AnKing OB/GYN cards: unsuspend what you have covered, do reviews daily without fail.
10 to 15 minutes of CK Gold and Next Best Step OB/GYN daily, plus Visual Dx for slide reps. Use it as the between-block warm-up.
Consolidate, and stop learning new things.
The last stretch is about firming up what you know and finding the last gaps, not opening new material. Take a practice NBME to calibrate.
- UWorld finished, then a second pass on your incorrects and marked questions.
- Divine Intervention OB/GYN episodes on commutes to patch weak areas.
- AnKing reviews stay daily; uWise or AMBOSS only if you want extra volume.
- Take an NBME practice OB/GYN shelf a week out and treat the review as a study session.
Warm-up and palate cleanser between blocks, and run the readiness check to see where you actually stand.
OB/GYN shelf questions students actually ask.
Short, honest answers to the queries that come up every rotation. Where your school's rules differ from anything here, your school's rules win.
Q What is a good NBME OB/GYN shelf score?
A good score is usually defined by your school's honors cutoff, which often sits somewhere around the 70th percentile or higher on the NBME norm table. The exact scaled-score threshold varies by school and by year, so check your clerkship's grading rubric. Passing is typically well below the honors line.
Q Is uWise worth doing for the OB/GYN shelf?
Yes, for many students. APGO uWise is free, written by OB/GYN educators, and mapped to the clerkship objectives, so it fills gaps UWorld covers lightly. Use it as a second bank after UWorld rather than your primary one.
Q How many UWorld OB/GYN questions should I do?
Aim to finish every OB/GYN-tagged question in UWorld Step 2 CK at least once during the rotation, then do a second pass on your incorrects. Total volume matters less than reading and understanding every explanation.
Q Do I need both Case Files and Blueprints?
No. Pick one as your main read: Case Files if you learn through clinical vignettes, Blueprints if you prefer a denser reference. Use the other only to look up a specific weak topic.
Q When should I take the OB/GYN shelf?
Take it on your scheduled exam day at the end of the rotation. Do a full NBME practice shelf about a week out to calibrate, and treat reviewing that practice test as a study session.
Two free things worth doing before the shelf, and one for later.
Leaning toward OB/GYN as a specialty? When you get there, Rezumab's free Match Probability Calculator shows your odds by program from NRMP data. No rush, that is a fourth-year problem.