All questions were completed in timed mode with a mix of all the subjects selected. At the least, I suggest going through Pathoma and Sketchy Micro before commencing with UWorld).Įvery morning during dedicated study time, I did 80 questions from UWorld back-to-back. I saved UWorld for dedicated study time and began working through it only after completing the content review resources listed above (Ideally, you get to complete content review in parallel with MS1/2. Please allow me to repeat this once more: the actual test was just like UWorld! UWorld - Having taken Step 1, I found the test to be just like UWorld. The content (and his humor) are dated but there are very useful bits of information and Step 1 reasoning within his lectures. Goljan Audio Notes - I listened to Goljan audio notes on a daily basis before and during dedicated Step 1 study time while performing household chores, exercising, etc. FA can also be useful during MS1/2 as an add-on used with every organ block to fill in knowledge gaps left behind by Bridges I also made Anki flashcards of all the drugs in FA during MS1/2 and read FA passively while commuting on the bus/metro. FA summarizes these succinctly in tables with useful mnemonics. You also need to know the layout of all the myotomes, dermatomes, brachial plexus branches, and lumbar plexus branches for boards. A few section in FA, however, are particularly high yield: I recommend reviewing the anatomy & embryology sections of FA for each organ block. Yes, you do need to know everything that’s in FA though there are better ways (through Qbanks & resources listed above) of acquiring the knowledge in FA without reading the book itself. Because pharm is often a painful area during Step studying, I suggest making one pass through Sketchy Pharm sometime before dedicated study time-ideally during MS1/2 or while on the less hectic rotations in MS3.įirst Aid for the USMLE Step 1 - Even though FA is considered the bible for Step 1 studying, I personally do not find it an efficient tool for content review. Sketchy Pharm is not as memorable as Sketchy Micro (plus the videos are longer), but I have yet to find a single resource that teaches all the drugs one needs to know for the exam in a digestible format. Sketchy Micro & Pharm - Sketchy Micro is very high yield for Step 1, and I recommend making two passes through Sketchy Micro-once during PHD and once during dedicated study time. The biochemistry section, in particular, is excellent and explains biochem in a way that really “sticks.” The embryology section is not as good, but there is no single Step 1 resource that I could find which covers all the embryology you need to know. There are however two notable exceptions: I strongly recommend watching the B&B sections on biochemistry, and embryology. While it is much more comprehensive than Pathoma, B&B has over 80hrs of video content, and I do not think it’s practical to cover all of it in dedicated study time. If you’re still an MS1/2, then going through Pathoma along with the organ systems will provide context for all the clinical material you’re learning through Bridges.īoards and Beyond (B&B) - B&B is a video version of First Aid for Step 1. If you did not have a chance to go through Pathoma during MS1/2, I suggest spending the first few days of dedicated study time going through it from start-to-finish. Pathoma - Pathoma is foundational to Step 1 studying. I partitioned my study resources into four categories: content review, question banks, practice exams, and tools for retention (aka Anki). As with anything Step 1-related, each of our perspectives and learning strategies will be unique therefore, I have enclosed within my email two other Step 1 study guides commonly circulated on Reddit/SDN to share a different perspective. The following is an outline of my experience studying & taking Step 1. Originally created by David Darevsky, UCSF MD/PhD