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

Anki pathoma