First Aid
- “Pure gold for micro and anatomy from my limited experience.”
- "Its totally dry, but totally necessary. It is the only book that really sums up everything you need to know to rock step 1- just memorize it."
- “I frankly disliked the book and for good reason too. Again, maybe if I was more able to memorize pre-digested data... Right after the test, I flipped through it trying to find the stuff in my questions, and I dare say that... No... it didn't even have half of what I needed, really. Excellent as a roadmap, maybe, but I wouldn't rely on it too much for more complex and uncommon issues that apparently are tested. Funny mnemonics though...”
- “This book is simply exceptional! Although its format is off-putting to some, it is an amazing compilation of info you need to know, and you should really strive to memorize almost the whole book. Its Anatomy, Pharmacology and Behavioral Sciences sections are especially useful, encompassing almost all of what you need to know of these subjects (especially for Pharm).”
Kaplan Medical USMLE Step 1 Qbook
- “Picky in some subjects but having detailed stats on your progress is fun. Use only as study tool, not as evaluation tool.”
- "It's an excellent book, containing about 850 high - quality questions organized by discipline into several tests 50 questions each."
- "Save $, buy old editions. I compared page for page 2006 and 2004 editions of Kaplan Medical USMLE Step 1 Qbook and was really surprised: Kaplan didn't change a single word in QBook over past 4 years. Well, I have to be completely honest: they changed 2004 for 2006 in most instances."
- "good for step 1 prep...good questions and explanations..but personally, i like First Aid Q and A better..."
- “A great practice tool, as it uses the real USMLE computer-interface. Make sure you do every question (2000+), and read all the answers (even for the questions you got right!). I personally like doing the questions in large batches towards the end of studying, rather than spreading them out over several months (you forget too much that way). Also, it is very important that you have a pen and paper with you always when you are answering these questions? Write down every fact that you didn’t know (even if you think you will learn it later on). I have close to 20 pages of legal paper inscribed with facts from Q-bank, and this is what I studied the night before the USMLE. Don’t panic! The Q-Bank questions are usually much harder than the real exam, and the real exam isn’t quite as fact-specific as the Q-Bank questions.”
