Are the two First Aid organ system and general principles enough?

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soulisatomic

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Just bought these two books:
First Aid: Basic Sciences, General Principles
http://www.amazon.com/First-Basic-S...bs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236307432&sr=8-1

First Aid: Basic Sciences, Organ System

http://www.amazon.com/First-Basic-Sciences-Organ-Systems/dp/0071545433/ref=pd_sim_b_1


Are these books enough for step 1?, along with
First Aid for the USMLE Step 1 2009
http://www.amazon.com/First-Aid-USMLE-Step-2009/dp/0071548963/ref=pd_sim_b_2


Thanks

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They are new. No one knows the answer. I don't think one single student has taken Step I yet using those books for prep.

I have the organ system book. It expands on first aid, but doesn't have the same kind of mechanistic details as RR Path. Anyway, I haven't taken Step I either, so who knows.
 
I have read both. I don't think first aid intended on them being used as a USMLE study aid. They are great overview stuff. extrapolation of what is in first aid to get understanding. They are good if you don't understand what is in first aid.
 
I bought these books back in January and they seem legit to me, much better than the other FA versions.
They are very well written and organized; I think the embryo and anatomy sections are excellent and sufficient, it seems that the physio section is very similar to the BRS physio and could be enough. Biochem section (I have a solid biochem foundation) to me is enough. Path section is not that great and doesn’t cover much of the pathphysio. There is a rapid review section at the end of every chapter, I particularly find this helpful.

Overall, these FA books are great for a quick recap read. They are not helpful in comprehensively learning the material; supplement them with other more comprehensive review books. I have read all Kaplan (08) and RR path, and am now annotating the new FA books (instead of the FA 09) so that I have everything in one location to do all the cramming/memorization before I take the test in June.
 
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Lots of errors in the first edition of any book, just look at RR path first printing. but this is FA so watch out.
 
I bought these books back in January and they seem legit to me, much better than the other FA versions.
They are very well written and organized; I think the embryo and anatomy sections are excellent and sufficient, it seems that the physio section is very similar to the BRS physio and could be enough. Biochem section (I have a solid biochem foundation) to me is enough. Path section is not that great and doesn’t cover much of the pathphysio. There is a rapid review section at the end of every chapter, I particularly find this helpful.

Overall, these FA books are great for a quick recap read. They are not helpful in comprehensively learning the material; supplement them with other more comprehensive review books. I have read all Kaplan (08) and RR path, and am now annotating the new FA books (instead of the FA 09) so that I have everything in one location to do all the cramming/memorization before I take the test in June.

How do Kaplan and RR compare in your opinion? Is either better than the other when it comes to path (or just in general)? Are there certain sections that are lacking in either but are strong in the other??
 
My main study source for path was RR, read it cover to cover and loved it; I find it much much better than kaplan path. As far as the other subjects go; Kaplan physio is solid, Micro is just ok, CMMS is the book for micro, kaplan neuro in the anatomy book is great, and so is the HY neuro. The only kaplan book I didn’t like was the path; don’t waste your time reading it.


Lots of errors in the first edition of any book, just look at RR path first printing. but this is FA so watch out.

True, just like the other FA books the new FA books have errors and a lot of misspellings, but they still beat the other FA versions.
I remember you wanted to compile all the mistakes/errors in these books, did u get the chance to do so?
 
My main study source for path was RR, read it cover to cover and loved it; I find it much much better than kaplan path. As far as the other subjects go; Kaplan physio is solid, Micro is just ok, CMMS is the book for micro, kaplan neuro in the anatomy book is great, and so is the HY neuro. The only kaplan book I didn’t like was the path; don’t waste your time reading it.




True, just like the other FA books the new FA books have errors and a lot of misspellings, but they still beat the other FA versions.
I remember you wanted to compile all the mistakes/errors in these books, did u get the chance to do so?


What is CMMS? Is that the clinicall micro made ridiculously simple (MRS)??
 
I have both and Ive read general principals for biochem. Honestly, I dont see why these books wouldn't be legit. They seem to go over everything in FA but in a little more detail. Although, I thought the micro section sort of sucked so I went with CMMRS. I also read the immuno section and thought it kind of sucked too. The path section doesn't seem like it goes into too much pathophys so I would use RR instead. But I do use these books for physio, ana, embryo, biochem, genetics. Hope this helps
 
Four questions:
1)So if I do my
Goljan path from RR n audio,
My BioChem from Kaplan,
Micro from RSM,
Physiology from either the Gen. principle from the new FA(or suggest an alternative),

from where do I do?
Immuno,
Genetics,
Mol Bio,
Pharma,
Beh. Science.

2)Then I can recap with
the three FA books, right?

3)When do I do the USMLEWORLD?
Before the recap with FA or after the recap with FA?

OR

Or do I do the USMLEWORLD(annual subscription ) after each system?

4)With the two new FA books, is there any need to 'scribble' all over the FA2009?

Thanks
 
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Overall, these FA books are great for a quick recap read. They are not helpful in comprehensively learning the material; supplement them with other more comprehensive review books. I have read all Kaplan (08) and RR path, and am now annotating the new FA books (instead of the FA 09) so that I have everything in one location to do all the cramming/memorization before I take the test in June.

wow, you are on top of your game...
 
.
I remember you wanted to compile all the mistakes/errors in these books, did u get the chance to do so?

when I get a chance I will post what I found. I had an issue with the bindings (twice) and took the book back for good.
 
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I don't think anyone knows the answer to this because we are the first batch to use these books. My guess is that after this summer, they will become more popular. I plan to use them solely for Micro and Biochem and in combination with the original FA and other books for other subjects. Yes, there are errors in these books bc they are first editions but the # of errors doesn't seem to be much more than in Gojan's. I read the review in Amazon that gave the FA organ book a 2 star due to errors and ironically, some of the stuffs that the reviewer claims erroneous is not wrong at all.
 
Four questions:
1)So if I do my
Goljan path from RR n audio,
My BioChem from Kaplan,
Micro from RSM,
Physiology from either the Gen. principle from the new FA(or suggest an alternative),

from where do I do?

Immuno,

Wish I had a good answer from you - I read through HY immuno in one day, but didn't really find it that helpful. In reality, I probably picked up most of this from the Qbanks.

Genetics,

Can you do a Punet's square? If so, you're ok for genetics. (exaggerating, but you definitely don't need an independent resource for genetics)

Mol Bio,
Pharma,

First aid, First aid

Beh. Science.

This is one subject where I actually thought having an independent review book was great - I used HY behavioral science. these questions tend to trip people up (ethics, psych, epidemiology type stuff), but once you get the principles they are pretty easy. I think this also has a bit of genetics in it for you.

2)Then I can recap with
the three FA books, right?

As indicated above, barely anyone has any familiarity with these new books by FA. I wouldn't elevate the new books to the "must have" status of the original FA. For me, I used FA continually throughout my studying - I would preview the stuff I was going to focus on in a given day by looking at FA in the morning, then annotate it as needed during the day, then review it later to solidify

3)When do I do the USMLEWORLD?
Before the recap with FA or after the recap with FA?

Again, up to you. I did questions every day throughout all of my studying

4)With the two new FA books, is there any need to 'scribble' all over the FA2009?

Thanks

I would think you should still use the original FA as it has been in the past. Again, I think it is premature to elevate the new FA books to the status of the original - the original is a "must-have" and is often the cornerstone of peoples' study plans. I don't think the same can be said for these new, untested resources yet.
 
Hey guys, are you all talking about Kaplan Biochem the lecture notes or Kaplan Biochem chapter from Book 1 (of 4) from the self-study set?

Thanks!

Also, any recommendations for good pharm flash cards?
 
Hey guys, are you all talking about Kaplan Biochem the lecture notes or Kaplan Biochem chapter from Book 1 (of 4) from the self-study set?

Thanks!

Also, any recommendations for good pharm flash cards?

please include a quote of what you are talking about.
 
Hi, I was referring to #10 and #16, ie some said Kaplan biochem was enough. Which Kaplan biochem? The lecture notes (400+ page book) or the small section in the 4 part Kaplan Home study series (Or the chapter in Kaplan MedEssentials)?
 
Is the consensus here that the two new First Aid books include everything in FA. You wouldn't miss anything by using them instead of FA?

And I second Jerrykid's question about Kaplan biochem.
 
No the 2 FA Books (GP and OS) actually leave things that the regular FA 2009 has in it, and from a business stand point it makes perfect sense to make sure they sell all three. Now since they cost what like $150 together for the two you might expect them to include everything from baby FA (joke).

Hey scube, being on here reminds me to tell you I've found that the Kaplan physio and anatomy notes also have binding issues, I've noticed this weekend.

Hey, I'll throw this out there by the way, if anyone wants the 2 FA Books for say considerably less than the retail I mentioned above PM me, I have completed my journey with them, as I was possibly the first person to own them in the world, and have moved on to other books for the next two months.

 
I use to think these books were good. Used to... I think they suck. They aren't better than say Levison's immuno or CMMRS for micro. I guess they dont really explain the material too well and there is some info thats left out. I read the micro section and stopped after 50 or so pages. If you dont want to read CMMRS and all that crap, then Id probably just buy basic principals and leave organ systems for Goljan and BRS physio. Hope this helps.
 
I use to think these books were good. Used to... I think they suck. They aren't better than say Levison's immuno or CMMRS for micro. I guess they dont really explain the material too well and there is some info thats left out. I read the micro section and stopped after 50 or so pages. If you dont want to read CMMRS and all that crap, then Id probably just buy basic principals and leave organ systems for Goljan and BRS physio. Hope this helps.

I agree. I was a big fan at first, but then I started seeing so many errors that now when I read it, I wonder if what they're saying is actually accurate. Would go a long way if they finally posted an errata page (which would be a really long one).
 
Hi,
i'm trying to find a thread with the errors actually posted. I guess I'm either not as smart as you guys or not paying enough attention because all i've found so far are spelling mistakes and a blatant disregard for commas. Thanks, guys!
 
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