So. I know this might be a bit early and maybe a bit overachiever-ish, but as a first year i'd like to start my med school career studying for the USMLE and COMLEX... I wanted to get the first aid review for the USMLE and i know the new version (2010) comes out in august. Should i wait and get the new version or is the 2009 version sufficient?
I know from studying for the MCAT that all of Kaplan's review books were the exact same. Are the first aid books the same? or would the wait be worth it?
Get the newest version; it's always worth it. A lot of the core aspects are going to be the same, year to year, but the reason you are getting FA is because it is a one-stop outline of the highest yield material for the boards, and new things get added each year when the students report back what they saw on the boards. You don't want to be caught missing anything for no good reason. Also there tend to be any number of mistakes in FA that get corrected in the newer additions.
FA isn't magic, though. It's basically a collection of facts, condensed, on pages, in tables and charts, etc. I found it very hard to use w/o a good understanding of the material. The best way to utilize it, if you buy it this early, is as a general outline of what is important for the boards and to help you to focus your studying a bit. Also, you can take notes, if there is anything you want to add to FA.
I think getting RR Pathology would be very useful. You can use it to study for class and to help you actually LEARN and UNDERSTAND pathology.
Also, get and read MMRS. It can really make learning micro much easier. Read it many times.
(side question: Could someone recommend a good COMLEX review book?)
thanx!
There is no comprehensive COMLEX review book. We use USMLE review books. If you mean book for reviewing OMT, get Savarese. It'll probably help you out w/ OMT lab and didactic, too.
