Best USMLE Step 1 Study Books...

[ramsestiger]

Hey everyone, I'll be starting this fall, and I really want to get a step up on everyone for the boards. I was a focused student in h.s. and scored a 1560 on the SAT. I was a slacker for the most part in college and I put in minimal effort for the MCAT, so I didn't even score a 30. My goal is to completely crush the m.s. board exams.

From talking with a couple of medical students, I've gathered that First Aid, Cracking the Boards, and Step Up are considered to be the best general books for Step 1. Could people list other books that they found to be very helpful for Step 1? I'm hoping to get into a competitive residency, so I want to hit a home run on boards. I've heard that the review books are most helpful if you have them from day 1 of medical school - I want to order them right away so I at least have the resources if I feel like looking at them. The 3 books I listed will run me about a $100 at amazon. I don't mind spending about $300-$500 if it's useful stuff.

One other thing: do you honestly think it'll be really helpful if I read over one or two of these this summer (before ms1)? I'm only working about 30 hours per week, so I don't mind spending 10-20 hours/week studying if it'll help me in the future.

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[Jalby]

To the USMLE forum



Really, if you want to read anything, 2 easy to read books are BRS physiology and microbiology made rediculously simple. I'd read those a few times.

 

[kcrd]

ramsestiger, I'll be taking step 1 next month, so I can't really tell you how to get a high score, but in terms of the books you need to buy, a comprehensive list of the best books is in the back of First Aid. I'd say buy that first, and then buy the review books for each subject which received "A" reviews.

 

[Lara]

First of all, *relax*. Everyone else will tell you this, so I don't need to go any further.

With that said, if you really want to study some this summer:

1) Out of the three books you mentioned, just get First Aid for now - it's more than enough to keep you occupied!

2) Buy BRS Physiology (Constanzo), it's a staple that virtually everyone will have.

3) Buy either BRS Biochem (Marks) or Lippincott's Biochem, especially if you've never taken a course. This is a subject that tends to come easier in med school with prior exposure (though I did have it easier since the late Dr. Marks was a Temple instructor, so the BRS book correlated very well with our class).

4) Don't bother with anatomy. You're not going to get anything out of flipping through Netter's on your own!

5) You might want to look at some behavioral science and biostatistics, simply because it's easy to go through and will definitely be a factor on Step 1. I think the High Yield books are said to be best for this.

Again, don't stress yourself out - the important thing is to learn the material as well as possible during the course. Good luck!

 

[jayhawk]

you should really enjoy your last summer of complete freedom and not open a book...you will have two years to study for boards, what is a couple of months really going to do for you besides freak you out and stress you needlessly? take a road trip, spend time with friends (probably won't see them much during school), and do everything you normally take for granted, because when school starts, you will really miss doing them.

but seriously, if you really have NOTHING better to do with your last moments of freedom before med school starts than to study, knock yourself out with:

BRS Path, phys, beh. sci
Microbio made ridiculously simple (at least you might laugh at the cartoons)
Lippencott pharm and biochem


try to relax and just chill this summer, i think if you start school already freaked out and nervous about boards you will burn out very quickly. go in with a fresh and clear mind and you will do much better.

 

[ramsestiger]

Guys, I took a year off after undergrad (graduated from UNC in May 2002), and I've been flat out chilling for a full year now. I just want to get into a little flurry of efficiency so I'm not dying when med school starts. If I really think about it, I haven't studied diligently in a long, long time (even my last two years at UNC were sort of a big vacation). I appreciate the advice telling me to relax, but honestly, I need to get into a little bit of a work mode because of too much relaxation. In the past year, I've spent weeks in Europe, Cali, Florida, NY City, and I've travelled the country for interviews and stuff.

Jalby - Thanks for directing me to the USMLE forum... I found a lot of useful stuff there.

Ok, so the best books to buy right now are probably these:

1. First Aid - which I could read over the summer.

2. Step Up - which I should read during 1st and 2nd year.

3. Cracking the boards - it should supplement Step Up.

4. BRS Pathology - which I should read before Path final (during school).

5. BRS Physiology - which I should read with phys in school.

6. Clinical Microbiology Made Ridiculously Simple - which I should read with Micro in school.

I really want to prepare for boards all along this time, so can you guys suggest other books that might be helpful? The total for the six books I just listed is $175 at amazon... only #6 is listed as less than "almost new." I'm going to buy at least that package on Monday unless someone thinks it's a really bad idea.

Thanks to everyone for helping. I'm trying to warm up for the marathon run which can be a bad idea but not if you're just stretching and stuff.

 

[Santiago]

kaplan notes for step 1 absolutely rock!!
I never had access to them but after my step 1 exams i went thru them and was surprised at how good they were..if u dont want to join kaplan just get those xeroxed notes from any one!..they are available dime a dozen on the net..u will do just fine along with q bank..
well if u cant get hold of them,then i guess BRS series(path,physio and beh science),HY series(neuro,gross),Goljan's path,MMRS and pharma flsah cards... and FA few times would be more than enuf to beat the mean by a very high margin..FA on its own is more than sufficient for pharma, anat ,micro and biochem
dont go thru too many resources..these are tried and tested books..just go thru them as many times as u can and u will be home more than comfortably.
cheers!

 

[WakeMedHeel]

Why on earth would you study for the USMLE the summer before you start medical school!?! Go have fun.

I went to UNC too...I considered most of my college experience a vacation. You won't remember a single thing you read in First Aid if you read it this summer so don't bother. It's not the kind of book that will really benefit you unless you've already had most of the material...very much a framework.

 

[What the pho]

Originally posted by WakeMedHeel
You won't remember a single thing you read in First Aid if you read it this summer so don't bother. It's not the kind of book that will really benefit you unless you've already had most of the material...very much a framework.

I agree, first aid won't help much unless you've already taken a class in a subject to lay down a base of knowledge. But if you've already taken anatomy, bio chem, histo, or physio in undergrad then it might help. I would recommend studying those classes you've already taken in undergrad like bio chem and physio with the board reveiw series book for that subject. That's what I'm doing and I'm starting med school in Aug. I tried to learn First Aid but it was just alot of factoids that I couldn't make sense of unless I've taken a class in that subject. From what I've read on this board, it seems like a good idea to get one of those A rated books from first aid in each subject. I've also read those High Yield (nuero, embro, behavioral) books and they seem very good too.

 

[theodore]

I would also recommend Katzung's review of pharmacology. It's supposed to be a review book, but it's really comprehensive, and I think it's adequate even for regular courses. Plus it has a lot of qualitative q's.

 

[Dr Alo]

http://www.thealo.com/ccom/boards.htm

all the books and exact amazon.com links you will ever need.

 

[theodore]

This is a cool link. Do you know of something similar for step 2? Thanks.

 

[rbassdo]

ramsestiger,

Dude...you need to chill. Seriously. You need to focus on passing your classes first (I know where you're going, and failing a course is realistic for ANYONE here). Even before you focus on passing your classes, you need to relax. Here I am...sitting here taking a study break. It's quarter three...I'm still TWO MONTHS and dozens of exams away from being an MSII. It's going to be "balls to the walls" for the next three weeks. I'm so happy I took things easy last summer because I'm getting tired of studying. Seriously...you'll thank me (and others giving similar advice) later. Boards are the farthest thing from my mind right now - and they should be.

take care,

ryan

 

[radiojimi]

Consider Goljan's review of Pathology (one of the STARS series). Very succinct, yet thorough. That OR BRS Path would prove to be very valuable books eventually.

Ultimately, besides the unanimously agreed-upon "must-haves", the best book(s) you can buy/use are those that appeal to you the most; ie. those that your eyes and mind are comfortable engaging in and with, so I would peruse a medical bookstore or your local Borders or Barnes and Noble before you dropped a bucketful of cash on books you don't know.

 

[ramsestiger]

Originally posted by What the pho
I agree, first aid won't help much unless you've already taken a class in a subject to lay down a base of knowledge. But if you've already taken anatomy, bio chem, histo, or physio in undergrad then it might help. I would recommend studying those classes you've already taken in undergrad like bio chem and physio with the board reveiw series book for that subject. That's what I'm doing and I'm starting med school in Aug. I tried to learn First Aid but it was just alot of factoids that I couldn't make sense of unless I've taken a class in that subject. From what I've read on this board, it seems like a good idea to get one of those A rated books from first aid in each subject. I've also read those High Yield (nuero, embro, behavioral) books and they seem very good too.

Thanks buddy, glad to know I'm not the only crazy person that's planning on reviewing a little. I didn't do too well in biochem my senior year, but I did well in microbiology. I'll look over the review books for those two subjects to solidify some of the info.

Here's a thread I saw at SDN and I just bought the entire package for a cheap price: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=68847

I've also purchased the following books from Amazon:

1. First Aid - I probably won't read this summer as others are advising... just skim over parts that review other books. @ $36.50

2. Clinical Microbiology Made Ridiculously Simple (2003 Edition) @$25.95

3. Physiology: Board Review Series Linda S. Costanzo; Paperback @
$8.25

4. Lippincott's Illustrated Reviews : Pharmacology : Special
Millennium Update @ $16

I was going to buy the other books like Step Up and Cracking the Boards, but they seem like overkill at this point. I'll wait for BRS Pathology to go on a ridiculous sale like the phys before I buy it. Hopefully, the school will offer some of the books in the library as well or the students will have some sort of sharing system.

Ryan - I know what you mean, and I certainly chose KCOM because of its reputation as a difficult school, but I really need to get into just a very, very small amount of a study mode before starting. I really want to study all along this time, instead of my study-at-the-last-sec for each test and do poorly on boards method. I'm honestly very relaxed about all of this... I just want to set up the infrastructure for later. I'm not obsessive, geeky, or gunner-like about studying for the USMLE, but I do have a strong interest in making sure I do well, so I'm spending a minimal amount of time now learning as much as I need about the exams to make sure I don't start this stuff a little too late this time. If studying a little won't help me, I doubt it'll hurt me a whole lot. If nothing else, I'll know the amino acids before I start biochem at school so I won't have to learn them there. Just a very simple and basic review.