Great board review books that complement classes?

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killdevil

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Hi folks,

M1 here. I'm sure this question has been asked a million times, but humor me. What board review books would you most recommend for each basic science of the first two years? I've noticed that review books tend to vary wildly in terms of quality, and would like to use a selection of the best of them as supplemental/practice resources for my courses.

So... which board review books are the very best for each subject?

Thanks in advance...

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Hi...

The following stand out:

Anatomy: BRS Gross Anatomy by Chung & Chung

Behavioral Science: BRS Behavioral Science by Fadem

Biochemistry: Lippincotts Illustrated Reviews: Biochemistry by Champe et al

Immuno/ Micro: Review of Medical Microbiology & Immunology by Levinson

Pathology: BRS Pathology by Schneider, Szanto vs. Rapid Review Pathology by Goljan

Pharmacology: Katzung & Trevor's Pharmacology Examination & Board Review vs. Lippincotts Illustrated Reviews: Pharmacology by Harvey et al

Physiology: BRS Physiology by Costanzo


Hope that helps.
 
Hi...

The following stand out:

Anatomy: BRS Gross Anatomy by Chung & Chung


Pathology: BRS Pathology by Schneider, Szanto

Pharmacology:Lippincotts Illustrated Reviews: Pharmacology by Harvey et al

Physiology: BRS Physiology by Costanzo


Hope that helps.

I deleted the ones that I haven't used.

I'm also a fan of:

-Clinical Microbiology Made Ridiculously Simple (love this book)
-Robbins Review of Pathology (question book)
^they aren't so focused on board review but they make good class companions
 
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I've also found rapid review path to be helpful the day or two before tests for 2nd year, but we are systems-based and it might not be as helpful in other curriculum designs.
 
Micro made ridiculously simple is a must! also the BRS pharm flashcards were a big help for me
 
The ones I found very useful:

Anatomy: USMLE Roadmap

Behavioral Science: High Yield

Biochemistry: Lippincotts Illustrated Reviews: Biochemistry

Immuno/ Micro: CMMRS

Pathology: Rapid Review Pathology by Goljan

Pharmacology: Katzung & Trevor's Pharmacology Examination & Board Review vs. Lippincotts Illustrated Reviews: Pharmacology by Harvey et al ---> both of these are great. Katzung's has a lot more review questions at the end of each chpater where Lippincott's has better diagrams, which are in color.

Physiology: BRS Physiology by Costanzo

General: First Aid --- must have
 
If I could change something about medical school I wish I had annotated board books as I took my first year classes, then I would have already had my first pass. This is my biggest regret - so any soon to be MS1s trust me - YOU HAVE THE TIME. Compared to 2nd year you have tons of time first year so read the first year board books now.

I use:
BRS Beh Sci
Rapid Review Histo and Cell Bio
BRS Physio (almost everyone uses this its sort of the gold standard)
High Yield Embryo (almost everyone at my school uses this not sure about outside of that)
Lippincott Biochem (our profs recommended this but ultimately I think its too thick for me to get through and I wish I had something less dense - but if I had read it during my first year that wouldn't be a problem)
Road Map Gross Anatomy
Clin Micro made ridiculously simple
High yield Neuro
Rapid Review Path

So yeah, start early and read the board books as you study - not only will it solidify what you're studying but you'll be a step ahead when its time to start studying for boards.
 
I have used a BRS for each course so far, anatomy, embryo, physio, biochemistry, and I have loved them. They contain too much info sometimes for certain subjects, but mostly they are to the point. The best parts are the questions at the end of each chapter, which are very similar to exam and USMLE questions. I also liked lippencots biochem and Lange's review of medical physiology.
 
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