First Aid for Step 1 is a staple for most step 1 takers. I mainly used it as a guide and filled in the space with info I got from other materials. I read 1st Aid twice in the last week of studying. Other good books are Pathology BRS, the High Yield series for your anatomy courses and for pharm, and micro made ridiculously easy. If I had to do it over again, I would invest in a molecular biology study aid (maybe high yield), or I would have studied histo a little more than I did (which wasn't much to begin with). My test had an average of 3-7 molec questions per block. You can't do without Kaplan Q-Bank. My buddy purchased a used set of Kaplan Q-Book and found it to be a good studying set as well.
In other words, there are a ton of good studying materials out there, but some are better than others depending on your personal preference.
As for studying length, that's strictly up to you. Some folks need one month...others begin reading First Aid at the beginning of their second year of medical school. However much time YOU need is how long it should be.
I just thank the good Lord above that I passed and did a little better than I thought. I felt like I had failed the exam after I left. It didn't help that I had an panic attack during the first two blocks.
I'm just happy that I don't have to take nor study that test again.
