Rule of thumb: 1 source per subject???

[swtiepie711]

Hi All -sorry to tweak an earlier thread & repost but the other one had about 100 views & zero replies so I'm posing a similar question but a little more broadly:

Is the general rule of thumb for Step 1 "pick 1 review book per subject & just stick with that?"

I've heard picking more sources can mean you get overwhelmed, don't get through all of them, etc.

If so... if you have access to a courses material (i.e. Kaplan), do pp just use that for their one source or do pp tend to use then Kaplan + 1 other book per subject?? Thanks for any thoughts

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[doc20]

usually just one source such as kaplan for every subject and stick to that and then a review book such as first aid and qbanks!!!
do not try to pick 1 book per subject while studying for step, the stack of books alone can be over whelming

 

[swtiepie711]

Doc20, thanks for the reply! Quick question - you said "one source such as Kaplan for every subject" but then said "do not try to pick 1 book per subject?" Would you mind clarifying? Thanks!

 

[ZonaRidicularis]

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[Twitch]

Yes, that's right, 1 review book per subject. That does not mean you have to read every single page of each book. Those books are your "go-to" books for a more thorough understanding of whatever you are studying at the time.

Pathology - Goljan Rapid Review Pathology
Physiology - BRS Physiology
Microbiology - CMMRS
Biochemistry & Genetics - Kaplan + HY Cellular & Molecular Biology
Behavioral Science & Biostatistics - Kaplan + Common Sense
Anatomy/Embryology/Histology - HY Histology (Good book... shockingly)
Pharmacology - Whatever your heart desires + FA
Immunology - Wikipedia
Neurology - HY Neuroanatomy

1 Comprehensive review source = FA. Use it as a checklist.

Don't switch from review book to review book or you will get extremely frustrated b/c you will find additions/omissions varying from source to source. Default to Wikipedia if you must.

I dub your list above as best of breed. Great choices

 

[laxman310]

It all depends on your knowledge base. If you are scoring at an average (i.e. 220) level, you can stick to FA, Goljan, and BRS phys with some supplementation from HY Neuro. I personally liked Levinson's Immuno. I didn't use any extra resources for Micro or pharm.

So the rule of thumb is ONE book for the major topics (Path, Phys). And maybe one book for minor topics, but focusing in on the relevant chapters.