Books & Videos
First Aid for the USMLE Step 1 – Tao Le, Vikas Bhushan
This is the reference book you pretty much need to study for the exam. It’s like a syllabus, containing all the things you need to know. First Aid is not necessarily the best learning resource to start with because it’s very dense and dry, but it is clearly laid out, provides useful mnemonics to help you remember things, and is ultimately the most important book you will likely use to study. This is because of the unique way First Aid is written. Every year, the lead authors invite people who sat Step 1 that year to submit bits of knowledge they were tested on. This means that over the years, every iteration of First Aid has directly collated all the facts that have been tested in previous years (and useful mnemonics and structures that students use to learn everything). As a result, the latest iteration of the book is always the most useful and the content comes directly from things that have been examined in the preceding years. The figures and images are also brilliant. First Aid also has a section which ranks the most effective learning resources out there, so have a look at this section too!
Pathoma – Husain Sattar
Pathoma is one of the most popular resources available for gaining a thorough grounding in pathology. For your limited-time subscription, you get mailed a short textbook and a subscription to watch videos on the Pathoma website. The idea is to watch the videos and make notes in the super-wide textbook margins so that by the end of the process you are left with your own personalised guide through pathology. Dr Sattar’s textbook uses simple language, has high-yield images and is well laid out. The videos are of Dr Sattar explaining pathophysiology in a memorable way, with simple diagrams. Dr Sattar prided himself on not having to prepare much before recording the videos – he believed that if it wasn’t in his head then it wasn’t worth teaching to others! The result is an incredibly concise and relevant dive into pathology. It’s the process of working through the videos and making notes that makes this resource truly indispensable. Don’t rush it; you will cherish your personalised textbook for years to come.
Rapid Review Pathology – Edward F. Goljan (aka ‘Papi’)
Goljan is a bit of a legend in the US, and most students live by his pathology lectures. The audio files for these lectures can be downloaded online (dubious quality). Goljan is known for his simple delivery, which makes it feel like an old-school version of Pathoma. It’s a very casual but high-yield learning experience for Step 1. For those of you who like listening to medical podcasts as part of your learning, these recorded lectures will be a great review of pathology. If you particularly enjoy pathology and would like to go into the highest level of detail, Papi’s inappropriately named ‘Rapid Review – Pathology’ is the most extensive textbook for pathology in Step 1. It’s not really necessary to go into the detail of ‘Rapid Review’ to score highly in the exam – nevertheless it can be a great reference resource if (rarely) the answer to your pathology question cannot be found in First Aid or Pathoma.
Other textbooks and videos worth mentioning:
Kaplan series of textbooks and videos for Step 1 – Kaplan publish textbooks explaining all the content in Step 1, and also have an online video subscription which covers all Step 1 subjects if you like learning this way.
Sketchy – cartoon videos to help remember microbiology, pharmacology etc. Visual learners swear by this resource. The idea is that the vivid imagery and stories will give you a mental structure to remember the drier preclinical facts you need to learn for the exam (e.g. bacterial stains and culture media etc.).
Physiology, Linda S. Constanzo – detailed physiology textbook not necessary to read for the exam, but useful for reference.
Obviously, the internet is vast, so a lot of the time you don’t need a particular book or resource – a quick google search will get you your answer in no time.
