First Aid for USMLE Step 1 provides you with more than a thousand frequently asked factoids that you must know cold if you are serious about passing the USMLE exams. You may see negative reviews out there from malicious individuals who have nothing better to do in life. This book is solid gold, you will be doing yourself a grave disservice if you do not get a hold of it. It is organized by organ systems. It has an adequate number of color photographs and other images to help you remember important points. Especially laudable is the last minute cramming section. There are some errors, but that is to be expected when you try to summarize an entire bookshelf into one little tiny book that holds all the core facts. Be sure to get this one , buy it on Amazon or on Barnes and Nobles.
The material in this book is strongly representative of the actual questions that will be asked in the test. Keeping this in view, this is a book you should utilize towards the final phase of your preparation to see how much you know, and how much you do not know. And you don't know enough, you better head back to your prep notes and work harder. You get over 850 examination questions. If you can answer every question you have in this USMLE book, you are more than ready to take the test. Maybe you should even be writing your own book :) Kaplan is of course the unchallenged leader in test prep in the United States.
Naheedy and Orringer have outdone themselves with this masterpiece. It is a question and answer type of review, where they walk you through 'core' points that you would miss otherwise. This is something you read one week before the actual test, and highlight the points that you did not know. This is definitely as high yield as a high yield book can get. There are a few typos, but don't let that hold you back. The only books with no typos and no imperfections that everyone will gush over are the ten pound monster reference textbooks which will not help you in any way in the USMLE. Get the Deja review, this is a gem of a review.
Brown and Brown have done a great job with this book. These are high quality notes on high yield topics. If you went to a US medical school, these are topics that would naturally be emphasized and drummed into your brain. If you went to a foreign medical school, these crucial topics may or may not have been glossed over in your training. It is not a comprehensive review, it is more focussed on strategically important topics. Use this book one month before your test. Yes it is pricey, but I would say this is worth the price .Anyways the USMLE exam was never designed for penny pinchers. Wanna make big bucks as a doc stateside? Buy this!!
Carl Andreas has done a fine job with USMLE step 1 made ridiculously simple. It may superficially look like a long rambling essay, but rest assured that if you read this book, you will the difference in your scores. This is not one of the high yield capsules that you can just swallow with a glass of water and you magically turn into an USMLE superman, this is more of a lecture type of presentation focussing on important sections of the USMLE. Use a highlighter and mark the important stuff as you go. Whether you like it or not, you better read this damn book.
Michael Manley 's MEDESSENTIALS FOR THE USMLE STEP 1 is a superb book, but this should be used in combination with USMLE FIRST AID. The book itself is somewhat densely written, with a shipload of information packed into every nook and crevice. It is a bit hard to navigate the first time you read it, so take small bites, and go slow. Definitely worth the time spent on it. The diagrams and illustrations alone make it worth the money. Make it a point to make your own notes from this book, that is one way to make it easier to use. Definitely not the book to read the night before the test. I would say , start on this one 6 months before your rest, and go slow, until you know it from end to end. If you are easily frustrated and tend to throw tantrums when something is not easy, this one is not for you.
