First Aid for the USMLE Step 1

by Vikas Bhushan

The #1 Review for the USMLE Step 1 - written by students who aced the boards!

900+ must-know facts and mnemonics organized by organ systems and general principles 24 pages of color photos like those on the exam 100+ clinical vignettes Brand new Pathology chapter and totally revised Behavioral Science chapter The famous “First Aid Ratings” - 300+ medical test prep resources rated by students Updated exam preparation guide with advice from Step 1 veterans Strategies that maximize your study time and deliver the results you want

Vikas Bhushan, MD is a practicing diagnostic radiologist based in Los Angeles, California.Tao T. Le, MD is Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Department of Pediatrics at University of Louisville; and Assistant Professor in Medicine, Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Department of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University.

Genres: Medicine, Medical, Textbooks, Reference, Nonfiction, School, Science

220 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[JC · Rating 5 out of 5]

I laughed, I cried...but mostly cried.

[Marcie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, I'm not recommending any of you read this book, but I spent ~12 hours/day, 7 days/week for 6 weeks memorizing it, so I felt it deserved a shout out on my Goodreads. It's basically a study guide for medical licensing boards, and every page of mine is highlighted and annotated, read and reread, hated and loved. All my classmates have a copy, but the joke around here is that I'm overly attached to mine -- I can creepily open it directly to specific topics, and I had to keep it in my bed with me at night for a long time because I would wake up, unable to fall back asleep until I looked up whatever fact I dreamed I had forgotten. Haha, so now the secret is out -- your physicians are all crazy people -- but at least we're crazy people who know a lot about Bruton's agammaglobulinemia, right?

[Dr. Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I owe my passing MS2 grade to this book <3

2023 update: if I pass step 1 it’s thanks to this book

2025 update: I’m a doctor now. Sorry to forget to update for 2 years

[Shaikha · Rating 4 out of 5]

BEST book to review from - since some chapters were a bit lacking in depth and require some background information - other than that, it's perfect. The mnemonics saved my life! 👌🏼💯

[Isabel · Rating 5 out of 5]

hahahah i can't believe this is on here. i am both amused and horrified.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one's a real nail-biter. Can't wait to see how it ends.

[Abdelrahman Badran · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the Bible for step one exam, if you memorize its facts very well -not like me- you will do great, 70% of the questions were from FA facts, a very important book, I can't insist more about that ..

[Nadia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hated this so much? But now everyone’s telling me I gotta start the sequel?

[Zach · Rating 5 out of 5]

Much like adenosine, too much first aid will cause a sense of impending doom. Also much like adenosine, this effect is blunted by caffeine. I lived off this textbook and coffee for two months and now I can diagnose Sarcoidosis based solely on the first five words of the question stem and spot Auer rods from 40 yards. 5 stars, never want to open again.

[Lizz Buziness · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not much in the way of character or plot development, but dang I just couldn’t put it down

[mmm12 · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE book. Not even Dostoyevsky could never master such narrative complexity. Hoping that rating this 5 stars is good karma for the steps 🫡

[Sophia Griemert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty solid, cried and laughed- rating subject to change when i find out if i passed step 🤨

[Irene Li · Rating 5 out of 5]

the only book I read for months…felt every emotion

[Nur Ul Ain Syed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book, very systemized. Perfect for review of basic medical subjects. Also, it contains pretty good mnemonics.

[Nick Maher · Rating 1 out of 5]

Great book, unreal mnemonics. The one star is the vibes I was feeling during the read. Would not recommend taking that test 👎

[Lorne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aaaah . . . boards! If you're going to take the USMLE, it's a very good overview. If you're going to take the USMLE, you've already heard of this book anyway.

[Merit · Rating 5 out of 5]

A representation of the worst 6 weeks of my life


But hey, it’s still gold

[Naba Khan]

This reading challenge isn't going to finish itself 😔

[Rim · Rating 4 out of 5]

How do you review a book that has become part of who you are? This book does not tell a story, but many are woven around it. I remember the first time I encountered it as a premed; oh, how I longed for the day that I would carry it around and highlight in my own copy and be burdened by its information! I was uncertain that day would ever come, but here we are, 5 years later, with me bidding it goodbye. I remember how much I hated in med 1 it because it simplified intricate concepts that I thought needed to be explained more comprehensively; how easy it was for me to just flip through a topic for a day or 2 and head to my NBMEs fully prepared; how much I rolled my eyes at some mnemonics, only to find myself committing them to memory a few years later. It has been quite the emotional rollercoaster. In all seriousness, though, this book is a lifesaver when you want a quick review on a topic without going through tedious details (sorry, med 1 Rim). Highly recommend.

[Agustina Fainguersch · Rating 5 out of 5]

This sh goes hard

[Alli Cropsey · Rating 1 out of 5]

scariest book I’ve ever read

[Lillian Klemsz · Rating 5 out of 5]

What will I read now?

[Tala Hadid · Rating 4 out of 5]

was complaining to my fiancé how i won’t be able to reach my reading goal this year because of all the studying, so he told me to just add FA. so here i am, logging my required suffering. this one is for him.

[Andrew Warren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent comprehensive review. More detailed than 2008, but the added information is the most up to date. Consistently based on current research. Vital information for all 4 years of medical school. I use this info on the wards constantly.

[C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like a bra, hideous and necessary.

[Savannah Cotter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can’t see can’t pee can’t bend the knee

[Taylor Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my 13th reason

[Haley Harkness · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riveting. Captivating. A true classic. An inventive work of literature, if you will.

[Nancy Foster · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is okay, let's just keep it at that. It is obvious I am not the right person for this book. Touted to be the gospel for the USMLE exams, I do not deny this is the book's strength. There was an untouched market, and the authors have exploited it very well. The sections are well organized by topic and get the job done.

I have a different problem with this book: it suffers from a dratted excess of acroynyms. This isn't an issue for people that went to college in an English speaking country, but it is a pain to read for people that went to school in a foreign language.

Yes, people will claim that if you want to pass the USMLE, you have to know a gazillion English acronyms. I believe that this is true... to a certain degree. I feel acronyms are the thing you will learn naturally on the job in a few weeks. Just log into EPIC and go on your merry way. For the purposes of this exam, you need to understand the concepts, not a letter salad. Even more so since Step 1 is now Pass/Fail.

In a nutshell, the book is not inclusive for readers that are more visual or detest acronyms like myself. Give me clinical vignettes so that I can make concept associations in a more practical way. In this respect, the clinical case USMLE book I started reading is much more up my alley. I think acronym adverse readers are a huge untapped market. I love the concept behind this book series, just wished they would release an edition that avoids English only acroynyms like the plague.

2 1/2 stars

[Samira Kanetkar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes, I am adding this to my Goodreads challenge because I basically read this front to back all semester.

Solid 5 stars since I passed my exams even though I want to give it 4 because it gave me imposter syndrome and crippling anxiety for six months (no seriously, I take an SSRI now).