The USMLE Step 1

The USMLE Step 1

Just like the SAT before college, and the MCAT before medical school, doing well on the USMLE Step 1 is the key to getting into residency.  The test covers a broad knowledge base from the first two years of medical school, which includes anatomy, behavioral science, biochemistry, microbiology, pathology, pharmacology, and physiology;  however, the coursework from the first two years of medical school is not enough to achieve an outstanding score on this test.  The key to doing well on Step 1 is early preparation with a limited number of resources that maximize information that is relevant to the test  Also, as one gets closer to the exam doing tons of practice questions is essential.  This article outlines some essential resources for doing well.

First Aid for USMLE Step 1 is the best resource.  Get it the first day of medical school; use and annotate it while studying the relevant topics during the first two years.  You may not have thought that memorizing a book is possible before you came to medical school, but memorizing this book is a medical school rite of passage.

Question banks are another essential study tool.  It doesn't matter which specific service you choose, but what does matters is that you go through all the questions.  For a bank of 2000 questions, if you do 50 questions per day, you need to budget 40 days to review every question once.  Schedule realistic goals.  The students who get the highest scores will tell you that they went through all the questions more than once.

BRS Pathology and BRS physiology are the best book in the BRS series.  Read relevant chapters and do the practice questions as you study the material during the first two years.  When it comes time to prepare for Step 1 you will have seen everything at least once before.  When studying these two very large topics the thing to avoid is opening a brand new review book six weeks before your exam; at that point you want to be reviewing and not studying for the first time.

Microbiology Made Ridiculously Simple is great to use during your Microbiology course.  Getting familiar with it before starting to review for the boards will make this subject one of your strengths.

BRS Biochemistry or High Yield Biochemistry is a must read.  Most medical schools do a poor job of making students learn this topic.  Having a good understanding of it will translate into big points.

The best source for reviewing pharmacology is pharm cards.  There are several versions circulating around, so be sure to get the right ones.

For a list of other useful review books see the Get Books section.

It is good to take a sample test, composed of real exam questions, a few weeks before your exam.  You can buy an NBME practice test for $50. The tests predict a 3 digit score and provides a breakdown of your strengths and weaknesses.

50% of doing well on the exam is knowing the material, and the other 50% is not messing up on the big day.  Make sure you wear comfortable clothes, dress in layers in case the temperature at the test center isn’t what you expected, bring food for your break, and headache medicine just in case and you will be 100% covered.  Good Luck.