Synopsis

The 20th edition of the world’s #1 selling medical review book!

Trust two decades of experience for the most effective

USMLE Step 1 preparation possible

• 1100+ must-know facts and mnemonics organized by organ system and general principles
• Hundreds of high-yield clinical images you need to know before the exam – including 24 pages of full-color photos
• Rapid review section for last minute cramming
• Ratings of 300+ top review products based on the authors’ annual survey of US medical students
• Updated test-taking advice from students who aced the 2009 exam
• Strategies that maximize your study time and deliver real results

INSIDER ADVICE

FOR STUDENTS FROM STUDENTS

Reviewer: Johanna Engel Brower, BS(University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine)
Description: This review book designed for medical students preparing for the USMLE Step 1 exam contains high yield information in the basic sciences and organ systems that are taught in the first two years of medical school.
Purpose: The USMLE Step 1 exam covers such an extensive amount of information that a concise study guide is vitally important for medical students. This book manages to fit two years worth of medical school content into one review book.
Audience: It is specifically written for medical students preparing for the exam and contains a special section to address the unique needs of international medical graduates, osteopathic medical students, podiatric medical students, and students with disabilities. The authors are physicians and medical students who have previously taken the exam.
Features: Section I covers efficient exam preparation, describing what the USMLE Step 1 exam is, its format, how to register for it, when to take it, how it is scored, and what the scores mean. Section II covers the general principles taught in medical school, including biochemistry, genetics, statistics, and pathology, and section III explores high yield organ system topics. Section IV suggests review resources to supplement this aid, such as review books for each subject, question banks, and review courses. The book also contains a section of high yield images in pathology, radiology, and dermatology. The final section is a last minute rapid review to be used in the days and hours prior to taking the exam. The book organizes the information very effectively by clearly addressing each topic with a concise definition, buzzwords, classic description, and mnemonics or acronyms to help students remember the information effectively. When appropriate, easy to read diagrams are included, as in the chapter on biochemistry. The high yield images are of very good quality. Study tips throughout the book help students focus on important facts. The end of each chapter provides space for notes. The book is comprehensive, and the only thing left to be desired is a way for readers to test their knowledge. There are no practice questions.
Assessment: This book is extremely helpful in preparing for the USMLE Step 1 exam. It is concise enough to use to prepare for the exam in a reasonable amount of time without omitting important information. It covers the material covered in the first two years of medical school very well. Updated from the 2009 edition, this edition appears to have incorporated suggestions from students who have taken the exam to reflect recent changes in the exam.

Biography

Tao Le, MD, MHS is Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics and Chief of the Division of Allergy and Immunology in the Department of Medicine at the University of Louisville.

Vikas Bhushan, MD is a practicing diagnostic radiologist based in Los Angeles, California.

Neil Vasan is in the Medical Scientist Training Program at Yale University in New Haven, CT.