First Aid for the USMLE Step 1: 2007

by Tao Le, Vikas Bhushan, Ali Ozturk

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

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

560 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[JC · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

[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

[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?

[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 🤨

[Naba Khan]

This reading challenge isn't going to finish itself 😔

[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

[Agustina Fainguersch · Rating 5 out of 5]

This sh goes hard

[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.

[Lindsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A heartbreakingly raw portrayal of the highest yield facts for the USMLE Step 1.

[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?

[Ishaan Kumar · Rating 4 out of 5]

goodbye

[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.