Customer Reviews

First Aid Cases for the USMLE Step 1 (First Aid Series)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

cases are informational and board style. follows the step 1 book. the step one book, cuts out the [...] and tells you what's needed for the boards. great outline. some of the topics are a little thin. has color histo atlas and websites for more general info. I think the book would be better if it had more cases but overall, the combo is a good buy!

I bought this book after I read all 8 UCV (Undeground Clinical Vignettes) from the same authors. I was able to compare them. Obviously it has fewer cases, most of them are identical. FA team rushed this book in production and as a result there are lots of mistakes and really inconvinient layout. My only recommendation is to buy a cheaper previous edition of UCV books (ISBN 0632045590).

Just Get the BOOK!!! Yes That Good!!! It helps you think about every aspect of a concept. Example, path & Physio of what's going on with the patient. It brings important concepts in medicine in extremely valid cases which are written "like" the NBME questions. I would rec this book 100% worth every penny!!!

This book really isn't all that bad. I really enjoyed it. For one, you don't have to force yourself to read another bullet point outline of material, which is a nice break from First Aid or Rapid Review, and all of the cases are really high yield. The clinical case format lends itself to quick reading and realistically presents how a disease is going to come across on USMLE step 1. With that said, don't think this is a comprehensive review! It is nice to do in conjunction with First Aid because it breaks the daily grind of looking at bullet points and it allows you to rehash stuff that you may have just read. I would recommend it over blackwells or the platinum series stuff just because of the price alone! With other series, you will find yourself buying a book for every topic, which is rather expensive, and, lets be honest, do you really have time to do all of those books along with other material that you may have choosen to study? This book has a good list of cases that cover enough. Overall, not a critical resource to have for step 1 but nice to use to break the daily grind.

Overall, it is a good book, however, it has some areas which it can improve. I am reading this page right now, that is when i decided to write this review.

for example, on page, 160, case 15 for GI system, it listed a case, and I was trying to guess the diagnosis, but it didn't have one!'on that page, it has "live blood supply, hepatocytes, structures close by the liver, fetal blood supply, where is falciform ligament", none of those have anything to do with the case. At least, tell us the diagnosis.

Another thing, it frequently list lab findings, but it doesn't list the normal values. The normal values are not listed at the end of the book, either. It would be nice if they can just list the lab value, and relevant normal values side by side, so it can speed up the reading.

this is a nice tool to supplement first aid in your step 1 prep. read the case and cover up the answers as you go through each question it asks. great way to expand your thought process when it comes to vignettes, if that makes sense

cases are good, presentation of Q and A is also good..all in all, i like this book for my step 1 prep.

This is not bad as another book to have for Step1 Prep. Don't overwhelm yourself with too many books because there are ALOT of books out there. Just pick a handful becuase otherwise you will have conflicting information.

It's the best way to buy a book,Thank you so much.