First Aid for the USMLE Step 1: A Student to Student Guide [Paperback]

Vikas Bhushan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 15, 1999 | ISBN-10: 0838526128 | ISBN-13: 978-0838526125 | Edition: 9

Providing up-to-date information, this guide gives coverage of high-yield study topics, mnemonics and reviews of relevant exam review products. Also included are a guide to exam preparation, study methods and general test-taking strategies.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Key Benefit: This now famous review book is written exclusively by medical students for medical students preparing for the USMLE Step 1. Key Topics: Providing the most up-to-date information available, this review reduces stress by saving students time and money with it's coverage of high-yield study topics, extensive mnemonics, and concise reviews of relevant exam review products. Also included are a guide to exam preparation, study methods, and general test-taking strategies. Market: Medical students.

About the Author

Vikas Bhushan, MD (Diagnostic Radiologist, University of California, Los Angeles) Tao Le, MD (Yale-New Haven Hospital, New Haven, Conneticut; University of California, San Francisco) Chirag Amin, MD (University of Miami, Miami, Florida) Vipal Soni (University of California, Los Angeles)

Product Details

• Paperback: 425 pages
• Publisher: Appleton & Lange; 9 edition (January 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0838526128
• ISBN-13: 978-0838526125
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,158,664 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

59 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars this book is great, but know what you are buying, December 25, 2002

By 

B. Olalekan "smithsonian2000" (Nashville, TN United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: First Aid for the USMLE Step 1: 2002 (Paperback)

As a brief review of the USMLE I syllabus, this book is an excellent choice. However, be warned, the USMLE questions have gone more sophisticated.
USMLE hardly asks you this type of question now:

A 25 year old woman taking prednisone for SLE develops fever, muscle aches, jaundice, right-sided abdominal pains. What is the diagnosis?
a. cholelithiasis
b. cholestasis
c. hepatitis
d. right lower lobe pneumonia
e. adverse reaction to medication

Everyone knows this is hepatitis.

No. It will ask:
A 25 year old woman taking prednisone for SLE develops fever, muscle aches, jaundice, right-sided abdominal pains. The most likely cause of these findings is
a. antibodies to hepatocytes
b. release of cytokines from T lymphocytes
c. lysis of infected hepatocytes
d. blockage of bile canaliculi
e. activation of complement against hepatocytes

Now, not everyone knows the answer (c by the way).
This book (First Aid) does not go into this level of granularity in covering the test materials. This does not mean that it does not have its use, however.
Suggestions for use:
1. Read this book first. Because of its concise coverage of most of the topics on the USMLE I, it is most suited for this purpose.
2. Get more detailed texts, and read each topic as set out in the syllabus (it is amazing how many medical students and doctors fail to use the syllabus in preparing for the exams!). The NMS series (Biochem, Physiology, Microbiology, Pharmacology are especially good). Use some other published materials for Anatomy, Pathology and Behavioral science. NMS series are not so good in those areas.
3. Practice with the released MCQs (150 of them). You will get some of these on the exam, trust me.
4. Practice with Kaplan's QBank, until you consistently score a perfect 100%. If you don't have the money for this, or if you have more time, use NMS review for the USMLE Step I by Lazo, et al. It is a great alternative/complement
5. Reread this book (first Aid) to round up your preparations.

6. Go smash the USMLE step I. You will most likely score in the 95th per centile.

Good luck.

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars God's gift to USMLE step 1 takers, October 28, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: First Aid for the USMLE Step 1 2000: A Student to Student Guide (Paperback)

This is the Bible for USMLE step 1 study, a complete starter's kit. It's broken up into three basic sections, all very useful, with information that cannot be found anywhere else.

The first section is a description of what the test is like, what to expect about things like scoring and in case you think you failed, and also strategies for studying. (A note of disagreement: their recommendation for studying requires a much longer time commitment than most medical students can or are willing to give, e.g., two entire months devoted solely to USMLE preparation.)

The second section is a list of high yield facts in each subject area. Some students say that the exam can be passed comfortably just having memorized this section. Of course, it would be unwise to test that hypothesis, but my personal experience vindicates it: just about all of the answers to the questions I missed on the USMLE practice test CD-ROM could be found in this section of the exam. My only complaint about this section is that the links to the Underground Clinical Vignettes series (UCV) were spotty (sometimes there are no links listed for diseases that are discussed in UCV) and sometimes wrong (they refer to the wrong case), and that these links, being of lower yield value than everything else in this book, smacked of a marketing ploy to encourage purchasing the UCV series, which happens to be authored by the same person.

The final section is a listing and review of all the major review books currently available. The review is based on student response and is generally quite accurate and very useful (including even ISBN numbers, a godsend for those who shop online), not showing any signs of proprietary bias.

All other review books, if possible, should be borrowed or purchased used, but this book is updated every year and its purchase is a required investment for everyone taking the step 1 exam, so that it can be underlined, scribbled on, and read over and over again.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Absolute necessity, but you'll need more than this., June 18, 2001

By 

Carlo San Juan "Caz MD" (Metro Manila, Philippines) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: First Aid for the USMLE Step 1 2000: A Student to Student Guide (Paperback)

The books of the First Aid for the USMLE Step 1 series help from the very day you decide to take the USMLE (or medicine, for that matter). It contains need-to-know information about the exam such as what the exam is like, when to register, what your score means, and what to do if you pass or fail. Furthermore, and most importantly, it contains the absolutely "must know" high-yield facts in every subject in Step 1's coverage and fun mnemonics to go along with them. This book also has a review of review books which helps you decide which books are best for you. It also includes a form you can submit mnemonics and suggestions with to improve next year's edition. However, obviously this book is not enough to pass step 1 of the USMLE, but it may give you a very good advantage.