Tuesday, August 30, 2011

USMLE materials - Step 1 Overview

I am often asked what are the best USMLE materials. Here is my view for 2011.

Kaplan Video Lectures for USMLE Step 1. This is a 200 hour review of Step 1 subjects by best Professors. IF you have time and money to attend Kaplan Live Center - do this. If you are on a tight budget (like everyone else) - ask your friends. They might be able to point you in a right direction on how to download a copy of Kaplan Step 1 Video.

Kaplan Notes -  Just like Kaplan Video Lectures, they are impossible to obtain if you have not attended Kaplan Live Center. This is a set of 8 books, 2000 pages total. Very good summary of all Step 1 Subjects and clear and concise overview of most important USMLE Step 1 topics.

Goljan Pathology - this is a tricky one. Everyone keeps talking about Goljan but the only thing you can obtain on the web is Goljan's Pathology Rapid Review or RR. There is a audio lecture which was made by someone attending Goljan Lectures, which is widely used by USMLE Prep students.
There are some other materials that accompany Goljan Pathology Lectures  - Lectures handouts in PDF, High-Yield questions, and High-Yield notes.
Addditional bonus is a transcript of Audio Lectures which was created for those who can not or do not want to follow audio lectures. This is a word-by-word transcript of Prof. Goljan Pathology Lectures.

Kaplan Webprep - this is a rare gem for USMLE Step 1. 70 hours of Audio Lectures with visual aids (i.e. slides). This can be used to quickly review the USMLE Step 1 materials and will save you 130 hours compared with full set of Kaplam Lectures. This is an original Kaplan Product.

First Aid for USMLE Step 1 - this is a very important book. It is concise and short but it gives so much value for Step 1 that some course providers simply use this book as their curriculum.

Pass Program - great course for USMLE Step 1. This is based on First Aid book and gives a very good preparation for Step 1.

If you have anything to add to this list - please post a comment.