First Aid for the USMLE Step 1 2015

If I told you how I got this a day before everyone else I wouldn't be living up to my super gunner lifestyle I promised myself I would live by at my white coat ceremony. Now on to my actual review, but as a forewarning I want to let all my fellow gunners out there know that I have only made 2.5 passes through FA 2015 since I got it this morning.What I like most about First Aid is that this study guide really reads like an actual piece of literature for me. While several of my classmates have been wasting their down time with leisure reading stupid low-yield novels like "50 Shades of Grey" or "The Hunger Games" (which is actually a great blueprint for how match should work for all the competitive residencies I will apply for, but that is a conversation for later), I usually spend all of my time that I am not studying for exclusively lecture based tests holed up in my study space with FA 2015. In fact, this book is such a great read that I have even found myself turning down engagements with my fellow classmates (not friends, medical school is not the time for that, everyone is just another body to fill a residency that I could want so I keep a healthy distance) so I can read this book!! And to think all this has happened since I got it only this morning!Pros: The 25th Anniversary has a special online section for former AOA members (as well as future AOA members like myself, but that requires a special code from your school's Dean) that has an online forum board to discuss step relevant topics such as how gunning has changed over the years and which Prometric centers have been known to provide highest scores throughout the nation (apparently the one in Spokane has an average of 255 for all of the medical students who took it there last year, so I already have booked a flight from Texas to take it there). Perhaps my favorite part of the entire book is the newly updated Step 2 section - I know what you might be thinking - "Did he just say Step 2? Aren't we supposed to be studying for Step 1? Am I doing something wrong? Did I miss something?" - and let me say something - "Yes, yes, yes, and yes. If you are not thinking at least two licensing tests ahead while studying for Step 1 then why even bother?"Cons: It is not First Aid 2016, which I know will already be infinitely better and I know I am at a disadvantage using 2015 but you have to play the cards you are dealt.Finally, I will leave you all with a quote which I have found to bring me great peace though out my time in medical school:"It is not enough that I should succeed - others must fail" - William Osler, Gunner Pioneer

First Aid for the USMLE Step 1 is THE book that all medical students should have and be using on day 1 of medical school.I highly recommend all medical students to use First Aid as a framework for organizing their preclinical learning in the first two years and identify high yield material early on. With each lecture, compare to First Aid and make annotations as necessary. This book got me through the first two years of medical school near the top of my class. While you still have to study from other resources (class notes, Pathoma and Gojan Rapid Review, Robbins and Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease for the gunners), this book is a concise review that will help you remember the vast amounts of information required for Step 1.The book is filled with lots of high-yield mnemonics. To be completely honest, they are not all gems, but the book is still extremely helpful. You can have all of biochemistry, physiology, immunology, microbiology at your fingertips in a well-organized and concise volume.Again, I cannot say enough about how important FA is. I would recommend buying the new version (whatever that may be) as you start medical school. I personally did not buy a new copy second year, since I already had my notes in the first version, but if you can try and skim the errata or new version to see what corrections need to be made. I took a look at the 2016 version and the figures are much nicer (the paper feels high quality too. With the 2015 I ended up laminating the front and back pages as they were beginning to fall apart from so much use!Again: this book is a must have for every medical student. Get it, and work hard, and medical school doesn't have to be all that bad.

PRO: You cannot study for step 1 without this book. Is it complete? No. Does it touch on every single tested topic? (Yes). Does it pair well with UWorld ? I think so.Also, I will say that any question that came up in my first couple practice tests where I was like "this isn't in FA!!!!!" ... it always was. Sometimes just a few tiny words tucked away but its always in here.Again, there are a lot of topics in here that you cannot "learn" from, however it has all the key associations that you MUST know to do well.I used just FA and UWORLD and did very well. There is no substitute though for studying hard during your first two years.CON: The index in the back is all messed up. The page numbers it directs you to are not really correct. I remember I annotated the index for a few disease that were in the book if you ctrl + F the PDF version but are not indexed. Also, I think the spacing in the GI and endo sections is weird. I feel like there is so much packed onto each page in the GI section with hardly enough room to annotate anything and then entire half pages wide open in the endocrine section. Very minor points, especially after a week or two with this book during ISP when you have memorized the page numbers were topics are.

Used for UK medical final exams but personally would recommend. Some material is perhaps not required and can be overly specific.

All bases covered with this book.

If you are studying for the USMLE then you must get this.

Item arrived on the predicted timeline and as described.

Agree with others posted that that the quality of the paper is poor. Otherwise, great revision book!