Thanksgiving dinner this year consisted of:

• Roasted Turkey, 17 pounds (recipe – super easy!)
• Szechuan green beans (recipe)
• Brown rice (because no meal would be complete without rice)
• Turkey Gravy (using the turkey drippings and some flour)
• Chicken stuffing with added carrots, onion, celery from the turkey (boxed)
• Sweet potato casserole (Eatzi’s)
• Jalapeño Cornbread (Eatzi’s)
• Cranberry Sauce (Eatzi’s)
• Dessert: Apple pie (recipe)

Thanksgiving dinner was delicious and filling as always! We were really pleased with how the turkey came out. It was incredibly easy to make. It was our second year in a row following this recipe and as simple as it is tastes incredible. The meat is extremely tender and moist. It takes very little prep time assuming your bird is fully defrosted. This is key. And at about 13-15 minutes per pound, it cooks pretty quickly. And the best part at the end of the day, leftovers for Black Friday and the weekend!

Welcome to third year. By now you’ve probably figured out how much better it is than first and second year. That’s good. Take advantage of every opportunity that is presented to you. Enjoy every patient (as much as possible). Every day should teach you something new. A few days aside, third year was a great experience. My single greatest regret is that I wish I had learned more each day so that I didn’t have to cram so much for Step 2. That brings me to the bulk of this post—what books to buy and how to study.

Question Banks

First, some overall tips. I made the mistake of buying UWorld 3 months before Step 2 to save money. I figured I had the Kaplan qbank (now Combank/USMLE weapon for y’all) to use throughout the year, but that was dumb. I should have just spent the money and bought UWorld. Why? Because it is the best. Bar none. Also, I hardly ever used the Kaplan qbank during 3^rd year. So if you have the discipline and you plan on taking the USMLE, then go ahead and buy UWorld (+ the self-assessment—there are very few assessments out there for step 2). Even if you plan on taking COMLEX only, I would consider still buying UWorld. It’s just that good. Use the questions to prepare for shelf exams and then reset your account when you start to study for Step 2. For every shelf you should do some UWorld/Combank practice questions. It is an easy way to review the material before the exam. However, the bulk of UWorld is geared towards internal medicine (also the bulk of Step 2), so don’t burn yourself out trying to do all 1300 internal questions before your IM shelf. What if you want to save UWorld for your vacation/cram session next summer? That’s more or less what I did but I wish had focused more on reviewing UWorld questions instead of getting bogged down with DIT/first aid/etc.

Board Review Overview

The next big tip: buy USMLE Step 2 Secrets. It is a great book to have with you on every rotation. A lot of the “secrets” seem really inane and stupid at first. I think the book says “smoking is bad” about 20 times, but keep reading. There is a lot of good stuff in there. Next you need a general review book(s). I used First Aid for Step 2. Make sure it is CK, not CS—that’s for the Level 2 PE in Conshohocken, PA.  FA for Step 2 CK is not the best book, but then again, there is not a single Step 2 review book that dominates the market like First Aid does for Step 1. I would recommend using a combination of two review books and use them throughout the year so you are familiar with their contents before Step 2 studying rolls around. If you plan to use Doctors in Training, buy Step Up to Step 2 (Brian Jennings and Beardo, aka Dr. Lewis, are the new co-authors of Step up for step 2). If you like the Secrets book and want a bigger version of it, buy Crush Step 2 (same authors, just more content). Master the Boards is also good (Kaplan’s review book series by Dr. Conrad Fischer, so particularly useful if you want to do the Kaplan course). The library has versions of each of these books, so check them out and see which ones work best for you.

OMM / OPP / Manipulative Medicine

Now for rotation-specific books…let’s start off with the easiest. OMM – for the exam, just do some practice questions from Combank and use Savarese’s OMT Review. For the rotation itself, consider Dr. Mason’s 5 Minute Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine Consult. I hear great things about it but I have never used it personally (and I’m too cheap to buy it). It has quick tips and techniques for many common problems you will run across.

Family Medicine

The Sloane textbook, Essentials of Family Medicine, is required and you will need it for the weekly quizzes. The quizzes are insanely hard with averages ranging from 55-80%. Don’t expect to ace them, even if you do the reading. I tried to read initially but gave up towards the end. It’s a good book, just very heavily academic and I did not see much change in my scores from when I studied to when I did not. 3-4 hours of reading to make a 60%? Not for me, but you should come to conclusion on your own. Also, the scores are curved. So what about the shelf? I think Case Files for Family Medicine and the AAFP questions are probably the best combination. You have to register for the AAFP (it’s free, follow the link and click “create one now!”) to get access to their questions but they have an insane number (roughly 1200) and it takes 2-3 days to register so plan ahead. Weirdly, UWorld and Combank do not have any family medicine practice questions but you can click on internal medicine and pediatrics and then do the “preventive medicine” subcategory to pull up all the screening and vaccine type questions.

Psychiatry

Psychiatry is another easy subject because the rotation provides you with all the books you need (First Aid for Psychiatry, Case Files for Psychiatry, and The Clinical Manual of Emergency Psychiatry that I never used). First Aid for Psychiatryh is really the only book you need, but Case Files is always a good book too if you like the case-based format. The only downside if that you need to return the books at the end of the rotation. If you really like psychiatry, then I also recommend picking up Blueprints for Psychiatry. As with the rest of this book series, Blueprints provides a nice overview of the material and they have 100 practice questions at the end of the book.

OB/Gyn

The most important resource was the OB study guide that I posted to facebook. That packet covers almost everything you need to know. First aid for step 2 also has some great stuff for OB-GYN. Blueprints Obstetrics & Gynecology is another good resource for this shelf exam. Case files for OB/Gyn as well. I have no strong opinions one way or the other. The PDF study guide was free and I could carry it easily in my white coat so I used that. UWorld has good questions. As far as the rotation goes, this will be one of your most interactive rotations. Probably a third of my class wants to do OB now just because of how good the rotation is. The hours are long, but you get to work with the team and you feel included. Because the residents care a lot, I think it’s only appropriate to return the favor. Offer to give a presentation about a relevant topic (you can do this on any rotation, but OB at JPS is a great one because they are so receptive and like to see med students learning). When you give a presentation on something go to the resident/attending-level textbooks as a resource. They will really appreciate and respect that. Lastly, when you’re on Labor and Delivery, offer to get them food. They can’t always leave the floor to get food from the cafeteria/McDonald’s, so help them out. And usually they will pay for your food as well. J

Surgery

Pestana notes. Be sure to get ahold of the Kaplan notes by Pestana for a broad overview of surgical topics as well as the Pestana word document which has case vignettes. Email me if you need this stuff. Surgical Recall is a great book for “pimp” style questions that you might be asked. Strike that. You will be asked. That is, if your surgeon acknowledges you as a human being. I worked with six surgeons over my eight weeks of surgery. Three pimped a lot, one just made fun of me without pimping me. And two did not really acknowledge me at all. NMS surgery casebook is a very detailed but good book if you really want to study hard. Lastly, Schwartz’s Principles of Surgery is available free online through the library. You will need this for your blackboard case assignments.

Internal Medicine

Step Up To Medicine. Not Step Up to Step to 2 (I hear a lot of people confuse the two). Step Up To Medicine! This book is phenomenal. Hopefully you used it during 2^nd year, so you are somewhat familiar with it. But it is pretty dense and detailed. Pocket Medicine (was the red book, then the green book, now apparently the purple book, which is the most updated) is a must have for your white coat, but honestly, now that y’all have UpToDate on your phones, it’s probably just as good if not better to use that for quicker reference. UWorld is key for this rotation/shelf. But like I said earlier, there are over 1300 IM-related questions. Get through as many as you can during the rotation. The majority of Step 2 is focused on IM, so doing well on this rotation/shelf will help a lot for step 2. Set a goal to get through 50%, 75% or 100% depending on how committed you are to destroying the shelf and/or getting good evaluations. A word on evaluations – most preceptors are just going to circle all 4’s and 5’s and not write much. That’s fine. What really matters is securing good letters of recommendation because you will have little time to do this 4^th year. How do you impress? Be efficient, demonstrate an eagerness to learn (look up articles about a disease, offer to write a case report, etc.), and be on time with a good attitude. Those are the most important things. Showing off knowledge can hurt you more than it helps you.

Pediatrics

First Aid for Pediatrics is a great book but excessively detailed. Only buy this if you really really like pediatrics. Blueprints Pediatrics is more than sufficient, and at half the length, much more manageable to get through. Harriet Lane Handbook is another great pocket guide for your white coat but not worth your money unless you want to do peds. I found Pre-Test Pediatrics to be a good source for questions, but focus on UWorld first and foremost if you have it.

I hope this was informative. Please email if you have questions regarding 3^rd year, books, or trouble acquiring any of these resources. Good luck in third year!

– Daniel F., MS4

Starting my first year of medical school, I began using Dropbox to sync my files across my laptops, desktop, and smartphone. Previously, I had used Microsoft’s Mesh service which provided 5GB of synced storage, but it was only limited to Windows and OSX. At the time Dropbox was taking off and only gave (and still only gives) 2 GB of storage. Today it’s probably the most versatile solution for storing numerous files and having them seamlessly synced across many users and devices. Google Cloud is a top competitor but does not allow desktop syncing, only allowing individual files to be loaded on to the cloud for retrieval.

Dropbox offers numerous ways to expand your storage like annual Dropbox Scavenger Hunts, friend referrals, partnerships with mobile companies like Samsung and HTC, and various .edu promotions to give extra storage space to students. At one point, I had 14GB from promotions. I love it for managing my school files and having them wherever and whenever I need them, always up to date and kept safe on the cloud.

One thing I suggest and our class had set up was a class Dropbox (shared amongst several hundred users) to share files, powerpoints, and notes. This became and still is an invaluable repository of knowledge and information. It used to be you’d have to email and attach an outline or slideshow to send things to the entire class. Now they can simply ‘dropped’ and everyone can have access to it. Also, things can be quickly shared and files kept constantly up to date. It’s also perfect for group projects (which happen to be few in medical school).

The most important rule of using a Dropbox amongst a class is that if you want a copy of anything, you MUST copy and paste it to the destination you want it (even if it’s back to your own Dropbox folder. If you drag and drop, it will delete it from the box and someone will have to restore the file.

If you’d like to sign up for Dropbox, you can sign up here with your .edu address. We will both get an additional +0.5 GB (500 MB) of personal cloud storage!

This list is not as long as the books for first year simply because each class is laid out pretty similarly.

• Review of physiology (most did not have anything)
• Introduction to pathology/pathophysiology
• Associated cancers
• Associated microbiology and diseases
• Treatment
• Pharmacology
• Long-term management

Each course is roughly 4-6 weeks and is split in two tests to cover usually pathology first and treatment/management on the second. The first test is usually hardcore memorization of all of the facts pertaining to each illness and the second is about memorizing the drugs and treatments but also figuring out which is the best given a certain presentation. For me, they were about equally as challenging. One wasn’t overwhelmingly easier than the other. Another plus of second year is that nearly all the professors were either DOs or MDs. Consequently, they were much more understandable and had real-life experiences to share.

During each class, the powerpoints should be your first resource when it comes to the knowledge each professor. They put a lot of time into their slides so you can be sure that they include what is important. Everything else (here) is supplementary or for board studying (another post specifically on board prep later).

I would also like to thank you for reading this blog and supporting it. If you don’t already have an Amazon Prime account, you’re missing out. Free two day shipping without a minimum and $3 overnight is wonderful. If you would please sign up here, it would help me continue to grow the site. If you’ve already had the free Amazon Student trial, you are eligible for 50% off the annual price. And with a student account, you can refer your friends too for Amazon credit!

As always, if you have any comments/questions, shoot me a PM or leave a comment below.

High Yield Books

First Aid 2014

Buy the latest for the year you are taking. From 2012 to 2013, there were many glaring errors fixed with the errata (found online). The COMLEX and USMLE are two of the biggest tests you will be taking, you want the latest book. It won’t be out till the end of December, but be sure to pick it up for the spring semester and start marking it up! I ended up just starting fresh from 2011 to 2013 and just wrote new notes and highlights on my 2013 edition. Having gone through board studying, it probably would’ve been better to use this book earlier on and transfer my notes over to the new version. By the end of the summer though, it was every color of the rainbow from cover to cover and fully marked up(well, minus the extra pages at the front and back). Regardless of whatever else you use, make this your primary resource. It has everything you must know.

Robbins Review of Pathology (Red Robbins)

This book will test how in-depth your knowledge of each chapter of Robbins is. Smoe of the questions are very detailed (too detailed in some cases). Whatever chapters are assigned for the test, do these questions. Some of them will show up again and I’ve even had a professor suggest looking at them because she pulled questions from it. She also recommended that I do all the questions without looking at the answers to simulate a real testing environment.

Pocket Companion to Robbins and Coltran Pathologic Basis of Disease

If you’re looking for a quick fix read for a quiz or need a high yield overview for a specific topic in Robbins, this book is useful. Many people in my class had this book and preferred it to the density that is mama Robbins (big Robbins). It covers most of the important tested material.

Pathoma

Dr. Sattar is a great teacher. He makes learning each system as clear as possible. His knowledge of pathology is extensive. He’s not as funny as Dr. Goljan (more on this later), but he covers most of the same things in a systematic manner. Pathoma is best used at the beginning of each new course. Watch the chapters for the upcoming system and annotate the book. You won’t catch all of it, but at least you’ll have notes to refer to and it will introduce the system to you so that in class you’ll be able to follow along easier. I didn’t discover Pathoma until shortly after the first class (for us, renal) started, but I really wish I had started from day 1!

Pathology is quite heavy on Step 1 and Level 1. First Aid only has an overview of pathology. You really need something like Pathoma or Rapid Review of Pathology to cover what you really need to know.

Step up to Medicine

From what I could tell, the third and second editions are the same in content. The third edition has much nicer pages and color to emphasize and organize facts. Step Up is an internal medicine book that covers all of the big systems and the high-yield treatments and management that go along with each disease. This is the book you’ll want to be using for most of the second system’s tests. I used most during first semester GI, renal, cardio, and pulmonary (hence why it’s an internal medicine book). You will use this during your IM rotation and shelf, so it’s a good book to be familiar with now.

Robbins and Coltran Pathologic Basis of Disease

You know what it is. Almost every day will have numerous pages to read. Each set of chapters pertaining to a system is a test and you’re expected to know everything. The first couple tests are shocking, but you’ll get adjusted to it. If you’re not a reader, get baby robbins or get an outline of the chapter because one way or another, you need to know the material inside and out to do well. At the least, please look over and recognize the pictures.

OMT Review

Just get it already. You’ll be using this for the next several years for Level 1, COMAT shelf exams third year, and for Level 2. It’s a good review of the principles behind each major concept and area of anatomy.

Atlas of Osteopathic Techniques

You’ll need this book too each week for lab techniques. Second year OMM is pretty much the same except that the techniques are more applicable to that system which helps make it more interesting and applicable in practice. From my OMM rotation, I saw a lot of chronic back, neck, and hip pain. We didn’t use OMT too much for say chronic kidney disease or pneumonia. Rather, we treated the whole person and looked for somatic dysfunctions all over. This book will continue to be helpful third year when you need to look up how to properly do a technique.

Honorable Mentions:

Goljan Audio and Rapid Review of Pathology

Dr. Goljan has to be my favorite professor. I’ve watched Pathoma and watched some DIT, but Dr. Goljan stands out amongst the rest. He’s energetic, funny, knowledgeable, and knows what is high yield. The audio is great to go along with each class (you can annotate your notes into your Pathoma book) because it’s quite similar, or First Aid if you’d prefer.

The reason his book deserves an honorable mention is because while I did buy it. I didn’t end up using it that much. I had some friends who swore and stuck by it rather than pathoma. I would say, do one or the other. Rapid Review is more detailed and covers more diseases. The newest edition supposedly is much better organized and refined. Dr. Goljan’s images are money!

Doctors in Training (DIT)

DIT is expensive and you only get 30 days to watch hundreds of videos online. My take on it is that if you have the time and are a visual learner, go for it. Otherwise, save the time. It would probably be better off spent on Pathoma/Goljan. The DIT videos go through first aid at a very slow pace. Also, there questions are a time sink. I had many friends get bogged down in doing their workbook and short-answer questions. They’re pretty good, but too much. Spend your time wisely and do the right questions, namely, UWorld.

Do QUESTIONS!

USMLE World

I can’t stress this enough. Do as many questions as you possibly can. I suggest buying a 1 year subscription to USMLE World (UWorld) and doing all of the questions for each block. It’s $420 for 1 year plus the two self assessments but worth it. This is the best question bank you can possibly buy. Some upper classman will frown upon doing qbanks “too early.” I say forget that. There’s no harm in being prepared. If you’re truly worried about running out of questions, fear not. There are several question banks out there with thousands of questions each. UWorld alone has 2200 for Step 1. I ended up doing it twice. About half during the year (I wish I finished it) and another 1.5 times during my dedicated study period. Yes, you will remember some of the questions, but that’s ok because you are learning high yield material. There’s a reason they made a question out of it. Treat it like a book, learn from it like any other resources. I am a big fan of UWorld.

Kaplan QBank

It’s about $100 for a year. Much cheaper than UWorld and rightly so. These questions are too detailed and not as high yield as UWorld. I ended up doing about 600 or so out of their 2,000 since my school purchased it for us. The COMLEX portion of this Q bank had about 150 OMM specific questions which I found helpful for the OMM class final and COMLEX Level 1.

COMBANK

I had several friends purchase Combank because they were serious about wanting to do well. They said the style of these questions mirrored the COMLEX Level 1 very closely. I can also report that at least one of my friends improved his COMSAE (practice COMLEX) score by a very significant amount which he attributes to this Q bank.

COMQUEST

From what I’ve read on sdn, this is a better qbank as far as COMLEX questions go. Both are supposed to be really similar.

Congrats on getting into your first year of medical school! There have been a ton of questions on what books and materials to buy, so here’s my list and suggestions. These are everything that I bought and/or used to study in-addition to the powerpoints. I wasn’t a biology major so in many classes and I didn’t have quite the background knowledge that some of my classmates had. I found these books all helpful in learning the material which is why I compiled a list.

Try to have these books before the first day of each section. Some courses are only 2-4 weeks, so if you order them after it starts, you’re already a week into a course without the book and you’ll fall behind quickly.

I’m guilty of this, but have changed this last year. I used to not write in my books to keep them in a new condition, but in medical school, the material is just too important not to fully understand. You’re in a professional school, utilize the materials that you need and get the most out of it. It’s not worth saving a few bucks on the resale value if you master the subject. Many of these books will be good for the first two years and board review studying anyway, so go crazy, make it colorful!

If you’ve found this list helpful over the course of the semester, please share it with your current and future classmates!

Also, if you don’t already have an Amazon prime account, I would appreciate it if you would sign up at my Amazon prime referral link. It’s free for 6 months and 50% for the following year after that if you decide to stay a member. Thank you for supporting my blog!

Update 6/28/12 – I forgot about the Thieme Atlas of Anatomy: General Anatomy and Musculoskeletal System which you will use every week in OMM for the anatomy quizzes and during MSS. It has tons of nicely labeled pictures

Update #2 9/29/12 – Added Neuroanatomy: An Illustrated Colour Text by Crossman for Neuro

Tentative Update #3 6/17/13 I have my USMLE this week, but I will be updating this list by the month’s end for the class of 2017, taking into account suggestions from the class of 2016 and some curriculum changes.

Update #4 6/30/13 Updated for the Class of 2017!

High-Yield Book List

The high-yield books you’ll use all year long. These are a must-buy and you will use them for a majority of the year and beyond. The rest of the books detailed in this post are simply the books I used and my thoughts on each of them. I suggest browsing the books you are interested in at the library as they likely have every single one mentioned. Alternatively, load up your iPads with the books to have them anywhere!

First Aid 2013 – Any edition will do, although this is a must for board studying and you’ll probably want to keep your notes together in one book from the beginning. You can (and should) use this book in every course to get a broad overview of the high-yield concepts of each system/topic. Note that the 2012 is riddled with errors. Apparently converting to color causes typos. I bought the latest version when I started (2011) and then the latest when I started board studying (2013). I suggest getting the 2013 edition for your first year now. It’s also in color and is a condensed version of everything you will need to know for the boards. Once second year comes around, I would definitely purchase the latest (2015 edition) which comes out around the beginning of January so you have the most up to date edition for boards. Be sure to also check the errata online for continuously updated lists of errors.

BRS Physiology – This updated Board Review Series book covers all of the major body system physiology (neuro, cardio, GI, endo, and repro). Be sure to get the updated 5th Edition. It’s must easier to read and the tables/graphs are well thought out. Many of the classes in the same order as the book presents the material, making it really easy to keep up with the class. Linda Costanzo is the god of physiology!

Atlas of Human Anatomy (Netter’s) – One of the best anatomy books I’ve used. Netter’s isn’t great for everything but it’s quite encompassing and the professors teach from Netter’s mostly, so it’s a must have when studying anatomy. Each tank is required to have one “wet” copy at their tank as well. It can be an old edition. I also use a couple other anatomy resources, see below (MSS).

USMLE Road Map: Histology – All of your histology courses follow this book almost to the T. It provides a very high-yield outline of the material, labeled images, and practice questions. The book was written by a former anatomy professor. Do the practice questions every time for each topic, you may see them again!

Robbins and Coltran Pathologic Basis of Disease – Yes, it’s expensive and heavy, but you will NEED this book, or at least the contents within. You will use it from MOD1 through the remainder of your courses and all throughout year 2. Some of the chapters are a bit long, but it reads fairly easy and makes pathology understandable.

OMM

OMT Review – Hands down, the most comprehensive osteopathic review for boards and high-yield for OMM class. Sometimes revered to as the “green book,” it’s broken down by anatomical section, like classes are. There are good review questions and pointers for each topic. This book, plus an extra week is what I hear is needed to study/review for the COMLEX after taking the USMLE come second year.

Atlas of Osteopathic Techniques – A required text, not much to say. You will definitely use this for all of your techniques and need a copy of this in lab every time and when you practice for your clinical skills competencies. It’s pictures are pretty easy to follow, just got to memorize all of the techniques for each section.

Thieme Atlas of Anatomy: General Anatomy and Musculoskeletal System – Optional. It was required for us, but the curriculum has since changed where Netters may suffice as your anatomy text for OMM. This is a good supplemental on the back structures as it has very detailed images of the spine and many of the larger muscles. This is probably best purchased used or directly from the Thieme store. There’s a coupon code floating around school somewhere that you can probably pick up at orientation. I think I got mine from the SAAO booth (OMM club).

Semester 1

Cell Science

Cell science is a course unlike any other. You’ll hear “just get through cell science and you’ll be good.” This is partly true. It’s overwhelming, but you’ll get through it and classes will seem to get harder and harder as the year progresses (and they will).

Principles of Biochemistry – Doesn’t have to be the latest, they’re all pretty much the same between editions. The online copy and content is nice to have, but not needed. Just make sure you have a copy to reference. Honestly, if you focus on the powerpoints, the biochem pathways in First Aid, and what is covered in class, you’ll be golden.

Musculoskeletal System (MSS) I

MSS1 is your first typical year 1 course. It’s heavy on anatomy with a good bit of muscle physiology that must be mastered.

Color Atlas of Anatomy – This is a high-quality photographic depiction of many prosected cadavers. On a practical, it will more or less, look a lot like these images. The professors try (most of the time) to give you landmarks and make it look like this book. If you don’t like studying in the lab, this is a must so you can see what it really looks like and not just a pretty Netter picture. There’s many anatomical views of each part with numerous (sometimes too many) labels. It’s great for quizing and orienting yourself.

Grant’s Atlas of Anatomy – No idea who Grant is (not the author), but these drawings are fantastic. Unlike Netter’s stylized and artistic depictions, these are accurate, easy to see, and best of all, simple to read and understand. IMO, Grant’s has the best head and neck anatomy pictures. Along with Anatomy, Grant’s also covers other important things like innervation, lymphatic flow, and blood flow which Netter’s often fails to cover. Many professor images do come from this book as well.

BRS Physiology

BRS Gross Anatomy – I would suggest having a copy (older edition is fine) to do the practice questions. You’ll likely see them again and this book covers many high-yield concepts.

USMLE Road Map: Histology

Nervous Sytem (“Neuro”) I

Neuro is probably the first class where things get really real. The material is intense and plentiful. Don’t get behind. Study the brainstem and spinal tracts the most. They are easy to mix up and you must keep the pathways straight and know exactly where they are.

BRS Physiology

Neuroanatomy: An Illustrated Colour Text – This textbook may or may not be required for the Class of 2017. The course director has since changed. I used this in an undergraduate neuroanatomy class (as it was the required book for that class) and found it extremely useful in neuro in med school, especially for the brainstem. It has very nice illustrations, photos, and explanations that break down neuroanatomy giving a good introduction to the topic. Each chapter is very concise and gets to the point.

BRS Neuroanatomy – The sections on brainstem lesions and spinal cord tracts were the most useful. In addition to this, be sure to check out the brain atlas in lab to help you study. As with all BRS books, the practice questions may look familiar come exam time.

Clinical Neuroanatomy Made Ridiculously Simple – The professor highly recommended this book, but I never used it. It was very helpful for many in the class.The Made Ridiculously Simple (MRS) is nice in that it has many helpful hand-drawn cartoons and pneumonics that stick in your head (mostly because they’re so poorly drawn and cheesy).

Grant’s Atlas of Anatomy – for head and neck anatomy.

USMLE Road Map: Histology

Cardiopulmonary System I

Rapid Interpretation of EKG’s – A really easy to follow step-by-step guide to reading EKGs. These are easy free points on test if you know how to interpret them. This book breaks it down with large pictures and font (literally one major concept per page) that reads very quickly.

Cardiovascular Physiology – I didn’t buy this, nor did I use this much. Just be sure you have access to a copy in case you need a reference for powerpoint images and physiology graphs (go to the library).

BRS Physiology

USMLE Road Map: Histology

Semester 2

Gastrointestinal System I

BRS Physiology

USMLE Road Map: Histology

Endocrinology I

BRS Physiology

USMLE Road Map: Histology

Reproductive System I

This is the last and probably most challenging anatomy section. Pelvic anatomy gets confusing, so be sure to study as many cadavers in lab as you can because they all look slightly different and you need to see different anatomical views of both males and females.

BRS Physiology

USMLE Road Map: Histology

Fundamentals of Treatment I

A one week course of drugs and basic pharmacology (pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, drug interactions, etc.) before spring break. It’s probably he easiest class all year. Just follow along the notes and do the practice questions.

Hematopoietic System I

Robbins and Coltran Pathologic Basis of Disease

Robbins and Coltran Review of Pathology – aka “Red Robbins.” This question/answer book is great for reviewing each chapter of Robbins. Anytime you have a chapter, be sure to go over these questions. Not all are relevant, but some will pop up again. This book is a must have for second year tests and prep board studying!

Immunology I

The Immune System  – Go to the library and reference this book if needed. You won’t find any questions coming out of this book that can’t be found in your powerpoints. All the images come from this book, so it’s good to read the captions and reference.

Mechanisms of Disease I and II

These are the last two classes and are sort of an introduction to classes second year. You’ll mostly have lectures and MLMs in the morning and DSA study time in the afternoon. Don’t waste your afternoons, especially during MOD II, it’s worth 10 credit hours and the material takes a while to wrap your head around.

Robbins and Coltran Pathologic Basis of Disease

Robbins and Coltran Review of Pathology

Microbiology Made Ridiculously Simple – Bugs and drugs, you just have to memorize it all. Use tables, use this book to help you remember the pathophysiology and keep it straight. This is the class textbook and rightfully so. It’s very easy to read and follow along.
… And that’s it for my high-yield list of books to buy for your first year medical school!

Good luck! If you have any questions or comments, don’t hesitate to drop me a message!