USMLE books

	Platinum Vignettes - Pathology II: Ultra-High Yield Clinical Case Scenarios For USMLE Step 1 (Platinum Vignettes)
	By: Adam Brochert ISBN: 1560535725 Publisher: Hanley & Belfus Release Date: 05 May, 2003 Bioscience book rank: 535403	Know these Vignettes! Nothing more to say. They will be tested over. Period :) There was a lot of material in the books in this series, yet I found myself getting through them quickly and retaining a lot of the information, I think because the material is so well presented and explained. Great cases and the format is tailor-made for current USMLE format. This author really understand what the board question writers are into. For me, this type of review was the best way for me to get ready for Step 1. After studying like crazy for a full month for the USMLE, I needed a break from reading textbooks. I decided to check out this case-based review because a friend recommended it. I am still thanking him for this recommendation. This book and the other books in the series really prepare you well for the USMLE, because they get you used to the long clinical vignettes that made up most of my exam. The cases and explanantions are EXTREMELY high-yield and very concise but thorough. I recommend the whole series for anyone who wants to do well on the Step 1 exam.
	Platinum Vignettes - Pathology I: Ultra-High Yield Clinical Case Scenarios For USMLE Step 1 (Platinum Vignettes)
	By: Adam Brochert ISBN: 1560535695 Publisher: Hanley & Belfus Release Date: 05 May, 2003 Bioscience book rank: 534897	Know these Vignettes! Nothing more to say. They will be tested over. Period :) Great way to review right before your exam. Helped me prepare for the case-based questions that now make up the majority of the step 1 test. The two pathology volumes give the biggest bang for the buck if money is tight, but I think the whole series (5 books: pathology I & II, microbiology, behavioral science & biostatistics, and anatomy & embryology) is outstanding. This is the best way to prepare for the exam! This guy knows his stuff and explains it VERY well. All case-based reviews - there are no multiple choice questions in these books. All the series is excellent except the anatomy volume was low-yield for exam.
	Lange Q&A: USMLE Step 1 (Lange Q&a)
	By: Michael W. King ISBN: 0071445781 Publisher: McGraw-Hill Medical Release Date: 08 March, 2005 Bioscience book rank: 672866	This is a good source for practice questions for the USMLE, but it shouldn't be your only study tool. I really liked the anatomy section and thought that the biochem section could have been better. This book provides questions to practice with and explains the answers, but other than that it doesn't have any review material.
	First Aid for the USMLE Step 1: 2003
	By: Vikas Bhushan, Tao Le, Chirag Amin, Joshua Klein, Anil Shivaram ISBN: 0071399127 Publisher: Appleton & Lange Release Date: 17 December, 2002 Bioscience book rank: 484762	This is a great book for overall review. I'd recommend buying it at the start of 1st year or the very latest the start of second year and use it as a review tool for exams. Make notes in the margins on things you think are important and aren't included. By making notes in the margins it will become the only book you'll need to study from because if you know everything in this book you are guarenteed to pass the boards. <br /> <br />If you like system-based approach, Step-Up is a great supplement, but it's micro section is poor <br /> <br />-3rd Year Medical Student Definitely the key source for step 1 preparation but as the authors say: it should not be the only source of preparation.<br>Molecular biology and genetics should have a separate section in the review section as they are heavily tested in the actual exam. Otherwise very good and concise presentation of high yield facts. Do not forget to practice questions which are most similar to the real thing in NMS or on Kaplan website.<br>Careful with rating of book recommendation.<br>Better to make up your own mind.<br>Good luck. This is so funny I bought a copy of the FA book 2003 and looking at it and comparing it to the 2002 version I saw that almost all of the mistakes where being corrected and stuff like that... <br /> I had the 2002 version, which was fraught with little mistakes here and there... <br />Yeah like I said there were many mistakes on the 2002 version; in the different subject areas. <br />At least the ones that I had come across while attempting to read it really made me mad... <br />Now the question is: <br />How come a book like FA for the usmle step1 book had <br />Some serious mistakes Like that? <br />I mean being so popular and all... <br />What a shame... <br />It had mistakes in Path; biochemistry and so forth and so on... <br /> Thanks God that the 2003 edition came out; the book <br />has so many corrections made; you know thinking back now in those days, those mistakes really drove me really mad... <br />it drove me crazy some times thinking that they were meant to be at one time or another to be thought of as true.... <br />It was driving me paranoid...lol <br />Oh my, all of those little mistakes, fraught with mistakes...? <br />Thx for your time in reading this article. <br />Hope that it made you less skeptical in buying future editions of the first aid book for the usmle step1. <br />Dr.Claudio A.G.Monteiro Filho <br />Recife,Pernambuco. <br />Brasil <br />South America. <br />CREMEPE: 13.652 <br />
	Lange Practice Tests for the USMLE Step 1 (Lange's Practice Tests for the USMLE Step 1)
	By: Joel S. Goldberg ISBN: 007144615X Publisher: McGraw-Hill Medical Release Date: 19 August, 2005 Bioscience book rank: 618633	The content and the format are similar to the Step 1 exam though a little less challenging. A good book to supplememt Kaplan Qbank and Qbook. Not a good book to start off with as there are some mistakes which can be misleading. The explanations are good and to the point.
	Crashing the Boards: A Friendly Study Guide for the USMLE Step 1
	By: Benjamin Yeh, Sean Wu, Matt Flynn, Shankha S Biswas, Ketan R Bulsara ISBN: 0781719771 Publisher: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Release Date: 01 August, 1999 Bioscience book rank: 825248	This book is the best! I began my summer studying the First Aid and I felt like it was an impossible task. I am not sure if this review applies to the USMLE Step 1 but I am writing to fellow podiatry students that will eventually take the national boards of podiatric medicine step 1. Most of my class spent their whole summer studying the First Aid and some of them did not pass. The First Aid really is just too much to read and remember. If one memorizes EVERYTHING in the Crashing the Boards book, then that is more than enough. It gives you the most important facts to know and will be tested on. Believe me...do yourself a favor and buy this book! I am a Podiatry Medical student in Cleveland and I just took part one of the boards last week. I passed. Hallelujah!! I didn't even need to do any extra testlets. I was pleasantly surprised, but nonetheless surprised because i only studied for 10 days and the only book i used was Crashing The Boards (and my own Lower Anatomy notes). All, and I mean all, of my other classmates used "USMLE First Aid". I began to worry that maybe i should have used First Aid also because it had a lot more pages and info than Crashing does...But, when all was said and done Crashing was more than adequate for the Boards. Crashing gives you the essential info needed in about 1/3 of the pages compared to First Aid, which translates to less time needed to study. Many reviews state that Crashing is just a good "supplemental" book to use, i would argue that Crashing is THE book to use. You don't always want to take your whole library to your son's little league game! This is a compact book that packs a lot of information in it. I am really enjoying it for a review book.
	USMLE Help Step 3 CCS
	By: Paetzel; M & Talanow; R ISBN: 1424340101 Publisher: EduRad Publishing Release Date: 20 April, 2007 Bioscience book rank: 588975	I must admit that I bought this book based mostly on the ratings previous customers had given it. I also must say that after the experience I had with it I won't be doing that anymore. <br /> <br />In my opinion, this book has no more than four or five useful pages. These are the ones at the beginning in which they suggest how to proceed in the cases you'll find in the exam. After these pages, all you will find are a LOT of very superficial clinical cases that are filled with unbelievable errors and diagnoses/managements that just don't make any sense. To list a few: <br />-Ciclosporine as treatment for pneumonia. <br />-Use of Morphine for pain control in a patient with pancreatitis. <br />-Ordering B-HCG in male patients (in cases that have nothing to do with testicular cancer or neuroendocrine tumors). <br />-A trauma patient with hypovolemic shock in which one of the differential diagnoses is for some reason "Medication Intolerance". The suggested management for this patient doesn't even include IV fluids. <br />-Female patient with a classical case of stable angina who is wrongly diagnosed as unstable angina and hospitalized to be managed with Heparin, IV Beta Blockers and IV morphine. <br />-Patient with Unstable angina in which the suggested management doesn't clearly indicate that the patient should be hospitalized and whose immediate treatment doesn't even include IV access, O2 or anticoagulation. <br />And believe me, the list goes on and on... <br /> <br />I have to acknowledge that a few of the case discussions contain some useful information, but I don't think you'll find many things you haven't already read while preparing for the MCQ part of the exam. <br /> <br />In summary, I definitely do not think this book is worth the price you have to pay for it or the time you have to invest (or waste?) to read it. I highly recommend this book for all those who are studying for the boards, in internship, IM or FM residency, or for those who want to brush up on their "most common complaints." It's unique way of "withholding" the diagnosis until the end of the case makes this book a class above the rest. USMLE-used lab values (with SI reference intervals) are in the back of the book - also a tool which is excellent for use in a clinical, everyday setting. The index lists the diagnoses, and the table of contents lists the chief complaints, which offers the user in both studying and in clinical life a quick way of finding the case he/she would like to review. The authors remind those who study for the exam to take a break, and also offer a well thought-out guide on how to go about the CCS part of the USMLE Step 3 examination. <br /> <br />In their foreword, the authors explain that this book is not an exam-simulation, but rather it is geared to get you thinking as to how to approach a case. They also explain that the book is not intended to replace your trusted textbook of internal medicine, and they are correct. <br /> <br />In my opinion, however, this book does more than gears the reader for an exam: It gears the reader to correctly diagnose and treat patients presenting with the most common chief complaints. This is the most comprehensive USMLE step 3 CCS book I used with hundreds of individual preparation cases and a lot of additional material to master the USMLE CCS. Each case has a unique way to teach the student how to approach and treat a patient. It is written in such a way that it is very easy to read and understand. <br /> <br />In my opinion is this the only book you need to pass the USMLE step 3 CCS. (I passed it!) I tried several other books but this is definetely the best book to pass the USMLE CCS. I love the USMLE Help series (I used also other books from USMLE Help - [[ASIN:1424323002 USMLEHelp Step 2 CS]] and [[ASIN:1424318378 USMLE Help Step 2 CK]]), because they have a very unique and intuitive educational concept, are very easy to read and offer a lot of additional free medical preparation material on their websites [...]
	Step-Up to the Bedside: A Case-Based Review for the USMLE (Step-Up Series)
	By: Samir Mehta ISBN: 0781779642 Publisher: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Release Date: 01 September, 2006 Bioscience book rank: 407644
	USMLE Step 1 Lecture Notes: Pharmacology (Kaplan Medical)
	By: Lionel Raymon ISBN: B000LQOFKY Publisher: Kaplan Release Date: 2006 Bioscience book rank: 917269	the book itself is useful for review of step 1 pharmacology but i have personally bought other books in the kaplan series from 5 to 15 dollars a piece and 40 dollars for 1 2006 edition book is crazy specially since they have new editions out every year. infact if it was a 2008 edition i would still not pay more than 20 dollars for 1 used book in the series. A used book which is a part of a set by 35$!The price is high!
	NMS Review for USMLE: United States Medical Licensing Examination, Step 2 (2nd Edition)
	By: National Medical School Review ISBN: 0683302833 Publisher: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Release Date: 15 January, 1999 Bioscience book rank: 125365	Still great material for Step 2. Make sure you go thru all explanations. Explanations are also good as a study text since they are written by Dr. Goljan and all those other guys teaching for Kaplan. This book was a helpful source of questions. The question structure in this book was actually more similar to what I found on the USMLE than the Kaplan Q bank. The difficulty level of the questions was below expectations. This book strongly stresses epidemiology and very little on actual knowledge base. The explanations were inadequate especially regarding why certain answers were wrong. I did the entire Q bank and found that to be much more helpful. It's not bad, it's basically just a USMLE style test broken into 50 question blocks much like the real thing... only on paper as opposed to computer.... The questions are very similar to the real thing, but tend to be shorter than the actual test. The overall difficulty of the questions is comparable. I prefer the questions on computer just because it's more of a simulation of the actual test.