I know that the internet is saturated with tips for surviving and thriving on your path to taking the USMLE Step 1, but, as a personal tool for my own catharsis as well as to provide my own two cents, I wanted to outline how I studied for my first two years and for the USMLE Step 1. First and foremost, I want to stress that focusing on your organ systems/class subjects is of utmost importance. One thing I noticed many students doing was studying by using review materials from the get go; I highly suggest the opposite! Although it is traditional in method, I found that reading the original textbooks such as Guyton and Hall and Robbins and Cotran, as well as Lily's Pathophysiology of Heart Disease and Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine during my organ systems gave me a strong fundamental knowledge to build upon and made studying for Step 1 much easier. Review texts leave out much of the information and background needed to truly understand the material, plung...
Ramblings of a starry eyed medical student