Resources by Year
I’ve compiled a list of the resources that I personally used + found helpful during medical school. There are so many resources available on the market + you cannot possibly use them all. I quickly became overwhelmed by the recommendations of my friends, classmates, professors, + the internet. Everyone will try to tell you what works for them but it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t work for you. Find what works for you! Pick a few that you think you’ll want to use (many even have a free trial) + give it a try. There are also a LOT of free materials out there – Use them! Otherwise, consider renting books, sharing with a friend, or check your school library. If you haven’t already, check out my year-by-year overview where I break down my advice, recommendations, + resources by year!
All Four Years
Boards & Beyond: Used these videos all four years & found Dr. Ryan’s White Coat Companion to be such a great resource for Step 2 boards + clinical rotations. I had the book spiral bound + again annotated as I watched his videos.
Dirty Medicine (on Youtube): Free! Great for mnemonics + ways to easily remember various topics. He is always adding more videos + even has a section now for OMM & ethics, which is great for boards.
Sketchy Micro + Pharm: I found both of these to be so helpful! I would watch the video then go through the Anki deck + found it to be a great memory tool. I still have so many of the Sketchy pictures engrained in my memory. I didn’t start using Pharm until right before Step 1 but wished I started earlier!
Anki: Free! Set it up early & start early. 5-10 new cards per day doesn’t feel like much but I promise it will pay off. It utilizes spaced repetition to help you best remember. I used Anking for level 1 + Anking 2 for level 2 because they combined a few of the most popular decks. I also used the Sketchy Micro + Sketchy Pharm decks to keep up with my micro and pharmacology. Right before my exam, I also loved the First Aid Rapid Review for concise facts. It’s a relatively small deck but super high yield – the facts are from the back of the First Aid Book. Lastly, I used the Turn Up 2 Law & Ethics + Turn Up 2 OMT for boards!
Preclinical
First Aid for the USMLE: I didn’t fully appreciate or utilize this book until second year but it was a gold mine when preparing for boards! I had the book spiral bound & often annotated with high yield information as I was going through practice questions or other study materials. I also liked using sticky notes to add notes to have more room to write.
Ninja Nerd (on Youtube): Free! Longer videos + more in depth, making it better for in-house exams.
Pathoma: Book + videos! All about the fundamentals of pathology
Goljan Podcast (on Spotify): all things pathology
Clinical
White Coat Companion (by Boards & Beyond): My favorite comprehensive resource for Step 2 boards + clinical rotations. I had the book spiral bound + annotated as I watched his videos.
Clinical Problem Solvers: They have such a great collection of resources (including a podcast + videos) but I especially loved their diagnostic schemas for quickly forming differential diagnoses while on rotations
Divine Intervention Podcast (available on Spotify, Apple Podcast, + his website)
Medical reference badge cards: simple but great for a quick reference. For example, on my peds rotation, I would often reference the vaccination schedule + developmental milestones – but there are cards for every rotation!
I’ve also compiled a list of my favorite clinical apps to download for easy on-the-go information!
I also made printable templates during my clinical rotations to make my history collecting + charting a little bit more organized. My free templates are available to download.
Pocket (Neurology, Psychiatry, OBGYN, etc): These books are a great size to keep in your white coat + carry around on rotations.
First Aid for the USMLE, First Aid for the Wards, First Aid for the XYZ clerkship: Although I didn’t love the First Aid for Step 2, I know many of my peers found it to be very helpful!
Case Files (for IM, Peds, OB, etc)
OMM
Although the green book by Saverese has been hailed as the OMM bible for years, I found that it just wasn’t enough for the COMLEX level questions. Instead, I used:
Dirty Medicine (on Youtube)
ComPrepMed: Books +/or videos!
Turn Up 2 OMT Anki Deck
Specialty Specific Resources:
IM
Pocket Medicine (concise + super easy to carry in white coat)
Surgery
Surgical Recall: easy to read between cases, covers a lot of the common pimp questions
Dr. Pestana’s Surgery Notes
Emergency Medicine
EMRA Antibiotic guide: easy to navigate resource with the latest on antibiotic prescribing practices for a variety of conditions + fits in your pocket!
Rapid Interpretation of EKG’s: You may have already used this book during your preclinical years but it ended up actually being so helpful once I had a better understanding of EKGs in the clinical setting.