For Step 1, it was really helpful for me to get a copy of First Aid for Step 1 early during the M2 year and to use it during the M2 courses. In the weeks prior to Step 1, I used First Aid as an outline for studying. If something came up that I didn’t recall very well (or at all), I would look it up in a more comprehensive reference.
I read through Clinial Micro Made Ridiculously Simple (which is about as entertaining as medical books get) to help me review micro, since that was a weakness of mine. After M2 ended, I studied about three weeks for Step 1. Some people may want to study longer, but any more would have been overkill for me. And, it’s important to have a little vacation before M3 starts.
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Alpha Omega Alpha
http://www2.uic.edu/stud_orgs/hon/aoa/