Preclinical
Preclinical Resources Review
Apr 9, 20267 min read
By Mike
By MikeDisclaimer: StrudelMed / Strudel Academy LLC is an independent medical education resource. The content below reflects personal opinions and is intended for educational purposes and general guidance only. We are not affiliated with or sponsored by any of the resources reviewed below.
In the world of medical education, there will be a never-ending trove of ads and resources trying to convince you that their product is the best (trust me, I fell into this trap). Here, I give my opinion on my favorite resources for preclinical and boards prep. The most important takeaway is at the bottom: pick 2-3 resources and learn them fully rather than spreading yourself across everything.
S-tier:
First Aid for the USMLE Step 1 is the single most important reference for boards prep. It is not a textbook and should not be used to learn material from scratch. It is a condensed, organized index of high-yield facts that serves as your roadmap during dedicated. Annotate it throughout preclinical years as you encounter topics. By the time you start dedicated, it can be personalized with your own notes, clinical pearls, and connections.
Other helpful texts:
Costanzo Physiology is the best standalone physiology textbook for medical students. It explains mechanisms clearly and at the right depth for boards. If you struggle with physiology concepts in lecture, Costanzo will likely make them click. Especially strong for renal, cardiovascular, and respiratory physiology. I almost always read the corresponding chapters before studying pathology for each system.
BRS Embryology is concise and covers the embryology content tested on Step 1 without overwhelming detail. Embryology is one of those topics that is hard to learn from First Aid alone, and BRS fills that gap well. Short enough to read cover to cover during dedicated if needed. Embryology is honestly quite hard to learn but is still heavily covered in many medical school, but is generally less high yield for Step.
Moore's Clinically Oriented Anatomy is the go-to anatomy reference. It is more detailed than what you need for Step 1, but it is excellent for coursework and as a reference when you encounter anatomy questions you cannot explain from First Aid alone. The clinical correlations are useful for connecting anatomy to pathology.
S-tier:
Pathoma (Fundamentals of Pathology) is the gold standard for pathology in medical school. Dr. Sattar (the pinnacle of medical education in my opinion) explains disease mechanisms clearly and concisely in a way that sticks. Chapters 1 through 3 (cell injury, inflammation, neoplasia) are arguably the highest-yield content in all of boards prep and apply across every organ system. Watch it alongside your coursework and re-watch it during dedicated. Students used to go through Pathoma 2 to 3 times before Step 1 (before it was pass/fail). Would love to hang out with the guy sometime too.
Boards and Beyond covers Step 1 topics comprehensively through video lectures. It fills the gap between lecture material and boards-level understanding, especially for physiology-heavy topics like cardiology, renal, pulmonary, and endocrine. It can function as a primary learning resource if your school's lectures are not strong, or a solid supplement if they are. Can be a bit dry (this is just my opinion).
Sketchy Micro uses visual mnemonics to teach microbiology in a way that is remarkably effective for long-term retention. They do a nice job encoding organisms, virulence factors, treatments, and resistance patterns into their scenes/memory castles. Pair it with the corresponding Anki cards (included in the AnKing deck) and microbiology becomes one of the more straightforward sections on Step 1. Sketchy Pharm is also quite good. They have been increasing their marketing presence so you have probably already heard of them. Hopefully their costs remain stable or even start to drop since prices seem to be creeping up.
S-tier:
Whichever one your school pays for. If you are fortunate enough to have your school pay for a qbank (mine did not), then use that one. The difference between banks is not as dramatic as the hit to your wallet, and Step 1 is pass/fail anyways.
UWorld is the most important question bank for Step 1 (and Step 2 CK). The questions are well-written, the explanations are thorough, and working through them teaches you how boards questions are constructed. There is no substitute.
MedBullets is an underrated free resource that provides concise topic summaries and associated questions organized by subject. They have a very generous free trial. It is especially useful for quick lookups during coursework and for reinforcing concepts alongside other resources. The questions are not as detailed as UWorld but serve as solid supplemental practice. I actually really enjoyed this underrated question bank. Also it was made by an orthopedic surgeon which is pretty epic.
Other helpful question banks:
Amboss has a strong question bank with detailed explanations and an integrated medical library. Many students use it during preclinical years alongside coursework while saving UWorld for dedicated. The library articles are also useful for quick reference on topics you encounter on rotations or in lecture. The questions tend to be challenging, which is good for learning. This may be S tier now but I didn't use this as heavily in my preclinical prep but many of my friends loved it. Interestingly, this is a German based company!
USMLE-Rx aligns closely with First Aid content, which makes it useful for reinforcing First Aid during preclinical years. Generally considered less difficult than UWorld or Amboss. A reasonable option if you want a question bank that maps directly to your First Aid reading.
Boards and Beyond Questions are integrated with the Boards and Beyond video platform. Useful for testing yourself immediately after watching a video, but not a standalone question bank for dedicated prep.
Bootcamp was not around when I was a med student, but to my understanding it is also quite good, if you already have it that would be a good qbank as well.
S-tier:
Anki/Anking (what did you think I would say?) is the most effective tool for long-term retention in medical school. The AnKing deck consolidates cards from Pathoma, Sketchy, Boards and Beyond, First Aid, Costanzo, and other sources into a single tagged, organized deck. Unsuspend cards as you cover topics in class, do your reviews every day, and by the time dedicated starts, you will have retained the vast majority of what you learned over the past two years. Your brain will be full of super helpful trivia that will help you every day in clinical practice! (/s)
The key with Anki is consistency. If you commit to Anki, commit to doing your reviews most days. Get used to hitting that spacebar.
To be honest, I was probably over anxious and subscribed to too many resources...
Physeo covers physiology and biochemistry through video lectures. It was fine. Probably not worth my subscription for me personally. Some students prefer it over Boards and Beyond for physiology-heavy topics. Worth trying if you need additional explanation for concepts that are not clicking.
Osmosis provides short overview videos on a wide range of medical topics. It was fine. Every video seemed to lump together due to the style. Good for getting a quick introduction to a topic before diving deeper with other resources. Not detailed enough to be a primary learning tool for boards. They have a lot of sales which is how they got me.
The biggest mistake students make is trying to use everything. Learn from my mistakes. You do not need every resource listed above. You need a small, focused set that you use consistently and well.
A strong core setup looks like:
You may have heard the mnemonic "UFAPS" (uworld, first aid, Pathoma, sketchy/StrudelMed?). That covers everything you need (for boards, you may still need to go to lecture for your in-house exams). Depth with fewer resources beats breadth with many. Pick your core resources, learn them fully, and trust the process.
— Mike