Dr. Charles Highway

A quick word to the wise. None of these books are as essential as the other books I have pointed out before. These books are only here to help you fill out any extra holes you may have in your USMLE study plan. They are best bought if you are having an extremely tough time time understanding a certain subject.

Having said that, they are all pretty good books to read and definitely work with your university course load. Enjoy!

BRS Pathology (Board Review Series)

This is the only Pathology book, other than Goljan’s, that you will actually need – if you find the time to use it. Each page covers the points you will need, nothing more, nothing less. Some may want to use Robbins Pathology, but if you are being honest with yourself, you will realise that you have no time for it. Short, accurate and concise are what describe this book. Get it if not only for the USMLEs, then as a supplement to your lecture notes.

BRS Behavioral Science (Board Review Series)

Behavioural Science may seem like a chore to study or more like “common sense” depending on who you ask. The book has at least 500 USMLE type questions, which are usually placed after each chapter – like a refresher of the work just read. The chapters are only a few pages long and are detailed enough to help you pass most Behavioural Science Questions. Probably not the most essential of the BRS Series, but a great addition to your medical school text-book library.

High-Yield Neuroanatomy (High-Yield Series)

Some people are convinced that First Aid doesn’t cover Neuro in enough depth for the USMLEs. I can’t say that I agree, but to be honest, I do LOVE the High Yield series of books. They are some of the most straight forward books I happen to own; my favourite being the High Yield Heart which is simply fantastic! Neuroanatomy or anything that has “neuro” in it for that matter tend to be pretty tough subjects, leaving the students feeling like victims more than anything else. My advice is to get this book if you have, at least, a basic understanding in Neuro otherwise the lack of explanations the book offers may baffle you. However, being such a short and concise book, if you are facing the boards in a few weeks time few books can beat this for neuro study.

High-Yield Gross Anatomy (High-Yield Series)

Here is another High Yield book. If I haven’t already told you these are some of my favourite books in the medical text-book department. I recently got our librarian to order pretty much all the essential HY Books. This book does a fine job of avoiding any fluff in the gross anatomy department by providing information that is most likely to come in the board examinations. Some people don’t think gross anatomy is a high yield subject, but occasionally the USMLEs do throw a few (or several) anatomy curve balls in your direction. If you find yourself weak in anatomy, this book is great for a last minute revision but not near good enough for your medical course as it tends to miss out on some of the finer details.

Rapid Review Biochemistry

So by now you should have heard of the Rapid Review (RR) series, especially RR Pathology by Goljan. This series follows suit with others in its field such as the BRS and High Yield series. They set out to give concise, accurate and useful information which can help many a student who finds his, or her, self stranded with only a few weeks for USMLE study. The RR Biochemistry series is not different and is an amazing resource. The best Biochemistry Bible has got to be Lippincott’s Illustrated Reviews: Biochemistry because it covers the subject in more depth and makes it easy (or easier) to comprehend as a fair few students tend to fail to grasp the simplest of Biochemistry concepts. However, get RR Biochem to fill in your USMLE Biochem gaps as you will not have enough time to get into all of that Lippincott goodness.

USMLE Road Map: Gross Anatomy (LANGE USMLE Road Maps)

Here is another book people seem to talk about ALL THE TIME! I sort of get it, but I advise people to get the HY Gross Anatomy rather than this book just because it is a bit too detailed for the Boards. However, people have said that just skimming through the book and reading the high yield blue boxes and diagrams will prepare you for the boards (anatomy-wise) easy. Not a particularly great addition to your USMLE library but if you are a completist then this will definitely aid you along with your other anatomy books.

See Also:

MOST ESSENTIAL USMLE Step 1 Preparation Textbooks

Best 5 Anatomy Books

Top Cardiology Books

EKG/ECG Books