First Aid for the USMLE Step 3, Third Edition

Given this recent update to the First Aid Series (and may I say a very nice addition being in color), I gave this edition a try. Knowing that the 2nd edition had been in print for well over a couple of years, I was pleased to see the vast differences, from the updates in management - to a great and more complete CCS case review portion (which is probably the BEST in terms of review, b/c all the cases in one way or another will come from there) - and so without any hesitation I can say that this new First Aid is highly recommended by me. But remember, as I have been told by many colleagues, do NOT solely rely on one source. That still holds true. While this is an excellent source, I would recommend the Step 3 Trilogy for optimal results: 1) Master The Boards by Conrad Fischer, 2) Crush Step 3, and 3) First Aid. Then you're good to go. Hope you all find it just as useful as I do! *And as for the actual review regarding Amazon's shipping, I must say shipping was speedy, and packaged in a nice cardboard box for ultimate protection. It's a win win situation.

Very colorful and eye-catching. Has the feel of First Aid Step 2 CS mixed with info from CK, but it's shorter. NOT comprehensive and sometimes lacking. Good review book if you just need a refresher course. Step 1 and Step 2 First Aids can fill in the rest if you need more detail.

This book has been phenomenal for review and also to read during class. It does cover much of the other books done by them. I would recommend buying one or two but not all of them.

Not nearly as good as first aid for step 1 and 2 (I would give both books 5 stars). I stopped using this book after missing usmle world questions about hepatitis. I remembered one thing from step 1/2 but this book taught me another-I opened the book to answer the question but the book was wrong. just an ok guide for step 3, my score dropped 20 points, but hey, I still passes with room to spare 3 months into my intern year, so I guess the book helped.

I loved the other First Aid books (Step 1, Step 2 CK, and Step 2 CS). I thought they did an excellent job preparing me for my boards, and I did very well. So far, this book has been excellent, as well. I have not yet taken Step 3, but the information in this book is excellent and well presented. I would HIGHLY recommend any of the First Aid books to anyone going through medical school or residency.

Step 3 has a lot of primary care-type questions. this is a good review if you didn't do a lot of primary care as an intern.

while still lacking some super important topics, it is helping me greatly for step 2 ck.

The problem I had with this book was that there were MAJOR missing topics such as: 1. appendicitis (???!!) 2. small/large bowel obstruction 3. rheumatic fever 4. pediatric rashes - NO mention of measles, mumps, rubella except how they affect the neonate. I'm looking more for what the different rashes in a kid look like and their accompanying sxs 5. spontaneous bacterial peritonitis 6. aortic aneurysm (!!!) 7. contraindications for vaccines 8. skimped on a lot of cardiac medication side effects - no mention of dig or amiodarone or lidocaine toxicity 9. delayed puberty 10. botulinism 11. diaper rash (seriously, this is def. asked in step 3) 12. discusses gastroschisis but not omphalocele?? you get the idea. Their biostatistic section was a nightmare - poorly organised and lacking basic information - such as defining different types of experimental study biases and including poorly worded explanations instead of just giving us an example like they did in step 2 First Aid. The cardiology section LUMPED stable, unstable angina and MI into one single-paged mess.....I don't know about you, but more clarification about who goes and gets cathed and what the indications for angioplasty, PCI are would have been nice. And WAY too much emphasis on: ortho (2-3 pages of chart/table devoted to ortho injuries???) CSS section probably fine if you use it - I didn't use it at all. I just used USMLE world's CSS cases and those were more than sufficient and inclusive. Unfortunately, this is probably still the best review book out there for step 3, if nothing else than for the familiar format.