V

USMLE Vault

Free Step 1 Guides

The exact methods my students use to go from stuck to scoring. Pick one and start.

👉 Try USMLE Vault FREE for 3 days →

Free for your first 3 days · then $97 lifetime, no subscription · usmlevault.com

Step 2 CK · Dr. Marish

Marish Step 2 CK Notes

My complete, precise, concise Step 2 CK notes — the exact set my students revise from.

★ Popular

All 37

Med School

Method

NBME

Anki

Study

Plan

Step 2

Start Here

New · Med School

First Year to Final Year

All of MBBS mapped against Step 1 — what to study each year, in what order, and the one habit that makes four years compound instead of evaporate.

New · The Journey

Graduated April 2024, Step 2 CK that August, matched March 2025 — from a 50% first UWorld block, three USCEs and zero publications.

New · The First Aid Guide

Inside a First Aid Guide Page

A real walkthrough, a real "How is this tested?" entry, and the 5-second search — lifted straight from the live pages.

The Part Nobody Plans For

The plan that checks on you twice a day, the board that resets every Monday, and the three messages that start a real study partnership.

When Is a System Actually Finished?

Five points, not four. "I'm saving some for random mode" is how you end up learning a system three weeks before your exam.

New · Downloads

The Seven Sheets

Every high-yield PDF and Anki deck in one place — free downloads, plus the rule for when each one is allowed into your prep.

New · Start Here

4 Resources I'd Never Use Again

Boards & Beyond, Kaplan, USMLE Rx and Pixorize — why none of them move your UWorld score, and what replaces each one.

New · Med School

USMLE in First Year

Physiology, anatomy and biochem — Guyton and Najeeb on one side, First Aid on the other. Build the foundation once, use it twice.

New · Med School

USMLE in Second Year

The most important year for Step 1 — Sketchy Micro, then pathology with Pathoma, then pharmacology. In that order.

New · Med School

Giving Step 1 in Third Year

Two routes: cross-integrate from years 1 and 2, or start cold in third year and run the full 24-week plan. Both mapped out.

How to Actually Complete First Aid

Four readings, 4–5 days per system, the whole book in 8 weeks — and you retain it, because each pass does a different job.

The Exact NBME Order

26 through 33 — which form, when, in blocks or full, and the exact scores that mean you're ready.

New · Step 1 + 2 + 3

The Resource Stack

Every resource I actually used across all three Steps — five per exam, in order, with the rule that makes each one work.

New · Free · Full-Length

The Step 1 Assessments — One Is Free

Two 14-block, 280-question full simulations, deliberately harder than NBME — with a full strength report and an honest verdict on how likely you are to pass.

New · Start Here · Study

What Is the First Aid Guide

All 646 pages decoded — high-yield flags, ELI5 explanations with analogies, MCQs on every page, concept walkthroughs, and the FA 2026 changelog.

New · Plan · Step 1 + 2 + 3

All Three Steps in Under 12 Months

Step 1 in 16 weeks with the first NBME on day 84, Step 2 CK in 6 months, Step 3 in 45 days. The full arithmetic — and the three people who've already done it.

New · First Aid 2026

First Aid 2025 vs 2026

All 367 changes between the editions — additions, rewrites, deletions and the 5 factual corrections, mapped page by page.

New · Plan · Indian Edition

Step 1 in Final Year MBBS

11 systems, one repeatable loop, alongside your college syllabus — Sketchy, First Aid, Marrow, Mehlman, Anki, UWorld.

Pharmacology in 48 Hours

The FWRT method — which drug from which resource, system by system, plus the HY Pharmacology PDF.

What Is USMLE Vault

The whole system in 2 minutes — Schedule, University, Vault, Anki.

4 Resources, Not 40

The only stack you need — First Aid, UWorld, Sketchy, Mehlman + the Vault unlock.

The RPSR UWorld Method

Read → Pre-solve → Solve → Review. How students go 45% → 75%.

Step 2 CK — Everything I Used

The six resources behind a 254 in under 20 weeks, plus the free PDFs and the full written guide.

The Final 14 Days

The five resources to run in the last fortnight — consolidation and active recall, no new content.

Which Anki Deck, When

General vs NBME Booster — the two decks worth using, and the exact moment for each.

The 16-Week Timeline

Day-by-day at 8–10h/day. Four phases from foundation to NBME-ready.

Stuck at 62–65% on NBMEs

Why the plateau happens and the reset that breaks it.

The NBME Review Protocol

The review IS the exam — same-day, blind check, error log by system.

Your First NBME

When to take it, how to sit it, and how to read the score.

The NBME MCQ Protocol

Read faster, think sharper — the exact 4-phase read-and-answer sequence for every question.

Biochem in 3 Blocks

Stop studying biochem all at once. Split it before the systems that need it.

Sketchy Micro in 6 Days

20 organisms a day, video then PDF, same-day MCQs. The version that sticks.

How to Use Mehlman

Videos, not PDFs. System playlists. And the 65% rule for when to actually use him.

Nutrition Review

The high-yield nutrition points that show up on Step 1.

The Accountability System

Hard goal, hard date, daily tasks, community — how to actually stay on track.

YouTube for Step 1

How to actually use YouTube for prep without falling down the rabbit hole.