First Aid for the USMLE Step 1 2026

The time-tested, most popular board prep resource―updated to reflect the newest Step 1 exam

First Aid for the USMLE® Step 1 is a veritable blueprint for preparing for this critical exam, revealing all the content you will encounter on test day. This unmatched text is written by carefully chosen students who excelled on the Step 1 exam and reviewed by top faculty―ensuring the content is relevant, high-yield, and accurate. The book is organized and formatted in ways that help you easily home in on the most important content.

The new edition of First Aid for the USMLE® Step 1 is filled with over 1,000 color clinical images, including more depicting diverse patients; 1,300+ high-yield facts and mnemonics, organized by basic principles and organ system; and invaluable test-taking advice. There’s a reason for the longstanding success of First Aid for the USMLE® Step 1. Once you open the 2026 edition, you’ll instantly understand why it’s a resource you can’t be without!

Vikas is a writer, editor, entrepreneur, and retired teleradiologist. In 1990 he conceived and authored the original First Aid for the USMLE Step 1. His entrepreneurial endeavors included a student-focused medical publisher (S2S), an e-learning company (medschool.com), and an ER teleradiology practice (24/7 Radiology). Trained on the Left Coast, Vikas completed a bachelor’s degree at the University of California Berkeley; an MD with thesis at UCSF; and a diagnostic radiology residency at UCLA. His eclectic interests include cryptoeconomics, information design, and avoiding a day job. Always finding the long shortcut, Vikas is an adventurer, knowledge seeker, and occasional innovator. He and his spouse, Jinky, are avid kiteboarders and worldschoolers, striving to raise their three children as global citizens.