USMLE Vault · Step 1 & Step 2 CK

5 channels = 0 paid courses

For IMGs about to pay for a video course. Read this first.

By Dr. Marish Asudani · Published 22 October 2026

Which free YouTube channels can replace a paid USMLE course?

5: Neil Randy, Mehlman Medical, AJmonics, Dr. High Yield and Dirty Medicine. Dirty Medicine builds foundation when a concept won't click. Mehlman is a step inside every system. Neil Randy is revision before your NBMEs and your exam. AJmonics and Dr. High Yield consolidate Step 2 CK. The skill is knowing which one, and when.

Want to know how to use each of them? Tap here ↓

Read this firstYou don't need another paid course. Every concept on these exams is already explained, for free, by a handful of people on YouTube.

Watch the right channel in the wrong phase and you lose a week. That's the mistake this page is built to stop.

These are the 5. We have put together all of them, whichever video is important, and how to do each and every one of them, in what phase of your journey, in USMLE Vault. Here they are, one by one.

Before your NBMEs and your examNeil Randy

Neil Randy’s YouTube channel (@RandyNeilMD).

Why: the most slept-on channel on YouTube, and it's not just biostats. Cardiovascular, CNS, psychiatry, ethics, biochemistry, every system.
When: right before an NBME, and again in the run-up to your exam. It's a revision tool, not a first pass. Give that NBME offline, in 10 blocks of 20, because the online version inflates your score by 4 to 6% (why offline →). Running it moved my scores, and my students', by 5 to 10%.
Where it is in the Vault: the Neil Randy PDF in University, which maps his whole library system by system.

The Neil Randy PDF, free in UniversityHis whole library, system by system, so you know which video to run before each NBME.

Open the PDF →

▶Neil Randy · Behavioral Health (psychiatry)The playlist almost nobody watches. Start here.

If you want to learn how to use each channel, scroll down to the bottom ↓

Inside every systemMehlman Medical videos

Mehlman Medical’s YouTube channel (@Mehlmanmedical).

Why: he teaches how the NBME thinks: how the stem is built, how the options are built, and how to eliminate the wrong ones. Watch the videos, not the PDFs.
When: a fixed step in every system, after the First Aid Guide and before the FA Foundation Anki. For Step 2 CK, his Internal medicine, Pediatrics and Surgery playlists.
Where it is in the Vault: the schedule puts the right system playlist on the right day, with a "how to watch Mehlman" video before it.

▶How to watch Mehlman Medical videos10 minutes. Watch once, before your first playlist.

Every system's playlist, in order: How to use Mehlman Medical →

After the playlist: that system's FA Foundation AnkiFirst Aid lines as cards, the page number on every card. Opens straight into the deck.

Open the deck →

Step 2 CK · consolidationAJmonics

The AJmonics YouTube channel (@AJmonics).

Why: he helps you quickly consolidate and revise everything.
When: Step 2 CK, late, once your reasoning is in place. About 3 weeks of AJmonics and Divine for high-yield consolidation, with every unknown concept screenshotted and filed by system.
Where it sits: in my Step 2 CK resource list. Step 2 CK →

▶AJmonics · COMPLETE Step 2 ReviewStart here for Step 2 CK.

Step 2 CK · later phasesDr. High Yield

Dr. High Yield’s YouTube channel (@DoctorHighYieldMD).

Why: short, high-yield, built for recall.
When: the later phases of Step 2 CK. Fast recall in the morning, paired with Divine Intervention the night before you review a system.
Where it sits: in my Step 2 CK resource list. Step 2 CK →

▶Dr. High Yield · Internal MedicineThe biggest share of Step 2 CK.

Foundation · when it won't clickDirty Medicine

The Dirty Medicine YouTube channel (@DirtyMedicine).

Why: when a concept just won't click, this is the channel. Best for psychiatry, ethics and biochemistry.
When: foundation, early in your prep. Mehlman and Neil Randy are for revision. Dirty Medicine builds the base.
Where it is in the Vault: his high-yield videos are on the First Aid pages that need them, on the First Aid Guide. Ethics: where it fits with biostats →

▶Dirty Medicine · EthicsStep 1, Step 2 and Step 3 ethics. Do it once. ▶Dirty Medicine · Biochemistry & GeneticsWith First Aid open beside you.

All 5 on one screenWhich channel, in which phase

Same 5 channels, ordered by when they enter your prep.

FoundationDirty Medicine, when a concept won't click

Every systemMehlman, after the First Aid Guide, before the FA Foundation Anki

Before an NBMENeil Randy, with the PDF

Before the examNeil Randy again

Step 2 CKMehlman's clinical playlists, then AJmonics and Dr. High Yield to consolidate

How it ties togetherWhere all 5 live: USMLE Vault

5 channels and hundreds of videos only work if something tells you which one to open today. That's the Vault's job:

It gives you a divided schedule. 4 questions, and the plan builds backwards from your exam date, with the right playlist on the right day.
It helps you decode First Aid. The First Aid Guide explains all 646 pages, page by page, with MCQs on that exact page. Renal is free →
It helps you visualize. The pages that need a video carry the best one on YouTube for that topic, hand-picked by my team and students who just passed. Sometimes Dirty Medicine, sometimes Neil Randy, sometimes Mehlman.
It gives you the how-to of everything. Small pointers: how to watch Mehlman, how to solve UWorld, how to do Anki from the Vault. The Neil Randy PDF and the Divine Intervention PDF are free in University.

All 5 channels, on the right day and the right pageThe schedule, the First Aid Guide, both Anki decks and the free PDFs in one place. Free 3-day trial, no card needed.

Start free trial →

The First Aid Guide in the Vault (renal shown): the video is on the page.

University → Files: the DIP Step 1 PDF and the Neil Randy PDF, both free.

The schedule, one day

Want a day-by-day schedule that tells you exactly what to study next? The Vault builds it around your exam date.

Build my schedule on usmlevault.com/schedule →

Stop hunting. The right video, on the right page.

The schedule tells you which channel to open, and on which day.

Build my schedule →

usmlevault.com · free for your first 3 days