# Things to Study When You're Bored (Step 1)

> What to study for USMLE Step 1 when you're bored: usually it's reviewing. For First Aid, the FA Foundation Anki or the First Aid Guide. Then Mehlman videos (not the PDFs) and the Divine Intervention Step 1 PDF. For NBMEs and your incorrects, the NBME Booster Anki.

URL: https://drmarishasudani.com/bored
Canonical: https://drmarishasudani.com/bored

## Questions this guide answers

- **What should I study for Step 1 when I'm bored of First Aid?** Usually what you're bored of is reviewing: the pages of First Aid, your NBMEs and your incorrects. For First Aid, switch to the FA Foundation Anki or the First Aid Guide, whichever you prefer. Then Mehlman's videos (not the PDFs) for your weak systems, and the Divine Intervention Step 1 PDF. For NBMEs and incorrects, don't review them by hand: do the NBME Booster Anki. Same content, different format.

## Page text

USMLE Vault · Step 1 edition
Things you need to study if you're bored
For IMGs who can't face another round of revision. 1 swap for each thing you're bored of.
By Dr. Marish Asudani · Published 22 October 2026
What should I study for Step 1 when I'm bored of First Aid?
Usually what you're bored of is reviewing : the pages of First Aid, your NBMEs and your incorrects. For First Aid, switch to the FA Foundation Anki or the First Aid Guide , whichever you prefer. Then Mehlman's videos (not the PDFs) for your weak systems, and the Divine Intervention Step 1 PDF. For NBMEs and incorrects, don't review them by hand: do the NBME Booster Anki . Same content, different format.
Read this first Every student hits the day where they cannot read the same First Aid page one more time. Most of them stop. "I'll take a break," and the break becomes 3 days. Bored doesn't mean stop.
You could be bored. But look at what you're actually bored of. It's almost never the learning. It's the reviewing . What you have to review over and over again is:
The pages of First Aid
Your NBMEs
Your incorrects
That's the most difficult part of the whole prep. So here's a solution for each one, plus 2 free resources for when you need a change.
Students who did this
Real students, in their own words, on the exact tools in this guide. Tap to play.
Ananya · Passed Step 1 An honest review of Vault Mentorship
Dr. Rana · Passed Step 1 An honest review of Vault Mentorship
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1
Bored of rereading Bored of reading First Aid? 2 solutions
There are 2 ways to get through the same First Aid pages without reading them the same way again. Whichever you prefer, try it out. Both are ours, and both cover every page.
Solution 1: the FA Foundation Anki
If you still want to revise the entire book and its exact lines, do it in active recall form. The FA Foundation Anki is every important line of First Aid turned into a flashcard . 2,499 cards, system by system, with the First Aid page number on every card. If you're bored and doing a system, just do that system's deck. Flashcards keep you answering instead of reading, and when a card makes you hesitate, you open that page.
▶ How to do Anki from the FA Guide 10 minutes. How to run the FA Foundation Anki cards properly.
Try the FA Foundation Anki here Every important line of First Aid as a card, sorted by system. Opens straight into the deck.
Try it here →
A FA Foundation Anki card, flipped: First Aid p. 597 on the card, and “Study this in First Aid” under the answer.
Solution 2: the First Aid Guide , which is just as good
The First Aid Guide teaches you First Aid page by page: what to focus on, the concept walkthrough, the ELI5, how it's tested, and that page's MCQs, with the important video on the pages that need one. If you do the First Aid Guide, you can leave the First Aid book alone and just skim the pages afterwards.
▶ Dr. AS on the First Aid Guide 43 seconds. "Don't read it first. Read the guide, and then just skim through the pages."
What's on every page: What the First Aid Guide is →
Try the First Aid Guide on renal, free Every renal page, its explanation and its MCQs. Opens straight into the renal pages.
Try it here →
How to run a full First Aid pass with the deck: Which deck, when →
2
Free · your weak systems Mehlman videos for the systems you're weak in
Bored of reading and of Anki? Then the first free resource: Mehlman Medical's videos. The videos, not the PDFs. Mehlman never bores you. He's very strict, and that strictness wakes you up and opens your eyes. When he calls out the exact mistake you were about to make, it stays stuck. Short videos, system by system, free. Pick the system you're weakest in:
▶ Cardiovascular
▶ Neurology
▶ Renal
▶ Respiratory
▶ Gastrointestinal
▶ Endocrine
▶ Reproductive
▶ Heme / Onc
▶ Immunology
▶ MSK
▶ Dermatology
Why the videos: the PDFs have no repetition in them, and the videos teach you how the NBME thinks. How to run a playlist: How to use Mehlman Medical →
3
Free · audio and video The Divine Intervention Step 1 PDF
The second free resource. The PDF holds the high-yield Divine Intervention episodes for Step 1, over 127 of them, sorted by subject and organ system. For Step 1, Divine is the best video and audio podcast to use when you're bored and just need a refresher. His pronunciation of things makes him non-boring , it's unique, and it makes the point stick.
PDF Divine Intervention Step 1 PDF Free on usmlevault.com/free-resources. Play the episodes for the system you're on.
▶ Divine Intervention · USMLE Step 1 playlist His Step 1 episodes on YouTube. Use the PDF to pick which ones.
Which episodes, and when they help most: The Divine Intervention guide →
4
Bored of revising NBMEs Your NBMEs and your incorrects: the NBME Booster Anki
Revising your NBMEs is tedious. Going through your incorrects is tedious. Just do the NBME Booster Anki.
It's every NBME form from 20 to 34 and the Free 120, broken down topic by topic into 1-line cards, with the explanation underneath, sorted by system. So instead of reopening old forms, you revise what those forms actually asked, one card at a time.
Try the NBME Booster Anki here Forms 20 to 34 and the Free 120, sorted by system. Opens straight into the deck.
Try it here →
Why it exists and what's inside it: The NBME Booster → · the full review routine: The NBME Review Protocol →
5
Extra · system by system The Neil Randy PDF
A very high-yield collection of his videos, system by system, which you can study when you're bored. Not just biostats: cardiovascular, CNS, psychiatry, ethics, biochemistry. It's built as revision, so it works best once you've covered a system .
PDF The Neil Randy PDF Free in the Vault University
▶ Neil Randy · Behavioral Health playlist The one almost nobody watches. A good place to start.
6
Extra · NBME concepts Rahul Damania's Step 1 playlists
The Rahul Damania Step 1 playlist, the NBME high-yield Step 1 playlist, or Systemize. He goes system by system through the concepts the NBME keeps testing . Search "Top NBME Concepts USMLE Step 1" on his YouTube channel and open the system you're on.
More playlists for days like this: the full 10 Step 1 playlists →
On Step 2 CK? The same idea, with AJmonics, Mehlman, Divine and Dr. High Yield: the Step 2 CK list →
Never wonder what's next
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 →
Same content. A different way into it.
The FA Foundation Anki, the NBME Booster Anki and the First Aid Guide, all in one place. Renal is free.
Open usmlevault.com →
usmlevault.com/university · free for your first 3 days
Read next
Things you can study in the gym — Step 1 and Step 2 CK.
6 playlists = 6% growth — the Step 1 playlists worth your time.
YouTube instead of brainrot — 10 videos per list.
The accountability system — hard goal, hard date, daily tasks.
USMLE Vault · Things to Study When You're Bored (Step 1) · Created 2026-10-22
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## Source

USMLE Vault — https://usmlevault.com
Author: Dr. Marish Asudani

Updated: 2026-10-22