# YouTube Instead of Brainrot

> The YouTube videos to watch instead of brainrot for USMLE Step 1: the Step 1 edition, the first-year edition (anatomy, physiology, biochemistry), and the week before Step 1.

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

## Questions this guide answers

- **What YouTube videos should I watch for Step 1 instead of scrolling?** For Step 1: my 90-minute antimicrobials video, Dirty Medicine on drugs of abuse, stroke localization, dermatology and ethics, Mehlman on murmurs and immunology, the MEN syndromes video from the First Aid Guide's endocrine pages, Ninja Nerd on the autonomic nervous system, and Neil Randy's psychiatry playlist. In first year: Dirty Medicine and Mehlman biochemistry, Dr. Najeeb's neuroanatomy, and Mehlman's physiology. In the week before Step 1, only videos that revise what's already in: Mehlman's HY Arrows, high-yield images, the highest-yield drugs and Neil Randy's high-yield topics.

## Page text

USMLE Vault · Step 1 · First year
10/10 YouTube videos to watch instead of brainrot
For the nights you'll scroll anyway. Same screen time, actual Step 1 points.
By Dr. Marish Asudani · Published 22 October 2026
What YouTube videos should I watch for Step 1 instead of scrolling?
For Step 1: my 90-minute antimicrobials video, Dirty Medicine on drugs of abuse, stroke localization, dermatology and ethics, Mehlman on murmurs and immunology, the MEN syndromes video from the First Aid Guide's endocrine pages, Ninja Nerd on the autonomic nervous system, and Neil Randy's psychiatry playlist. In first year: Dirty Medicine and Mehlman biochemistry, Dr. Najeeb's neuroanatomy, and Mehlman's physiology. In the week before Step 1, only videos that revise what's already in : Mehlman's HY Arrows, high-yield images, the highest-yield drugs and Neil Randy's high-yield topics.
Read this first Most nights end the same way. You put the book down, open your phone, and 2 hours of reels later you've learned nothing and slept late.
I'm not going to tell you to stop watching. I'm going to tell you what to watch instead . Every video on this page is free, and every one of them teaches something the exam actually asks.
One honest note. You don't need to hunt YouTube for every topic. On the First Aid Guide , the pages that need a video already have the best one for that topic . This page is for the nights you just want to press play. How the Vault picks them ↓
Students who did this
Real students, in their own words, on the exact tools in this guide. Tap to play.
Karthik · Passed Step 1 An honest review of Vault Mentorship
Dr. K · Passed Step 1 An honest review of Vault Anki
Try a free 3-day trial → usmlevault.com · no card needed
Tap the edition that matches where you are
Step 1 edition
First year edition
Week before Step 1
Every video on this page is free.
Step 1 edition
1
Step 1 edition The 10 videos I'd put on tonight
⭐ MY 10
These are the ones I'd send a student myself. Same scrolling, actual points.
Pharm · 90 min 1. All of antimicrobials, in under 90 minutes
My own video. A topic that feels endless, made finite. The largest single hour-for-hour return in all of Step 1 pharmacology. Then do the antimicrobials in the NBME Booster Anki pharmacology cards . How to use it →
▶ Antimicrobials in under 90 minutes! UsmleMatch · then the antimicrobial pages of First Aid
Psych + pharm · 43 min 2. Dirty Medicine: drugs of abuse
The 40-minute video about drugs, cocaine and the rest: intoxication, withdrawal, associations.
▶ Drugs of Abuse (Mechanism, Intoxication, Withdrawal & Associations) Dirty Medicine · 43 min
Cardio · 21 min 3. Mehlman: heart murmurs
▶ USMLE - HY Murmurs Part I Mehlman Medical · 21 min
Neuro · 9 min 4. Dirty Medicine: stroke localization
▶ Strokes & The Rule of 4s Dirty Medicine · 9 min
Endo · mnemonic 5. The MEN syndromes (MEN 1, 2A, 2B)
The video on the MEN page of the First Aid Guide's endocrine section (First Aid p. 356). Which glands, which gene, and the mnemonic that keeps the 3 apart.
▶ Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Syndrome (MEN I, II, III) / Mnemonic series #17 Medinaz · the video on the Vault's MEN page
The rest of endocrine, page by page The First Aid Guide · Endocrine: what each page tests, the best video where a topic needs one, and MCQs under it.
Open Endocrine →
Psych · playlist 6. Neil Randy: the psychiatry playlist
Everyone watches his biostats. His psychiatry is what brings the real difference.
▶ USMLE STEP 1: BEHAVIORAL HEALTH Neil Randy · playlist
Immuno · playlist 7. Mehlman: immunology
▶ Mehlman Medical · Immunology Playlist · videos, not the PDFs
Neuro + pharm · 31 min 8. Ninja Nerd: the autonomic nervous system
▶ Neurology | Autonomic Nervous System Ninja Nerd · 31 min
Derm · 23 min 9. Dirty Medicine: the whole of dermatology
All of dermatology for the exam, in 1 video of about 23 minutes.
▶ Dermatology on USMLE/COMLEX Dirty Medicine · 23 min
Ethics · 63 min 10. Dirty Medicine: ethics practice questions
His ethics is a banger for Step 1, Step 2 and Step 3. Do it once and you're set. Where ethics fits with biostats: Biostatistics and ethics →
▶ Ethics (USMLE/COMLEX Practice Questions) Dirty Medicine · 63 min
2
Done the 10? Keep going with these
Same rule: free, and every one of them is something the exam asks .
Dirty Medicine: Highest Yield Drugs for USMLE
▶ Watch Dirty Medicine · 13 min
Dirty Medicine: Heart Murmurs (locations, maneuvers, buzzwords)
▶ Watch Dirty Medicine · 22 min
Dirty Medicine: High Yield Alcohol (associations, pharm, path)
▶ Watch Dirty Medicine · 30 min
Dirty Medicine: USMLE Communications Questions
▶ Watch Dirty Medicine · 25 min
Neil Randy: genetics and biochemistry
▶ USMLE STEP 1: GENETICS (THE BASICS) Neil Randy · playlist
▶ USMLE BIOCHEMISTRY Neil Randy · playlist
Dirty Medicine: Biochemistry & Genetics
▶ Playlist Dirty Medicine
Want whole playlists instead? The 10 Step 1 playlists → · Things you can study in the gym →
First-year edition
1
First-year edition 3 subjects. Here's what to watch for each.
In first year, you just have to do anatomy, physiology and biochemistry. Watch with First Aid open, and every extra point goes into the First Aid page , never a separate notebook. The full first-year plan → · USMLE during med school →
2
Biochemistry Dirty Medicine first, then Mehlman
For biochemistry, the first thing I recommend is the Dirty Medicine biochemistry playlist, along with First Aid, and your brain will open . Then do the Mehlman Medical playlist for biochemistry, and it opens again. How biochem fits into Step 1 later: Biochem in pieces →
Dirty Medicine: Biochemistry & Genetics
▶ Playlist With First Aid biochem open beside you
Mehlman: Biochemistry / Genetics
▶ Playlist After Dirty Medicine. Videos, not the PDFs.
3
Anatomy Dr. Najeeb's neuroanatomy
For anatomy, the very best videos are Dr. Najeeb's neuroanatomy. As a first year, this is probably the best time you'll invest in yourself. He teaches it tract by tract, drawn out, until the wiring is obvious. Skip it now and you'll cram CNS in your dedicated phase, where it's the hardest system on the paper.
His neuroanatomy isn't one YouTube playlist. Search "Dr. Najeeb neuroanatomy" and work through the tracts, the basal ganglia and the cerebellum lectures in order.
4
Physiology Mehlman's playlist, and Najeeb where it resists
For physiology, I've never watched physio videos. I would much rather do the Mehlman Medical playlist of physiology. You can pick up a lot of good physiology videos from Dr. Najeeb too, for the concepts that refuse to click.
Mehlman: Physiology
▶ Playlist Mehlman Medical
The week before Step 1
1
The last 7 days Nothing new. Only revision.
The week before is not for new content. The Neil Randy PDF and Mehlman's HY Arrows are non-negotiable, and the NBME images are the most important part. So every video below revises what's already in . None of them teaches you something from zero.
1. How to go through Mehlman's HY Arrows PDF
▶ How should I go through Mehlmanmedical HY Arrows PDF? Mehlman Medical · 5 min · then the HY Arrows
PDF Mehlman HY Arrows Free on usmlevault.com/university
2. Rahul Damania: High Yield Arrows for the USMLE
▶ Watch Rahul Damania · 2 hours, the Arrows walked through
3. Neil Randy: High Yield Topics
▶ USMLE STEP 1: High Yield Topics Neil Randy · playlist
PDF The Neil Randy PDF His whole library, system by system. Free on usmlevault.com/university
4. Neil Randy: biostats shorts
The same material in rapid recall form, which is what makes it stick before the exam.
▶ USMLE BIOSTATS SHORTS Neil Randy · playlist
5. Dirty Medicine: 40 High Yield Images
The NBME repeats its images. Run the NBME Images Anki the same week.
▶ 40 High Yield Images for USMLE (CT, X-ray, histology) Dirty Medicine · 13 min
6. Dirty Medicine: the High Yield Images playlist
▶ High Yield Images Dirty Medicine · playlist
7. Dirty Medicine: Highest Yield Drugs
▶ Highest Yield Drugs for USMLE Dirty Medicine · 13 min
8. All of antimicrobials in 90 minutes, the second time
Watch it once at the start of your prep, then again 1 week before your exam, and you're good to go for antimicrobials.
▶ Antimicrobials in under 90 minutes! UsmleMatch
9. Neil Randy: pharm shorts
Quick pharmacology recall, a minute at a time.
▶ USMLE PHARM #SHORTS Neil Randy · playlist
10. My Step 1 2027 video: what to do on exam day
▶ How to Pass USMLE Step 1 in 2027 (Day 1 to Exam Day) UsmleMatch · the exam-day part is the last chapter
The full last week: The final 14 days → · NBME Images Anki → · NBME Booster pharmacology → · The week before Step 1 → · Exam day →
Your last week, day by 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 →
★
Every topic Stuck on one topic? Don't search YouTube.
On the First Aid Guide , me and the students who just passed went page by page and attached the best video for the topic, on the pages that need one . Sometimes Dirty Medicine, sometimes Neil Randy, sometimes Mehlman. You open the page, the video is there, and the MCQs are under it. That's how the MEN video above got its place.
Renal in the First Aid Guide: the video is on the page, not in a playlist.
See it on a free system first First Aid Guide · Renal: every page decoded, its videos and MCQs on the page. Renal is free.
Open Renal free →
How I use YouTube without rabbit-holing: How to use YouTube for Step 1 →
The best video for the topic, already on the page.
646 pages of First Aid decoded, with MCQs under every video. Renal is free.
Open usmlevault.com →
usmlevault.com/schedule · free for your first 3 days
Read next
6 playlists = 6% growth — whole playlists, and the full 10.
5 channels = 0 paid courses — which channel, in which phase.
Things to study when you're bored — switch the format, don't stop.
How to use Mehlman Medical — the video step in every system.
The YouTube channels tier list — every channel in one place.
USMLE Vault · YouTube Instead of Brainrot · Created 2026-10-22
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## Source

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

Updated: 2026-10-22