# GI, Start to Finish, in 7 Days

> How to study GI for Step 1 in 7 days: 1 day of biochem nutrition first, then GI micro, active reading of First Aid pp. 364–408 on the First Aid Guide, Mehlman, FA Foundation Anki, and UWorld with the RPSR method.

URL: https://drmarishasudani.com/gi-7-days
Canonical: https://drmarishasudani.com/gi-7-days

## Questions this guide answers

- **How do I study GI for Step 1 in 7 days?** Do biochem nutrition first, 1 day: the vitamins, minerals and deficiencies on First Aid pp. 63–70. Then GI in 7 days if you have 10–12 hours a day. Day 1: the 24 GI organisms from the Micro pill in the First Aid Guide. Day 2 to Day 3 morning: active reading of First Aid pp. 364–408 with the MCQs. Day 3 afternoon to Day 4 morning: the Mehlman GI playlist. Day 4 afternoon: the FA Foundation Anki GI deck. Days 5–7: UWorld GI with the RPSR method.

## Page text

USMLE Vault · Step 1 · Gastrointestinal
GI, start to finish, in 7 days
1 of the 3 easy systems you do first. It goes wrong in 1 place, and that place isn't in the GI chapter.
45 First Aid pages 24 organisms 246 MCQs 7 days + 1 day of nutrition first
By Dr. Marish Asudani · Published 22 October 2026
How do I study GI for Step 1 in 7 days?
Do biochem nutrition first , 1 day, First Aid pp. 63–70. Then 7 days: the 24 GI organisms, active reading of First Aid pp. 364–408 with the MCQs, the Mehlman GI playlist, the FA Foundation Anki GI deck, then UWorld GI on Days 5–7.
Read this first
This is only for you if you have roughly 10–12 hours a day for studying, and you're an intern or a graduate.
Working, or studying 5–8 hours a day? Keep the same order and stretch the days. Step 1 while working →
GI goes wrong when people skip the small piece that comes right before it: nutrition. Vitamins, minerals, deficiencies and absorption. GI keeps coming back to them, from B12 and the terminal ileum to the fat-soluble vitamins you lose in fat malabsorption.
Nutrition first, then GI. Skip that 1 day and every vitamin page in GI reads like new material.
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 Anki
Dr. N · Passed Step 1 An honest review of Vault Anki
Try a free 3-day trial → usmlevault.com · no card needed
Start here · before page 1
GI: micro and pharm first
GI starts with its own organisms: 24 organisms . GI has no Pharm pill, because the drug map does not split out GI drugs, so its pharm is a check of the High-Yield Pharmacology PDF on Day 1 and the drug pages (pp. 405–408) on Day 3. These are the full guides.
Microbiology
GI micro: the 24 organisms → The GI list, grouped by class, with the WRWRT method worked on 1 organism
Microbiology by system → Why micro is 9 short lists, 1 per system, and how to run each one
Sketchy Micro in 6 days → The WRWRT method in full, if these organisms are new to you
Pharmacology
The High-Yield Pharmacology PDF → Look for any GI drugs before you read. Free
Pharmacology in 48 hours → The FWRT method and the whole drug map, system by system
All of antibiotics in 90 minutes → The drugs for the diarrhoea organisms and H. pylori: 1 video, then the cards
The NBME Booster pharmacology deck → Every NBME pharmacology question as flashcards, for your final week
Open Gastrointestinal in the First Aid Guide → The Micro and Pharm pills are at the top of the system in the First Aid Guide. Free for your first 3 days.
Where this system sits
The order: easy systems first, cardio last
GI is the 3rd system, after renal and respiratory. Those 3 are the easy systems: do them first, and don't skip them. Biochem nutrition sits right before GI, and cardio comes last. Tap a system to open its guide.
1 Renal 6 days · the easy one, start here Open →
2 Respiratory 6 days · same method as renal Open →
Before it: Biochem nutrition, 1 day, right before GI · where it sits
3 GI You are here 7 days Open →
4 Reproductive 7 days Open →
Before it: Biochem carb and lipid metabolism, 1 day, right before endo · where it sits
5 Endocrine 6 days Open →
6 Immunology 5 days Open →
Before it: Biochem cellular, molecular and amino acids, right before heme-onc · where it sits
7 Heme-onc 6 days Open →
8 MSK 6 days, no derm Open →
Before it: Dermatology, 3 days, after MSK · the derm block
9 Psychiatry 5 days Open →
Before it: Genetics and ANS, right before neuro · genetics
10 Neurology 7 days Open →
11 Cardiovascular 7 days · always last Open →
Biochem is never a block of its own: each piece sits right before the system that needs it. The whole method, once: how to study any system →
1
1 day before Day 1 Do nutrition first
Biochem nutrition is First Aid pp. 63–70, and it gets 1 day of its own , right before GI, not counted in the 7. Do it by active reading in the First Aid Guide , the same way you'll do GI: Focus On, the explanation, then the MCQs on each page.
Nutrition · pp. 63–70 · 1 day
63–65 Essential fatty acids, the vitamins overview, vitamin A, B1, B2, B3, B5
66–68 B6, biotin, folate, B12, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E
69–70 Vitamin K, zinc, protein-energy malnutrition, ethanol metabolism
Why right before GI: vitamin absorption and the deficiency states present through the GI tract. Read them the day before and the absorption page (p. 381) and the malabsorption page (p. 388) read like a review.
The nutrition guide → · Where every biochem piece sits →
2
The plan GI in 7 days, hour by hour
Nutrition the day before, then GI in 1 fixed order. Here is every day, block by block.
Clock times assume an 11-hour day: 9 AM–1 PM, 2–6 PM and 7–10 PM, with lunch and dinner in the gaps. Shift the clock to your day. Keep the order.
Day 0 · Nutrition 1 day of biochem, right before GI
9 AM–1 PM pp. 63–65 · essential fatty acids, the vitamins, vitamin A, B1, B2, B3, B5, with the MCQs on each page
2–6 PM pp. 66–70 · B6, biotin, folate, B12, vitamins C, D, E and K, zinc, protein-energy malnutrition, ethanol metabolism
7–9 PM The nutrition guide : the absorption map and the traps.
Day 1 · Micro + the pharm check
9–9:15 AM Watch How to do the GIT system , the University walkthrough.
9:15 AM–1 PM Micro: the 14 GI bacteria, WRWRT. Watch, recall, watch the gaps, read the Sketchy PDF.
2–5 PM Micro: the 7 viruses and 3 parasites.
5–6 PM Test: the First Aid Guide MCQs for all 24 organisms.
7–8 PM Pharm: open the High-Yield Pharmacology PDF and find any GI drugs. Any notes there, you do next to pp. 405–408 on Day 3.
Day 2 · Active reading First Aid Guide, page by page, MCQs on every page
9 AM–1 PM pp. 364–373 · GI embryology, wall defects, TEF, pyloric stenosis, retroperitoneal structures, ligaments, histology, blood supply, portosystemic anastomoses
2–6 PM pp. 374–387 · liver and biliary structures, hernias, GI hormones, secretions, absorption, bilirubin, oral pathology, oesophagus, Barrett, gastritis, gastric cancer, peptic ulcer
7–10 PM pp. 388–395 · malabsorption, IBD, IBS, appendicitis, diverticula, Meckel, Hirschsprung, volvulus, polyps, Lynch syndrome, colorectal cancer
Day 3 · Reading, then Mehlman
9 AM–1 PM pp. 396–408 · cirrhosis, liver disease and tumours, jaundice, Wilson, haemochromatosis, gallstones, pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer, the GI drugs
2–6 PM Watch How to watch Mehlman Medical videos (10 minutes), then the Mehlman GI playlist from the top, in order.
7–10 PM Mehlman, continued. Pause before he answers and answer it yourself.
Day 4 · Mehlman, then Anki
9 AM–1 PM Finish the Mehlman GI playlist. Any gap → that First Aid Guide page, the same day.
2–6 PM FA Foundation Anki · GI & Liver , all 194 cards. Answer before you flip.
7–9 PM Open the First Aid page of every card you hesitated on. Read the line and a couple above and below.
Day 5 · UWorld GI Unused · GI only · tutor mode · 20 questions a block
9–9:30 AM Clear today's due FA Foundation Anki cards first.
9:30 AM–1 PM Blocks 1–2 (Qs 1–40): solve both in tutor mode, log each score, then review every bookmark in First Aid.
2–6 PM Blocks 3–4 (Qs 41–80): solve both in tutor mode, log each score, then review every bookmark in First Aid.
7–10 PM Blocks 5–6 (Qs 81–120): solve both in tutor mode, log each score, then review every bookmark in First Aid.
Day 6 · UWorld GI
9–9:30 AM Clear today's due FA Foundation Anki cards first.
9:30 AM–1 PM Blocks 7–8 (Qs 121–160): solve both in tutor mode, log each score, then review every bookmark in First Aid.
2–6 PM Blocks 9–10 (Qs 161–200): solve both in tutor mode, log each score, then review every bookmark in First Aid.
7–10 PM Blocks 11–12 (Qs 201–240): solve both in tutor mode, log each score, then review every bookmark in First Aid.
Day 7 · UWorld GI + Anki revision The last 4 blocks, then the finish check
9–9:30 AM Clear today's due FA Foundation Anki cards first.
9:30 AM–1 PM Blocks 13–14 (Qs 241–280): solve both in tutor mode, log each score, then review every bookmark in First Aid.
2–6 PM Blocks 15–16 (Qs 281–320): solve both in tutor mode, log each score, then review every bookmark in First Aid.
7–10 PM FA Foundation Anki revision: the GI cards you missed on Day 4. Then check the 3 finish rules below.
Same pages, 5 angles. Micro, then active reading, then active application, then active recall, then UWorld. Every step hits the same 45 First Aid pages from a different direction. The method behind every system →
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 →
3
Day 1 Micro of GI, from the pill
Open the First Aid Guide → Gastrointestinal in the Vault ( what the First Aid Guide is ) and tap the Micro pill. It opens the exact GI list, and nothing else .
Gastrointestinal in the First Aid Guide on usmlevault.com: its First Aid pages, MCQ count, the micro and pharm pills it has, and the How to do Gastrointestinal video.
Micro · 24 organisms · the WRWRT method. W atch the sketch at 1x with no notes → R ecall the whole story in your head, in order → W atch again only the gaps at 1.5–1.75x → R ead the Sketchy PDF for that organism → T est with the First Aid Guide MCQs for that organism.
Bacteria · 14 Vibrio cholerae ETEC S. aureus C. perfringens B. cereus Shigella EHEC EIEC Salmonella Campylobacter Yersinia enterocolitica C. difficile H. pylori C. botulinum (ingested toxin) Viruses · 7 Norovirus Rotavirus Adenovirus CMV HSV Hepatitis A Hepatitis B Parasites · 3 Giardia Cryptosporidium Entamoeba histolytica
Open GI Micro → · The Sketchy Micro guide →
▶ How to do Sketchy Micro The efficient method, 15 minutes.
Pharm: GI has no Pharm pill, because the drug map does not split out gi drugs. Before you start reading, open the High-Yield Pharmacology PDF and look for any gi drugs. If there are notes, do them next to the drug pages (pp. 405–408) when you reach them, not saved for later. The drugs make more sense next to the disease.
Never done Sketchy? Do the same list from First Aid and the First Aid Guide alone. The list does not change, only the source. Every system's micro and pharm →
Why micro first: when you reach the diarrhoeas, peptic ulcer disease on p. 387 and the hepatitis pages, H. pylori , C. difficile and the hepatitis viruses are old friends, not new facts.
4
Before Day 2 What the First Aid Guide is, and why you read it
First Aid was written to remind you, not to teach you. Every line assumes you already understand it. That is why IMGs spend 3 hours on 1 page, Google half of it, and still remember nothing a week later.
The First Aid Guide on usmlevault.com puts the teaching back into the page. Every gastrointestinal page (pp. 364–408) has the same 5 parts:
Focus On: what on this page is high-yield, and what to skip.
Concept Walkthrough: the page in the order you should think about it.
ELI5: each heading in plain English, with the trap the exam sets. What ELI5 is →
How is this tested?: Common Confusion → Core Concept → The Trap → Your Approach. See a real page →
Test Yourself MCQs on that exact page: 246 across gastrointestinal (as of October 2026), with a Rule-out button so you practise elimination the way UWorld makes you.
Example: p. 387, Peptic ulcer disease. Focus On tells you what matters on this page: gastric vs duodenal ulcer (pain pattern, H. pylori association, cancer risk), the ulcer complications (haemorrhage, obstruction, perforation), which artery bleeds with which ulcer location, and upper vs lower GI bleeding.
First Aid p. 387 (Peptic ulcer disease) in the First Aid Guide: Focus On, the ELI5s, the video guide, Concept walkthrough, Key takeaways, How is this tested? and Test yourself.
Why it works: you understand the page, then prove it with MCQs in the same minute. 60–70% of UWorld traces straight back to First Aid lines , so a page you truly understood is a UWorld question you already own.
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## Source

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

Updated: 2026-10-22