# Respiratory, Start to Finish, in 6 Days

> How to study respiratory for Step 1 in 6 days, the same way as renal: micro and pharm first, then active reading of First Aid pp. 678–706 on the First Aid Guide, Mehlman, FA Foundation Anki, and UWorld with the RPSR method.

URL: https://drmarishasudani.com/resp-6-days
Canonical: https://drmarishasudani.com/resp-6-days

## Questions this guide answers

- **How do I study respiratory for Step 1 in 6 days?** Run respiratory exactly like renal, if you have 10–12 hours a day. Day 1: the 15 respiratory organisms and the antihistamines, from the Micro and Pharm pills in the First Aid Guide. Day 2 to Day 3 morning: active reading of First Aid pp. 678–706 with the MCQs on every page. Day 3 afternoon to Day 4 morning: the Mehlman pulmonary playlist. Day 4 afternoon: the FA Foundation Anki respiratory deck. Days 5–6: UWorld respiratory with the RPSR method.

## Page text

USMLE Vault · Step 1 · Respiratory
Respiratory, start to finish, in 6 days
29 pages, the shortest of the 3 easy systems. Renal done? These are your next 6 days.
29 First Aid pages 15 organisms 1 drug group 158 MCQs 6 days
By Dr. Marish Asudani · Published 22 October 2026
How do I study respiratory for Step 1 in 6 days?
Run respiratory exactly like renal. Day 1: 15 organisms and the antihistamines. Day 2 to Day 3 morning: active reading of First Aid pp. 678–706 with the MCQs. Then the Mehlman pulmonary playlist, then the FA Foundation Anki respiratory deck. Days 5–6: UWorld respiratory, system-wise, every miss reviewed in First Aid .
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 →
Respiratory is the second system I'd do, right after renal, and you run it exactly the same way. If you've done renal with this method, you already know every step on this page.
Short does not mean you skip the order. 29 pages tempt people straight into UWorld. Do the steps first, and the questions feel like pages you already know.
Haven't done renal yet? Renal is free on the Vault. Do that one first, with the renal page open.
Students who did this
Real students, in their own words, on the exact tools in this guide. Tap to play.
Haritha · Passed Step 1 An honest review of Vault Mentorship
Dr. Rana · Passed Step 1 An honest review of Vault Mentorship
Try a free 3-day trial → usmlevault.com · no card needed
Start here · before page 1
Respiratory: micro and pharm first
Respiratory starts with its own organisms and drugs: 15 organisms and 1 drug group , the antihistamines. Day 1 below does both. These are the full guides.
Microbiology
Respiratory micro: the 15 organisms → The respiratory 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
Respiratory pharm: the antihistamines → 1 group, from Osmosis, because Sketchy has no antihistamines video
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 pneumonia organisms: 1 video, then the cards
The NBME Booster pharmacology deck → Every NBME pharmacology question as flashcards, for your final week
Open Respiratory 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
Respiratory is the 2nd system, right after renal. Renal, respiratory and GI are the easy systems: do them first, and don't skip them. Cardio comes last. Tap a system to open its guide.
1 Renal 6 days · the easy one, start here Open →
2 Respiratory You are here 6 days · same method as renal Open →
Before it: Biochem nutrition, 1 day, right before GI · where it sits
3 GI 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
The plan Respiratory in 6 days, hour by hour
Same order as renal, same split. 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 1 · Micro + pharm A short day: respiratory has 15 organisms and 1 drug group
9–9:15 AM Watch How to do the Respiratory system , the University walkthrough.
9:15 AM–1 PM Micro: the 15 respiratory organisms, WRWRT. Watch, recall, watch the gaps, read the Sketchy PDF.
2–4 PM Test: the First Aid Guide MCQs for all 15 organisms. Any miss → that organism again.
4–6 PM Pharm: the antihistamines (Osmosis), twice. Read them in the High-Yield Pharmacology PDF, then the respiratory pharmacology MCQs. Day 1 ends here.
Day 2 · Active reading First Aid Guide, page by page, MCQs on every page
9 AM–1 PM pp. 678–685 · lung development, alveolar cells, neonatal RDS, airway anatomy, lung volumes, dead space, compliance, pulmonary circulation, gas exchange, V/Q mismatch
2–6 PM pp. 686–693 · CO2 transport, hypoxia, the haemoglobin curve, altitude, CO vs cyanide, rhinosinusitis, PE, mediastinal masses, obstructive vs restrictive, emphysema, asthma
7–10 PM pp. 694–700 · restrictive diseases, sarcoidosis, mesothelioma, GPA and EGPA, pneumoconioses, ARDS, sleep apnoea, pulmonary hypertension, effusions, pneumothorax
Day 3 · Reading, then Mehlman
9 AM–1 PM pp. 701–706 · pneumonia, lung abscess, lung cancer and the paraneoplastic syndromes, then the respiratory drugs
2–6 PM Watch How to watch Mehlman Medical videos (10 minutes), then the Mehlman pulmonary 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 pulmonary playlist. Any gap → that First Aid Guide page, the same day.
2–6 PM FA Foundation Anki · Respiratory , all 121 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 respiratory Unused · respiratory 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 respiratory + Anki revision Blocks 13–14 go to the next morning, before 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.
Same pages, 5 angles. Micro and pharm, then active reading, then active application, then active recall, then UWorld. Every step hits the same 29 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 →
2
Day 1 Micro and pharm of respiratory, from the pills
Open the First Aid Guide → Respiratory in the Vault ( what the First Aid Guide is ). Tap the Micro pill and the Pharm pill. Each opens the exact respiratory list, and nothing else .
Respiratory 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 Respiratory video.
Micro · 15 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 · 6 S. pneumoniae H. influenzae M. tuberculosis Bordetella pertussis S. aureus (including MRSA) Legionella Viruses · 3 Influenza RSV Adenovirus Parasites · 1 Strongyloides Fungi · 5 Pneumocystis Aspergillus Histoplasma Coccidioides Blastomyces
Open Respiratory Micro → · The Sketchy Micro guide →
▶ How to do Sketchy Micro The efficient method, 15 minutes.
Pharm · the FWRT method. F ind the resource (already mapped for you, below) → W atch each video twice , back to back → R ead the High-Yield Pharmacology PDF after all of them, and highlight only what did not survive → T est in the First Aid Guide → Respiratory → Pharmacology.
01 · Antihistamines (Osmosis). Sketchy has no antihistamines video, so this one switches to Osmosis.
Open Respiratory Pharm → · The full pharm map →
▶ How to complete pharmacology The high-yield pharm strategy, 15 minutes.
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 and pharm first: when you reach pneumonia on p. 701 and the H1 blockers on p. 704, you meet them as old friends, not new facts.
3
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 respiratory page (pp. 678–706) 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: 158 across respiratory (as of October 2026), with a Rule-out button so you practise elimination the way UWorld makes you.
Example: p. 703, Lung cancer. Focus On tells you what matters on this page: the paraneoplastic syndromes are the highest-yield part. Small cell makes ACTH and ADH and causes Lambert-Eaton. Squamous cell makes PTHrP. Adenocarcinoma is the most common, and the one in non-smokers and women. Then Pancoast tumour and SVC syndrome.
First Aid p. 703 (Lung cancer and paraneoplastic syndromes) 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.
Open Respiratory in the First Aid Guide First Aid pp. 678–706, page by page: Focus On, ELI5 and the MCQs on every page. Opens straight into respiratory.
Open Respiratory →
▶ How to use the First Aid Guide Watch once, before your first page.
4
Day 2 → Day 3 morning Active reading: First Aid pp. 678–706
Active reading means that for every page you explain it, understand it, and do it. The MCQs are part of the reading. That is what makes it active. You do not move to the next page until all 3 are done.
Read Focus On for the page. Now you know what matters.
Run the Concept Walkthrough and the ELI5s. Explain each heading back in your own words, out loud. If you cannot say it, you have not understood it.
Read the actual First Aid page. It should now read like a summary of something you already know.
Solve the Test Yourself MCQs. Any miss → back to that heading before you turn the page.
Pace: 10–12 minutes a page, 4–6 pages an hour. Do not memorise. Understanding is the only job on these pages. Memory is the Anki step's job.
Day 2 · pp. 678–696 · development to pneumoconioses (19 pages)
678–681 Lung development, alveolar cells, neonatal RDS, respiratory tree, lung anatomy, diaphragm
682–685 Lung volumes, dead space, compliance, pulmonary circulation, gas exchange, V/Q mismatch
…

## Source

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

Updated: 2026-10-22