# 6 Playlists = 6% Growth (Step 1 Edition)

> The 6 free YouTube playlists for USMLE Step 1 that move your score: Neil Randy psychiatry and biochemistry, Dirty Medicine ethics, and Mehlman heme-onc, immunology and micro/pharm. Plus the full 10.

URL: https://drmarishasudani.com/step-1-playlists
Canonical: https://drmarishasudani.com/step-1-playlists

## Questions this guide answers

- **Which YouTube playlists should I watch for USMLE Step 1?** My 6: Neil Randy's psychiatry playlist, Neil Randy's biochemistry, Dirty Medicine's ethics, and Mehlman's heme-onc, immunology, and microbiology with pharmacology. Everyone watches Neil Randy for biostats, but his psychiatry playlist is what brings the real difference. Run Neil Randy as revision, in the weeks before your NBME, with First Aid open. Watch Mehlman's videos, not his PDFs.

## Page text

USMLE Vault · Step 1
6 playlists = 6% growth (Step 1 edition)
For IMGs who would rather watch than scroll tonight. All free, all Step 1.
By Dr. Marish Asudani · Published 22 October 2026
Which YouTube playlists should I watch for USMLE Step 1?
My 6: Neil Randy's psychiatry playlist, Neil Randy's biochemistry, Dirty Medicine's ethics, and Mehlman's heme-onc, immunology, and microbiology with pharmacology. Everyone watches Neil Randy for biostats, but his psychiatry playlist is what brings the real difference . Run Neil Randy as revision, in the weeks before your NBME, with First Aid open. Watch Mehlman's videos, not his PDFs.
Want the best video for every page of First Aid? Scroll down ↓
Read this first The pattern with YouTube for Step 1: the good stuff is free, it's already out there, and almost nobody uses the right part of it. Students watch the famous playlist and skip the one that would have moved their score.
So here are the 6 playlists I'd give you, with what each one is for and when it comes in . Then the full 10, for when you've done these.
Students who did this
Real students, in their own words, on the exact tools in this guide. Tap to play.
Roshni · Passed Step 1 An honest review of Vault Mentorship
Dr. Rana · Passed Step 1 An honest review of Vault Assessment
Try a free 3-day trial → usmlevault.com · no card needed
▶
Short on time tonight? Start with 1 video, not a playlist
If a whole playlist is too much for tonight, start with my 90-minute antimicrobials video . It wraps up all of the antimicrobials in 90 minutes. Watch it once at the start of your prep and again 1 week before your exam. How to use it →
▶ Antimicrobials in under 90 minutes! UsmleMatch, my channel
The rest of the single videos: 10/10 YouTube videos to watch instead of brainrot →
6
The headline 6 The 6 playlists
⭐ START HERE
2 are Neil Randy, 1 is Dirty Medicine, 3 are Mehlman. All 6 are free. Playlists are for whole systems. For a single topic, the First Aid Guide already has the best video on the page. How ↓
1 · Neil Randy · Psychiatry The playlist nobody watches
What: behavioral health, system by system.
When: after your basic prep, in the run-up to an NBME, with First Aid psychiatry open.
Why: everyone stops at his biostats. This is where the real difference is.
▶ USMLE STEP 1: BEHAVIORAL HEALTH Neil Randy · playlist
2 · Neil Randy · Biochemistry Changes the ball game
What: his biochemistry playlist.
When: the same window, before an NBME, with First Aid biochem open.
Why: it changes the ball game altogether for your Step 1 prep.
▶ USMLE BIOCHEMISTRY Neil Randy · playlist
3 · Dirty Medicine · Ethics Do it once, goated forever
What: the ethics playlist.
When: alongside your biostats and ethics window.
Why: it's just a banger for your Step 1, Step 2 and Step 3 ethics. If you do this once, you are goated forever.
▶ Dirty Medicine · Ethics Playlist
4 · Mehlman · Heme-onc Heme-onc, the way the NBME asks it
What: his hematology playlist.
When: inside the heme-onc system, after the First Aid Guide and before the FA Foundation Anki . Heme-onc in 6 days →
Why: in heme-onc, Mehlman is a must.
▶ Mehlman Medical · Heme / Onc Playlist
5 · Mehlman · Immunology Immunology in one go
What: his immunology playlist.
When: inside the immunology system, same step. Immunology in 5 days →
Why: he teaches how the NBME builds the question and how to eliminate the options.
▶ Mehlman Medical · Immunology Playlist
6 · Mehlman · Micro + Pharm To strengthen your foundations
What: his microbiology and pharmacology playlists.
When: after your foundation micro and pharm, and again as revision. Sketchy Micro in 6 days → · Pharm in 48 hours →
Why: to strengthen your foundations.
▶ Mehlman Medical · Microbiology Playlist
▶ Mehlman Medical · Pharmacology Playlist
2
Before you press play How to watch them
These are not the same kind of playlist, so they don't go in the same place.
Neil Randy is a revision tool, not a learning one. Use him after you've finished your basic preparation, ideally 2 to 3 weeks before your NBME or exam, system by system, with First Aid open. Then again in the run-up to the exam. And give that NBME offline, in 10 blocks of 20: the online version gives you 50 questions in 75 minutes and inflates your score by 4 to 6%. NBMEs offline →
Mehlman is a fixed step in every system. After the First Aid Guide , before the FA Foundation Anki . Watch the videos, not the PDFs.
Dirty Medicine is foundation. Use it when a concept won't click.
The Neil Randy PDF, free in University His whole library, system by system, so you know which video to run before each NBME.
Open the PDF →
▶ How to watch Mehlman Medical videos 10 minutes. Watch it before your first Mehlman playlist.
The full method: How to use Mehlman → · How to use YouTube for Step 1 →
Where each playlist goes
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 →
10
Done the 6? The full 10
Playlists 1 to 6 above, plus these 4. Watch them whenever you'd otherwise scroll.
7 · Mehlman · Biochemistry / Genetics The rest of your foundation
The biochemistry, microbiology and pharmacology playlists strengthen your foundations. This is the biochem one.
▶ Mehlman Medical · Biochemistry / Genetics Playlist
8 · Dirty Medicine · High-yield questions He solves the questions with you
Whenever you're bored, go through this playlist. There are multiple important, high-yield questions that he's solved, and they're very nice.
▶ Dirty Medicine · Video Question Bank Playlist
9 · Rahul Damania · Top NBME concepts System by system, the concepts the NBME keeps asking
A very good one. Open the system you're on.
▶ Top NBME Concepts (USMLE Step 1) Rahul Damania, MD · playlist
10 · Dr. Nandan Joshi · Read with me Someone to read First Aid with you
Dr. Nandan Joshi reads the entire First Aid line by line with you. If you want someone to read First Aid with you, that's also good.
His read-along playlist reads the 2022 edition of First Aid, so keep your own edition open beside it.
▶ USMLE || First Aid 2022 - Read With Me Dr. Nandan Joshi · playlist, system by system
★
Every topic The best video is already on the page. Here's how we do it.
Playlists are for whole systems. For a single topic, you don't need to search at all.
We went through First Aid page by page. My team and students who had just passed picked the best video on YouTube for the topic, on every page that needs one . Sometimes Dirty Medicine, sometimes Neil Randy, sometimes Mehlman.
It sits on the page itself. Open a page of the First Aid Guide and the video is there, next to what the page tests and how it's tested.
The MCQs are right under it. Watch, then test that exact page in the same minute. No rabbit hole, no 3 hours of searching.
Try it on Renal, free First Aid Guide · Renal: the videos, what each page tests and the MCQs, page by page.
Open Renal free →
The First Aid Guide in the Vault (renal shown): the video on the page, the MCQs under every page.
The playlists, already in your schedule.
The Mehlman playlist sits inside every system on your plan, and the Neil Randy PDF waits in University . Renal is free.
Build my schedule →
usmlevault.com · free for your first 3 days
Read next
YouTube instead of brainrot — single videos, first year, the week before.
5 channels = 0 paid courses — which channel, in which phase.
Biostatistics and ethics — where the ethics playlist fits.
How to use YouTube for Step 1 — without rabbit-holing.
The YouTube channels tier list — every channel in one place.
USMLE Vault · 6 Playlists = 6% Growth (Step 1 Edition) · Created 2026-10-22
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## Source

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

Updated: 2026-10-22