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To develop First Aid Forward®, we studied how students learn best 

No one knows how you learn better than you 

Everyone learns differently, so most medical students combine different resources.

Unlock the full potential of your study sessions with seamless integration between First Aid Forward and Boards & Beyond.

No one knows how you learn better than you 

Everyone learns differently, so most medical students combine different resources.

Unlock the full potential of your study sessions with seamless integration between First Aid Forward and Boards & Beyond.

How to Use the First Aid Content to Study

Each learner is unique and utilizes different study strategies that best suit their preferences and needs. First Aid Forward has many types of content and functionality to support all types of learning strategies.

  1. Annotations (highlighting, underlining, note taking) - Annotating in the book can help some students stay organized, focus on key information, and create their own optimal learning experience. 
  2. Mnemonics – First Aid content is well known for the mnemonics. Keyword mnemonics are known to assist with knowledge retention when compared to rote memorization and can be a key tool in your study strategies for memorizing necessary information to build your medical knowledge foundation.
  3. Elaborative Interrogation & Self Explanation - It has been known that asking “why” questions or general questions when reading the content can help improve recall and problem-solving skills. First Aid Cases in First Aid Forward are set up to help you do just that.
  4. Practice Testing - Taking practice tests provides valuable information about potential strengths and weaknesses. First Aid Forward has quizzes spanning nearly all organ systems and topics to help you build and reinforce the core foundational medical knowledge you need.

To see how you can be doing all this and more in First Aid Forward, check out our demo.

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How to Best Leverage Clinical Cases and Patterns

Applying your foundational medical knowledge in a clinical context early on in your medical education journey will help you become more confident as you approach standardized exams and clinical years in medical school.

  1. Use this content in parallel with the First Aid for the USMLE to understand the most common conditions you can expect to see on the exam and in your upcoming clinical rotations.
  2. Practice your clinical reasoning skills by leveraging the elaborative interrogation and self-explanation learning strategies while reviewing the clinical cases and patterns.
  3. Annotate this content with learnings from your clinical experience or basic science coursework to enhance your learning!

To see an example of clinical cases and patterns, check out our demo.

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Practice Quizzes

Quiz yourself and track your progress with questions written by students like you.

  1. Fluoroquinolone antibiotics and certain anticancer drugs inhibit bacterial and human topoisomerases, respectively. Which of the following processes of DNA replication are inhibited by these drugs?
  2. A 9-month-old girl with a history of recurrent pulmonary infections is brought to the hospital by her parents. Lab findings include reduced potassium and a positive pilocarpine-induced sweat test, and a diagnosis of cystic fibrosis is made. Which of the following best describes the biochemical defect most often responsible for this disease?
  3. A 8-year-old child is brought in by his father due to extreme fatigue, dizziness, and back pain. He has a past medical history of a recent ear infection for which he is taking an antibiotic. An anemia-associated genetic condition that interacts with his current treatment is suspected. Which of the following drug classes is the most likely cause of this patient’s symptoms?

To see the answers to these questions, check out our demo.

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First Aid Forward is your digital companion throughout your medical career

  • USMLE Step 1

    Get ready for USMLE Step 1, your way. First Aid Forward is your digital companion in preparing for clinical topics from diagnosis to management.

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  • USMLE Step 2

    Get ready for USMLE Step 2, your way. First Aid Forward is your digital companion in preparing for clinical topics from diagnosis to management.

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