# 4 Resources I Would Never Use Again

> Why Boards & Beyond, Kaplan, USMLE Rx and Pixorize are cut from a 2026 Step 1 plan, and what replaces each one.

URL: https://usmlevault.com/blog/avoid.html
Canonical: https://usmlevault.com/blog/avoid.html

## Summary

An argument for dropping four common Step 1 resources — Boards & Beyond, Kaplan, USMLE Rx and Pixorize — judged by a single test: if a resource does not move your UWorld score, it is not a Step 1 resource. Three of the four fail for the same reason: they teach around First Aid rather than teaching First Aid itself, so notes end up split between slides and the book. Each gets a named replacement: Mehlman video playlists and the First Aid Guide for Boards & Beyond, First Aid plus UWorld for Kaplan, the page-by-page First Aid Guide for USMLE Rx, and Sketchy plus Osmosis for Pixorize.

## Key facts

- The filter used: if a resource does not move your UWorld score, it is not a Step 1 resource
- Boards & Beyond is judged redundant because nothing it teaches is anchored to First Aid page numbers
- USMLE Rx was subject-wise rather than page-by-page or topic-by-topic, and tested First Aid without teaching it
- The First Aid Guide covers all 646 pages system by system and topic by topic, with the single best video per topic, how the page is tested (written by test-takers scoring 80%+ on NBMEs), and MCQs on every important topic; topics with no MCQs are the low-yield ones
- Mehlman rule: when a system's UWorld sits under 65%, sort his playlist by date and watch the last three years; above 65%, skip him entirely
- Sketchy micro method: around 20 organisms a day, video then PDF, that day's MCQs the same night; the full method is 6 days
- The Renal system of the First Aid Guide is free
- The recommended stack is four resources, not forty

## Covers

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## Source

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

Updated: 2026-08-26