# KVS's Exact 12-Week Step 1 Breakdown

> A full-time NHS physician with Step 2 done and zero Step 1 prep in April passed Step 1 on June 29: decode First Aid, system by system, then NBMEs.

URL: https://usmlevault.com/blog/kvs-12-weeks.html
Canonical: https://usmlevault.com/blog/kvs-12-weeks.html

## Summary

The exact twelve weeks behind a real Step 1 pass. Dr KVS had cleared Step 2, was working full-time as a physician in the UK, had never opened First Aid for Step 1, and needed Step 1 done by the end of June. He studied six hours a day around the job. The plan rests on one call: Step 2 had already made his pathology strong, so pathology was skipped and the time went to embryology, anatomy, pharmacology and physiology. Two days decoding First Aid with the First Aid Guide, seven weeks system by system (First Aid Guide, then UWorld, 4-5 days per system), a Foundation Anki sweep of the whole book, then NBMEs with NBME Booster and the high-yield PDFs.

## Key facts

- Starting point in April: Step 2 done, no Step 1 prep, never opened First Aid, working full-time, 6 hours a day available
- Step 0: skip pathology because Step 2 already covers it; target embryology, anatomy, pharmacology and physiology
- Only skip pathology if Step 2 is passed or you are clinically strong; otherwise use the 16-week plan
- Days 1-2: decode all 646 First Aid pages with the First Aid Guide and its page-by-page Test Yourself MCQs
- Weeks 1-7: each system read in the First Aid Guide, then UWorld for that system straight after, 4-5 days per system, no going back
- End of week 7: one Foundation Anki sweep (about 2,400 cards mapped to First Aid), then the first NBME at 71%
- Weeks 8-11: NBME Booster (every form, 20-33), forms in order with the review protocol, plus the Neil Randy PDF, Mehlman's HY Arrows and the HY Biostats & Ethics PDF
- Scores: 71% first NBME, 77% after NBME Booster, 75% on NBME 33, 87% on the Free 120 (pass threshold 68%)
- Attempted June 29; PASS reported July 15
- What was missing was not ability: the right first call, a fixed sequence, and correct guidance at the decision points

## Covers

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## Source

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

Updated: 2026-10-01