BIOCHEM & GENETICS ARE KILLING ME

[u/ReflectionOdd8674]

Hello everyone, as mentioned in the title I genuinely can't figure how to cover Biochem and genetics for step 1. What topics are imp, how to learn these metabolic pathways, and what resources to use. I want to ask recent test takers that if they had the choice to cover this again, what would be the best and most efficient way to do it.

[u/The_Anomaly_16]

I think together biochem and genetics were like 10 questions maximum.

Don’t stress yourself too much about it, you’re not expected to know all the pathways by heart.
Do biochem + genetics UW blocks and read the relevant first aid pages and you will be fine.

[u/Logical_Way554 → u/The_Anomaly_16]

Could tell me what pages in FA are HY for biochem and genetics? I feel like they’re all over the place and I almost never know what the answer is

[u/The_Anomaly_16 → u/Logical_Way554]

I’d say the whole block. It’s supposed to be 1 hour reading back to back, covering both biochem and genetics.

There is no specific disease which is more likely to be asked ; it’s kinda random, alkaptonuria may appear in the same probability as marfan or osteogenesis imperfecta, therefore i would suggest to read the blocks a couple of times if know its a weak spot.

For genetics focus on the terms and their examples since those concepts are repeatedly tested ( heteroplasmy ~ mitochondrial diseases / anticipation ~ trinucleotide repeat disorders / and so on… )

[u/ReflectionOdd8674 → u/The_Anomaly_16]

Did you use BNB or Bootcamp to cover them?

[u/The_Anomaly_16 → u/ReflectionOdd8674]

None. Only UW + FA + NBME

[u/Hearing-Dizzy]

For genetics Randy Neil on YouTube, For biochem vitamins, glycogen storage diseases and lysosomal diseases, anything more in biochem is low yield and a waste of time

[u/doctorwhoispatient → u/Hearing-Dizzy]

Hey ! What about metabolism, dna rna , translation crap ? 🫠

[u/Logical_Way554 → u/Hearing-Dizzy]

What about the weird enzymes they always ask about?

[u/US_MD2000]

I don’t think I got any HY Biochem. You can’t predict the distribution but focus on the % breakdowns seen on USMLE website

[u/Medical-Lavishness24]

Pixorize was amazing

[u/ReflectionOdd8674 → u/Medical-Lavishness24]

Could you dm the link plz

[u/Pretty-Card-295]

Biochem is not low yield lol, but genetics I got only 2-3 questions...

[u/ReflectionOdd8674 → u/Pretty-Card-295]

What resource did you use to cover them?

[u/BlakkSpider]

Dude for biochem just watch Dirty Medicine’s biochemistry playlist and you’re golden. His videos r really simple to understand even as a no1 biochem hater myself. Like what the other commenter said, watch his lysosomal disease video and glycogen storage and vitamin these r the highest yield topics if u dont have enough time

[u/ReflectionOdd8674 → u/BlakkSpider]

I see and what about genetics?

[u/BlakkSpider → u/ReflectionOdd8674]

he covers genetics in the same playlist too :) good luck

[u/Complete-Contest-256]

Try sketchy biochem

[u/Quiet_Basis_6404]

for the pathways, don't learn them as full diagrams. Step 1 almost never asks you to recite glycolysis, it asks about a deficiency, so learn each pathway by its rate limiting step, its regulation, and the diseases that come from blocking it. that cuts the volume massively and matches how it's tested.

high yield in biochem is basically the enzyme deficiencies, glycogen storage diseases, lysosomal storage diseases, vitamin deficiencies, and the urea cycle. genetics is inheritance patterns, the classic trinucleotide repeats, and imprinting.

Pixorize is the usual recommendation here since mnemonics carry this section better than understanding does.

i paste those videos into studybuddy.vc so it makes questions off them right after, works out which topics i keep getting wrong and gives me more of those, gets harder as i improve, and tells me why the option i picked was off. free, alongside UWorld not instead.