USMLE Step 1 Recalls and Past Papers 2026

Embryology and anatomy

• Heart tube derivatives, septation defects, fetal circulation and its remnants
• Coronary artery territories and dominance
• Congenital disease: tetralogy of Fallot, transposition, truncus arteriosus, VSD, ASD, PDA, coarctation

Physiology

• Cardiac output, preload, afterload and the Frank-Starling curve
• Pressure-volume loops and how valve disease changes them
• Cardiac cycle, jugular venous waveform, heart sounds and splitting
• Myocyte and pacemaker action potentials
• ECG intervals, axis, atrioventricular blocks, baroreceptor and chemoreceptor reflexes
• Capillary fluid exchange and the causes of edema

Pathology

• Atherosclerosis, stable and unstable angina, myocardial infarction timeline and complications
• Heart failure, dilated, hypertrophic and restrictive cardiomyopathy
• Murmurs and the effect of maneuvers such as Valsalva and handgrip
• Rheumatic fever, infective endocarditis, myocarditis, pericarditis and tamponade
• Aortic dissection and aneurysm, hypertension and its secondary causes
• Vasculitides: giant cell arteritis, Takayasu, polyarteritis nodosa, Kawasaki disease, granulomatosis with polyangiitis
• Cardiac tumors: myxoma and rhabdomyoma
• Shock types and their hemodynamic profiles

Pharmacology

• Antihypertensives: ACE inhibitors, ARBs, calcium channel blockers, beta blockers, hydralazine
• Antianginals and nitrates, heart failure drugs including digoxin and sacubitril
• Antiarrhythmics classes I to IV, adenosine, magnesium
• Lipid-lowering drugs: statins, ezetimibe, fibrates, PCSK9 inhibitors, niacin

Embryology and anatomy

• Stages of lung development and surfactant production by type II pneumocytes
• Tracheoesophageal fistula, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, pulmonary hypoplasia
• Conducting and respiratory zones, bronchopulmonary segments, aspiration sites by body position
• Structures passing through the diaphragm

Physiology

• Lung volumes and capacities, dead space, alveolar ventilation
• Compliance, elastic recoil, airway resistance
• The alveolar gas equation and the A-a gradient
• Five causes of hypoxemia and how to tell them apart
• V/Q ratios from apex to base, shunt against dead space
• Oxygen-hemoglobin dissociation curve, carbon monoxide poisoning, methemoglobinemia
• Carbon dioxide transport, response to high altitude and to exercise

Pathology

• Obstructive disease: asthma, emphysema, chronic bronchitis, bronchiectasis, alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency
• Restrictive disease: idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, sarcoidosis, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, pneumoconioses
• Neonatal and acute respiratory distress syndromes
• Pulmonary embolism, pulmonary hypertension, sleep apnea
• Pneumonia patterns, lung abscess, tuberculosis
• Cystic fibrosis and primary ciliary dyskinesia
• Lung cancer types with their paraneoplastic syndromes, mesothelioma, Pancoast tumor
• Pleural effusions, pneumothorax types, physical findings in each lung condition

Pharmacology

• Beta-2 agonists, muscarinic antagonists, inhaled corticosteroids
• Leukotriene modifiers, omalizumab, theophylline
• Antihistamines, decongestants, dextromethorphan, guaifenesin
• Drugs for pulmonary hypertension: bosentan, sildenafil, epoprostenol

Embryology and anatomy

• Pronephros, mesonephros, metanephros; ureteric bud and metanephric mesenchyme
• Horseshoe kidney, renal agenesis and Potter sequence, posterior urethral valves, multicystic dysplastic kidney
• Course of the ureter and its relation to the uterine artery and vas deferens
• Structure of the glomerular filtration barrier and juxtaglomerular apparatus

Physiology

• Body fluid compartments and how they are measured
• Clearance, GFR, renal plasma flow, filtration fraction
• Effects of afferent and efferent arteriolar tone
• Transport in each nephron segment, glucose threshold and splay
• Renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, ADH, ANP, PTH, erythropoietin
• Potassium shifts, and sodium, calcium, magnesium and phosphate disturbances
• Acid-base disorders, compensation rules, anion gap, renal tubular acidosis types 1, 2 and 4

Pathology

• Urinary casts and what each indicates
• Nephritic syndromes: post-streptococcal, IgA nephropathy, rapidly progressive, Alport, membranoproliferative
• Nephrotic syndromes: minimal change, focal segmental, membranous, diabetic, amyloid
• Acute kidney injury: prerenal, intrinsic and postrenal; acute tubular necrosis; interstitial nephritis
• Chronic kidney disease and renal osteodystrophy
• Kidney stones by composition
• Cystic disease: autosomal dominant and recessive polycystic kidney disease
• Urinary tract infection, pyelonephritis, renal papillary necrosis
• Tumors: renal cell carcinoma, Wilms tumor, urothelial carcinoma
• Fanconi, Bartter, Gitelman and Liddle syndromes; SIADH and diabetes insipidus

Pharmacology

• Mannitol, acetazolamide, loop diuretics, thiazides, potassium-sparing diuretics
• ACE inhibitors, ARBs, aliskiren
• SGLT2 inhibitors and vasopressin antagonists
• Nephrotoxic drugs

Embryology and anatomy

• Foregut, midgut and hindgut with their arteries, nerves and referred pain
• Midgut rotation, malrotation and volvulus, omphalocele against gastroschisis
• Pyloric stenosis, duodenal atresia, Meckel diverticulum, annular pancreas, Hirschsprung disease
• Retroperitoneal organs, portosystemic anastomoses, watershed areas of the colon
• Inguinal canal, direct, indirect and femoral hernias
• Layers of the gut wall, liver lobule zones

Physiology

• Gastrin, cholecystokinin, secretin, somatostatin, GIP, motilin, VIP
• Gastric acid secretion and its control
• Pancreatic enzymes, bile acid circulation, bilirubin metabolism
• Absorption of carbohydrate, iron, folate and vitamin B12

Pathology

• Achalasia, reflux disease, Barrett esophagus, esophageal cancers, Zenker diverticulum
• Gastritis, peptic ulcer disease, Helicobacter pylori, gastric cancer
• Celiac disease, tropical sprue, Whipple disease, lactase deficiency
• Crohn disease against ulcerative colitis, diverticular disease, appendicitis, ischemic colitis
• Adenomatous polyps, familial adenomatous polyposis, Lynch syndrome, Peutz-Jeghers, colorectal cancer
• Viral hepatitis and serology, alcoholic and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, cirrhosis and portal hypertension
• Hemochromatosis, Wilson disease, alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency
• Gilbert, Crigler-Najjar, Dubin-Johnson and Rotor syndromes
• Gallstones, cholecystitis, cholangitis, primary biliary cholangitis, primary sclerosing cholangitis
• Acute and chronic pancreatitis, pancreatic adenocarcinoma
• Carcinoid tumor, Zollinger-Ellison syndrome, hepatocellular carcinoma

Pharmacology

• Proton pump inhibitors, H2 blockers, antacids, sucralfate, misoprostol
• Antiemetics: ondansetron, metoclopramide
• Laxatives, loperamide, octreotide
• Sulfasalazine, orlistat, ursodiol

Neuroanatomy and embryology

• Neural tube defects, Chiari malformations, Dandy-Walker malformation, holoprosencephaly, syringomyelia
• Spinal tracts: dorsal column, spinothalamic, corticospinal
• Cord lesions: Brown-Sequard, anterior spinal artery occlusion, subacute combined degeneration, tabes dorsalis, ALS
• Cranial nerves and nuclei, medial and lateral medullary syndromes, pontine syndromes, Weber syndrome
• Circle of Willis and stroke by arterial territory
• Thalamic nuclei, hypothalamus, basal ganglia pathways, cerebellum, limbic system
• Visual field defects, pupillary reflexes, conjugate gaze, hearing and vestibular pathways
• CSF flow, hydrocephalus types, herniation syndromes, intracranial hemorrhages

Neuropathology

• Alzheimer, frontotemporal, Lewy body and vascular dementia; Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
• Parkinson and Huntington disease, Wilson disease
• Multiple sclerosis, Guillain-Barre syndrome, myasthenia gravis, Lambert-Eaton syndrome
• Seizure types, headache types
• Brain tumors in adults and children
• Neurocutaneous disorders: neurofibromatosis, tuberous sclerosis, Sturge-Weber, von Hippel-Lindau
• Meningitis and encephalitis with CSF findings

Neuropharmacology

• Antiepileptics, Parkinson drugs, triptans
• Inhaled and intravenous anesthetics, local anesthetics, neuromuscular blockers
• Opioids, benzodiazepines, barbiturates

Psychiatry and behavioral science

• Schizophrenia spectrum and its time course; brief psychotic and schizophreniform disorder
• Major depression, bipolar disorder, persistent depressive disorder, grief
• Anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, PTSD, adjustment disorder
• Personality disorders by cluster
• Somatic symptom disorder, conversion disorder, factitious disorder, malingering
• Eating disorders; ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, Tourette syndrome
• Intoxication and withdrawal: alcohol, opioids, stimulants, benzodiazepines
• Delirium against dementia, sleep stages and sleep disorders
• Ego defense mechanisms, classical and operant conditioning

Psychopharmacology

• SSRIs, SNRIs, tricyclics, MAO inhibitors, bupropion, mirtazapine
• Typical and atypical antipsychotics and extrapyramidal effects
• Lithium, valproate, lamotrigine
• Serotonin syndrome and neuroleptic malignant syndrome

Endocrine: embryology and physiology

• Thyroid descent, thyroglossal duct cyst, pharyngeal pouch derivatives
• Hormone signalling: cAMP, IP3, tyrosine kinase and intracellular receptors
• Hypothalamic-pituitary axes and feedback
• Insulin and glucagon actions, GLUT transporters
• Adrenal cortex zones and steroid synthesis
• Calcium, phosphate, PTH, vitamin D and calcitonin

Endocrine: pathology

• Pituitary adenomas, acromegaly, hypopituitarism, Sheehan syndrome, diabetes insipidus, SIADH
• Graves disease, Hashimoto thyroiditis, subacute thyroiditis, thyroid cancers
• Primary, secondary and tertiary hyperparathyroidism; hypoparathyroidism
• Cushing syndrome, Addison disease, Conn syndrome, pheochromocytoma, neuroblastoma
• Congenital adrenal hyperplasia: 21-hydroxylase, 11-beta-hydroxylase and 17-alpha-hydroxylase deficiency
• Type 1 and type 2 diabetes, diabetic ketoacidosis, hyperosmolar state, chronic complications
• MEN 1, MEN 2A and MEN 2B; insulinoma, glucagonoma, carcinoid syndrome

Reproductive: embryology and physiology

• Mesonephric and paramesonephric ducts, sex differentiation, genital homologues
• Spermatogenesis, the menstrual cycle, oogenesis
• hCG, placental hormones, physiological changes of pregnancy, lactation, menopause

Reproductive: pathology

• Klinefelter and Turner syndromes, androgen insensitivity, 5-alpha-reductase deficiency, Kallmann syndrome
• Polycystic ovary syndrome, endometriosis, leiomyoma, endometrial hyperplasia and carcinoma
• Ovarian tumors: epithelial, germ cell and sex cord-stromal
• Cervical dysplasia and HPV
• Ectopic pregnancy, hydatidiform mole, preeclampsia, placenta previa, placental abruption
• Fibroadenoma, ductal carcinoma in situ, invasive breast cancers
• Testicular tumors, cryptorchidism, torsion, benign prostatic hyperplasia, prostate cancer

Pharmacology

• Insulins, metformin, sulfonylureas, GLP-1 agonists, DPP-4 inhibitors, SGLT2 inhibitors, thiazolidinediones
• Levothyroxine, propylthiouracil, methimazole
• Glucocorticoids, bisphosphonates
• Estrogens, progestins, contraceptives, tamoxifen, raloxifene, aromatase inhibitors, clomiphene
• Finasteride, tamsulosin, PDE-5 inhibitors

Anatomy

• Brachial plexus lesions: Erb palsy, Klumpke palsy, winged scapula
• Upper limb nerve injuries: axillary, radial, median, ulnar, musculocutaneous
• Rotator cuff muscles, carpal tunnel, hand deformities
• Lower limb nerves: femoral, obturator, sciatic, common peroneal, tibial, superior and inferior gluteal
• Knee ligament and meniscus injuries, dermatomes and reflex levels
• Common fracture sites and the nerve or artery at risk

Muscle and bone physiology

• Sarcomere structure, excitation-contraction coupling, muscle fiber types
• Endochondral and membranous ossification, osteoblast and osteoclast control

Bone and joint pathology

• Achondroplasia, osteogenesis imperfecta, osteopetrosis
• Osteoporosis, osteomalacia and rickets, Paget disease of bone, avascular necrosis
• Bone tumors: osteosarcoma, Ewing sarcoma, giant cell tumor, osteochondroma, chondrosarcoma
• Osteoarthritis against rheumatoid arthritis, gout, calcium pyrophosphate deposition
• Septic arthritis, osteomyelitis
• Seronegative spondyloarthropathies: ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, reactive arthritis

Connective tissue and muscle disease

• Systemic lupus erythematosus, Sjogren syndrome, systemic sclerosis, mixed connective tissue disease
• Autoantibodies and the disease each points to
• Polymyositis, dermatomyositis, polymyalgia rheumatica, fibromyalgia
• Duchenne, Becker and myotonic dystrophy
• Marfan and Ehlers-Danlos syndromes

Dermatology

• Skin layers and epidermal cell junctions; terms such as macule, papule, vesicle, acanthosis
• Atopic and contact dermatitis, psoriasis, seborrheic dermatitis, lichen planus
• Pemphigus vulgaris against bullous pemphigoid, dermatitis herpetiformis
• Stevens-Johnson syndrome, erythema multiforme, erythema nodosum
• Impetigo, cellulitis, necrotizing fasciitis, dermatophyte infections, viral exanthems
• Actinic keratosis, basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, melanoma
• Vitiligo, albinism, burn classification

Pharmacology

• NSAIDs, aspirin, acetaminophen, celecoxib
• Allopurinol, febuxostat, colchicine, probenecid
• Methotrexate, TNF-alpha inhibitors, bisphosphonates, teriparatide
• Topical and oral retinoids

Physiology

• Sites of hematopoiesis through fetal life, hemoglobin types and switching
• Heme synthesis, iron absorption and transport, hepcidin
• Primary hemostasis, the coagulation cascade, fibrinolysis, natural anticoagulants
• ABO and Rh groups, hemolytic disease of the newborn, transfusion reactions

Red cell pathology

• Microcytic: iron deficiency, alpha and beta thalassemia, lead poisoning, sideroblastic anemia
• Macrocytic: folate and vitamin B12 deficiency, orotic aciduria
• Normocytic: anemia of chronic disease, aplastic anemia
• Hemolytic: hereditary spherocytosis, G6PD deficiency, pyruvate kinase deficiency, sickle cell disease, paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, warm and cold autoimmune hemolysis, microangiopathic anemia
• Porphyrias: acute intermittent porphyria, porphyria cutanea tarda
• Smear findings: schistocytes, target cells, Howell-Jolly bodies, Heinz bodies, basophilic stippling

Bleeding and clotting

• Hemophilia A and B, vitamin K deficiency, von Willebrand disease
• Immune thrombocytopenia, TTP, hemolytic uremic syndrome, Bernard-Soulier, Glanzmann
• Disseminated intravascular coagulation
• Factor V Leiden, prothrombin mutation, antithrombin, protein C and S deficiency
• Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia

White cell and lymphoid neoplasms

• ALL, AML and acute promyelocytic leukemia, CML, CLL, hairy cell leukemia
• Hodgkin lymphoma; Burkitt, follicular, mantle cell and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma with their translocations
• Multiple myeloma, MGUS, Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia
• Polycythemia vera, essential thrombocythemia, myelofibrosis, JAK2
• Langerhans cell histiocytosis

Oncology principles

• Oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes, hallmarks of cancer
• Chemical carcinogens, oncogenic microbes, tumor markers
• Paraneoplastic syndromes, tumor lysis syndrome, grade against stage

Pharmacology

• Heparin, warfarin, direct thrombin and factor Xa inhibitors, reversal agents
• Aspirin, clopidogrel, glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors, thrombolytics
• Antimetabolites, alkylating agents, anthracyclines, platinum drugs, vinca alkaloids, taxanes, topoisomerase inhibitors
• Named toxicities: doxorubicin, bleomycin, cisplatin, cyclophosphamide, vincristine
• Imatinib, rituximab, trastuzumab, hydroxyurea

Bacteriology

• Cell wall structure, Gram and acid-fast staining, culture media, bacterial genetics
• Exotoxins and endotoxin, with mechanisms
• Gram-positive cocci: staphylococci, streptococci, enterococci
• Gram-positive rods: Clostridium, Bacillus, Listeria, Corynebacterium
• Gram-negative cocci and rods: Neisseria, Haemophilus, Pseudomonas, Legionella, Bordetella, the Enterobacteriaceae, Vibrio, Helicobacter, Campylobacter
• Spirochetes: Treponema, Borrelia, Leptospira
• Mycobacteria, Mycoplasma, Chlamydia, Rickettsia and other zoonoses

Virology

• DNA and RNA virus families, enveloped against naked, segmented genomes
• Herpesviruses, hepatitis viruses, HIV structure and life cycle
• Influenza drift and shift, measles, mumps, rubella, rotavirus, rabies, HPV, polio, arboviruses
• Prions

Mycology and parasitology

• Candida, Aspergillus, Cryptococcus, Mucor, Pneumocystis
• Endemic mycoses: Histoplasma, Blastomyces, Coccidioides
• Protozoa: Plasmodium, Toxoplasma, Giardia, Entamoeba, Trypanosoma, Leishmania
• Helminths: nematodes, cestodes, trematodes

Clinical microbiology

• Common causes of pneumonia, meningitis, urinary infection and endocarditis by age and setting
• Sexually transmitted infections, TORCH infections, food poisoning by timing
• Infections in asplenic, neutropenic and HIV-positive patients by CD4 count

Antimicrobials

• Penicillins, cephalosporins, carbapenems, vancomycin
• Aminoglycosides, tetracyclines, macrolides, clindamycin, linezolid
• Fluoroquinolones, sulfonamides, metronidazole
• Antituberculous drugs, antifungals, antivirals, antiretrovirals, antimalarials, anthelmintics
• Resistance mechanisms

Immunology

• Lymph node and spleen structure, innate and adaptive immunity
• MHC class I and II, HLA associations
• T-cell and B-cell development, positive and negative selection
• Antibody classes, class switching, complement pathways, cytokines
• Hypersensitivity types I to IV
• Hyperacute, acute and chronic transplant rejection, graft-versus-host disease
• Immunodeficiencies: Bruton agammaglobulinemia, common variable immunodeficiency, IgA deficiency, DiGeorge syndrome, SCID, Wiskott-Aldrich, hyper-IgM, chronic granulomatous disease, leukocyte adhesion deficiency, Chediak-Higashi
• Vaccine types, passive against active immunity
• Immunosuppressants: cyclosporine, tacrolimus, sirolimus, mycophenolate, azathioprine

Molecular biology

• DNA structure, replication and repair defects: xeroderma pigmentosum, Lynch syndrome, ataxia-telangiectasia
• Transcription, splicing, translation and post-translational modification
• Mutation types: missense, nonsense, frameshift, splice site
• Laboratory methods: PCR, blotting techniques, ELISA, karyotype, FISH, CRISPR

Cell biology

• Cell cycle checkpoints, cyclins, p53 and Rb
• Protein trafficking and I-cell disease
• Cytoskeleton, microtubule motors, cilia structure
• Collagen synthesis and its disorders, elastin

Metabolism

• Glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, TCA cycle, electron transport and its inhibitors
• Pentose phosphate pathway and G6PD deficiency
• Glycogen storage diseases: von Gierke, Pompe, Cori, McArdle
• Fructose and galactose disorders
• Fatty acid oxidation, MCAD deficiency, carnitine deficiency, ketone bodies
• Cholesterol synthesis, lipoproteins, familial dyslipidemias
• Urea cycle, ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency, hyperammonemia
• Amino acid disorders: phenylketonuria, maple syrup urine disease, homocystinuria, alkaptonuria, cystinuria
• Purine and pyrimidine pathways: Lesch-Nyhan syndrome, adenosine deaminase deficiency
• Lysosomal storage diseases: Tay-Sachs, Gaucher, Niemann-Pick, Fabry, Krabbe, Hurler, Hunter
• Fed, fasting and starvation states

Nutrition

• Fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K
• Water-soluble vitamins: B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9, B12 and C, with deficiency syndromes
• Zinc deficiency, kwashiorkor and marasmus, ethanol metabolism

Genetics

• Autosomal dominant, autosomal recessive, X-linked and mitochondrial inheritance
• Penetrance, expressivity, pleiotropy, anticipation, mosaicism, heteroplasmy
• Imprinting and uniparental disomy: Prader-Willi and Angelman syndromes
• Trinucleotide repeat diseases: Huntington, fragile X, myotonic dystrophy, Friedreich ataxia
• Trisomies 21, 18 and 13, Robertsonian translocation
• Microdeletions: 22q11, Williams syndrome, cri-du-chat
• Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, linkage disequilibrium, pedigree risk calculation

Pharmacokinetics

• Bioavailability, volume of distribution, clearance, half-life
• Loading and maintenance dose calculations, steady state
• Zero-order against first-order elimination
• Phase I and phase II metabolism, slow and fast acetylators
• Cytochrome P450 inducers, inhibitors and substrates
• Ion trapping and urine pH

Pharmacodynamics

• Efficacy and potency, competitive and non-competitive antagonists, partial agonists
• Therapeutic index, tolerance and tachyphylaxis
• Receptor types: Gq, Gs, Gi, ion channel, enzyme-linked

Autonomic drugs

• Direct cholinergic agonists, acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, organophosphate poisoning
• Muscarinic antagonists and atropine toxicity
• Alpha and beta agonists: epinephrine, norepinephrine, phenylephrine, dobutamine, isoproterenol
• Alpha blockers and beta blockers, with selectivity
• Blood pressure and heart rate tracings after drug combinations

Toxicities and antidotes

• Acetaminophen, salicylates, opioids, benzodiazepines, tricyclic antidepressants
• Iron, lead, arsenic, cyanide, carbon monoxide, methanol and ethylene glycol
• Digoxin, heparin, warfarin, beta blocker overdose
• Drug reactions by organ: QT prolongation, agranulocytosis, drug-induced lupus, hepatotoxicity, nephrotoxicity, ototoxicity, pulmonary fibrosis, photosensitivity, gynecomastia, disulfiram-like reaction
• Teratogens: ACE inhibitors, warfarin, isotretinoin, valproate, lithium, phenytoin, thalidomide

Drug classes by system

• Cardiovascular: antihypertensives, antiarrhythmics, lipid drugs
• CNS: antiepileptics, anesthetics, opioids, antidepressants, antipsychotics
• Endocrine: diabetes drugs, thyroid drugs, steroids
• Anti-inflammatory: NSAIDs, gout drugs, biologic agents and their targets
• Anticoagulants, antiplatelets and chemotherapy
• Drug name suffixes and what they signal

Test characteristics

• Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value
• Likelihood ratios, effect of prevalence, moving a cutoff, ROC curves
• Accuracy against precision

Measures of risk

• Incidence and prevalence
• Relative risk, odds ratio, attributable risk
• Absolute and relative risk reduction, number needed to treat and to harm
• Case fatality and mortality rates

Study design

• Case series, cross-sectional, case-control, cohort, randomized controlled and crossover trials
• Clinical trial phases, meta-analysis
• Blinding, randomization, intention-to-treat analysis

Bias and validity

• Selection, recall, measurement, observer, lead-time and length-time bias
• Confounding against effect modification
• Hawthorne effect, internal and external validity

Statistics

• Mean, median, mode; normal and skewed distributions
• Standard deviation against standard error
• Null hypothesis, type I and type II error, power, p-values
• Confidence intervals and how to read them
• t-test, ANOVA, chi-square, correlation coefficient
• Kaplan-Meier curves and hazard ratios

Public health

• Primary, secondary and tertiary prevention
• Screening principles, common causes of death by age group
• Medicare and Medicaid basics

Ethics and law

• Autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, justice
• Informed consent and its exceptions, decision-making capacity
• Minors, emancipation, parental refusal of treatment
• Confidentiality and when it may be broken, mandatory reporting
• Advance directives, surrogate order, brain death, withdrawal of care
• Medical error disclosure, impaired colleagues, gifts and conflicts of interest

Communication and patient safety

• Delivering bad news, working with interpreters, motivational interviewing
• Responding to an angry or non-adherent patient
• Swiss cheese model, root cause analysis, near misses, handoffs
• Quality measures: structure, process, outcome