The Finseth Review was developed in 2011 as a medical student project to develop a more concise and efficient
neurology shelf exam preparation tool. It has been an underground success and has been a clutch resource for
students at Ohio State, where it was created, and spread by word of mouth to schools around the country by
sharing PDF files. The Finseth Review app was created in 2025, with question revisions to add newer content and
revise/update old content and allow additional features such as easy access to all and quizzing.
This review is intended to supplement your medical education in neurology with
the primary purpose of preparing you for the Clinical Neurology NBME “Shelf” Exam and the
Neurology portion of USMLE Step 2 Exam. Some students solely use this as their preparation tool while others
supplement other resources and use this as a last minute "rapid fire" way to secure their knowledge before the
test. The Finseth Review was created by focusing on "testable" material:
common problems, their pathophysiology, diagnosis and treatment
emergent problems and the next step and
clinical syndromes that have pathognomonic characteristics, making them easily testable
We hope that seeing these clinical syndromes in
vignette format will help you recognize them on your shelf and accurately diagnose them in your future patients.
While the diagnostic workup and treatment plans referred to in the review should suffice for your test and are
up to date to the best of our knowledge (as of 3/2025), you should refer to medical references when diagnosing
and treating patients. Best of luck to you in your clerkship and beyond.
