A question that I frequently find students asking me is whether they should be taking UWorld questions “randomized” or by subject. The answer depends on where you are in your study period and how many weeks away you are from your Step 1 exam.
If you are in the pre-dedicated study period or in the first half of your dedicated study period (I.e. weeks 1-4 if you have 8 weeks of dedicated) I recommending sticking to subject-specific UW Questions on Tutor mode. This is meant to build your knowledge base and keep you from feeling overwhelmed by randomized blocks. Try to line up your subject-specific UWorld blocks in a way that either correspond to the section you are reading in FA that day or covering in your med classes. In the last 4-5 weeks before your test, switch to randomized, timed UWQ blocks and practice tests. At this point you will be much more comfortable with the material and tackling randomized question will feel much more do-able and less overwhelming. Plus you can really start to identify which topics you struggle most in so that you can dedicate a few hours or a day each week to focus on those tough topics/concepts.