One thing I have a hard time with in medical school is determining which outside resources to invest in and utilize most before exams, as lecture and in-class material are necessary, but not sufficient. I’ve done numerous week-long trials of various resources, and ended up purchasing one of them, as well as adding a new recent website to my study repertoire.
I was recently invited to try out Online Med Ed, which is a new site for medical students containing study lessons, flashcards, practice questions, and videos to review high yield concepts. It covers a wide breadth of topics, although it is still developing and they are adding new material each day. I focused mostly on the Rheumatology and Infectious Disease units, since those are what we are currently covering in school, and loved the videos and questions that came along with each. I would start by trying out some questions, which helped to identify my weaknesses, and go back to watch the videos made by Dr. Williams, who is very clear and always uses a whiteboard to map out physiological mechanisms, disease workups, treatment algorithms, etc. I love that the videos don’t get too muddled in specific details, and he covers only high-yield concepts that you will need to know for the USMLE. I find myself reproducing his work onto my own notes.
In addition, the website itself is very user-friendly and organized so much more nicely compared to other resources I’ve used. As they continue to add more learning lessons and become a more comprehensive resource, I definitely see it becoming a widely-used site among medical students. Overall, I would recommend this website and suggest it not only for medical students studying for their exams and Step but also for residents and physicians who may need to brush up on the fundamental material.
