Best Question Bank For Medical Students?
Succeeding in Medical School requires being able to absorb a large amount of information and also displaying mastery of this information through many assessments. This means that medical students must master the skill of taking tests. The best way to do this is through the use of practice questions.
Finding quality practice questions however can be quite a task because not all of them are quality. Luckily in this article, I will be reviewing where the best questions banks can be found as well as their pros and cons.
Statpearls Question Bank
Pros
This is by far the best question bank to use. They feature a variety of questions ranging frm Anatomy, Physiology,histology, and and clinical medicine. What separates this product from others is the shear volume of questions as they boast over 64, 000 questions spanning a variety of topics.
Additionally, Statpearls allows you to search specifically for what you are looking for and do targeted practice on that subject. This is in opposition to other question banks in which you can only narrow the search down to the discipline or Organ system being studied. For example, if I wanted to study Sarcoidosis using Statpearls, I could type into their search Sarcoidosis and Immediately I am given an article quiz titled Sarcoidosis that comes with quiz questions on only this topic. On the other hand however, with other Qbanks, if I wanted to study Sarcoidosis, I would not be able to make a customized quiz for this specific disease. Instead I would only be able to filter based off of the organ system which in this case would be Pulmonology.
You can read more about the StatPearls Question Bank here.
Cons
Because this question bank was created by Physicians it frequently can glitch, or not work properly. Additionally sometimes it runs rather slow. The programming for the search tool also in some instances tends to not output what you put in it. This problem does not happen so much with the CME activities but occurs primarily with the question banks (step 1, step 2, physiology, etc.)
Med School Bootcamp Question Bank
Med School Bootcamp is an online learning platform that contains video lessons, as well as question banks that focus on preparing students for the USMLE step 1 exam.
The resource is unique in that each video lesson plan is taught by a TA expert in that subject area. Additionally each lesson plan comes with a pdf lesson outline so that students can follow along as they progress though the lessons.
Med School Bootcamp is frequently compared to resources such as boards and beyond because they both have added video components to their learning structure. While the two resources are similar there are stil notable differences between the two resources.
click here to start using med school bootcamp
Boardvitals Question bank
BoardVitals is an online question bank designed to help medical students and healthcare professionals prepare for board exams and certification exams. The platform offers a wide range of questions covering various medical specialties, including internal medicine, pediatrics, surgery, and more.
For medical students boardvitals offers question banks for USMLE step 1 step 2 as well as the shelf exams. For Residents and physicians, Boardvitals has question banks that are specific to specialties, as well as CME prep resources.
Pros of Boardvitals Question Bank
One of the standout features of BoardVitals is a dashboard that tells you how many questions you have answered, how many questions you have answered correctly, how many questions you have answered incorrectly as well as your average percentage.
Another great feature that Board vitals has is its user-friendly interface which allows users to easily navigate through the question bank and track their progress. The platform also offers customizable quizzes, which allow users to focus on specific topics or areas of weakness.
Another benefit of Board Vitals is its comprehensive explanations for each question, which help users understand the reasoning behind each answer choice. The explanations also provide additional information and resources for further study, which can be helpful for users looking to deepen their understanding of a particular topic.
Board Vitals also offers a variety of study modes, including timed and untimed options, as well as the ability to create flashcards and review previously answered questions. These features can help users tailor their study approach to their individual needs and preferences.
One potential drawback of Board Vitals is its cost, which may be prohibitive for some users. However, the platform offers a variety of pricing options, including monthly and yearly subscriptions, as well as access to individual question banks.
Overall, Board Vitals is a comprehensive and user-friendly question bank that can be a valuable resource for medical students and healthcare professionals preparing for board exams and certification exams. Its customizable quizzes, comprehensive explanations, and study modes make it a versatile tool for users looking to enhance their exam preparation.
The great part about Boardvitals is that Vthey routinely have sales and discount codes. You can use discount code FITMEDIC to get 15% off.
click here to start using Boardvitals
TrueLearn Question Bank
Pros
- The TrueLearn Question bank is a newer Question Bank which features many tools such as
- a real time progress tracker which graphically shows how you are doing over time compared to your peers
- Direct references to page numbers and videos of resources such as Picmonic and First Aid
- Detailed explanations that offer “insights.” These are basically segments of the answer explanations that point out the most high yield components of each question, as well as how likely you are to get that question on an exam.
You can Read more about the TrueLearn Question Bank here
Cons
- Questions are very challenging, however this can be a good thing because it can prepare you well for you medical school exam questions
Anatomy.app
This is a question bank that was created in collaboration with the University of Michigan. This question bank focuses mainly on anatomy and covers all of the organ systems. Some of the features include
– short concise articles
-3d anatomical images which can be further explored with a toggle feature
-ability to adjust difficulty of quizzes
One of the best parts about anatomy.app is how affordable the pricing is. The prices go for as little as $14.90/month
click here to start using Anatomy.app
Amboss Question Bank
pros of Amboss Question Bank
This is arguably currently the best question bank currently on the market.In terms of organization of topics this is beats the rest of the competition by quite a margin. Each topic is in article format and quizzes can be built by filtering the topics by article. Additionally what makes this a good resource is the level of difficulty of each question. This question bank
Cons
The only Cons of this are that they lack a sufficient amount of anatomy practice questions
USMLE Rx Question Bank
This question bank follows along with the First Aid book so is a good resource to use if you have been relying upon First Aid for most of your studies. Additionally the questions are also great to use alongside the Bricks which is essentially an overview of each topic.
Cons
This one falls last on the list because although it is a decent size selection of questions, It has very bad filtering functionality. If you want to study one particular subject area there really is no way to systematically have just those questions appear. It only allows you to filter as far as organ system. Additionally, one aspect of this question bank which is lacking is the confusing categorization of the questions. I noticed that when you set up your custom question quiz to show only questons from the cardioivascular organ system, you may get some questions which have more to do with the mysculosetal system or even the neuro organ system. This is frustrating when trying to take on a more targeted approach for studying.
Med bullets Question Bank
Pros: this is one of the newer question banks. This question bank includes articles which ihave been peer edited by MD and Dos. Each article contains a set of quiz questions written in USMLE style exam format. The best part about this question bank is that within the article section there is an exam style question that corresponds to the topic. This is helpful if you have trouble connecting what you have read to the question stem. Additionally, this resource includes extremely thorough feedback on every question, so users are easily able to identify why they got a certain answer incorrect. Finally another Very positive component of this platform is the high level of organization of each topic which allows users to filter through each topic and quiz themselves on specific areas.
For example If I wanted to take a quiz on atrial fibrillation, most other question banks would not allow me to only filter the system for just atrial fibrillation questions and may instead give me every question regarding Cardiac arrhythmias. With medbullets however, all I would need to do is simply go into the Cardiovascular Section, then go to arrhythmia, and then click specifically on the section which tis titled atrial fibrillation. This would give me questions only oaths topic as well as the detailed article that is associated with it.
Osmosis Question Bank
This one generally used by many medical students and is known for its large selection of videos that accompany each topic. Additionally Osmosis is another question bank which has good filtering functionality allowing you to specifically target one topic
The cons are the price as its cheapest package begins at a staggering $179.00 for 6 months.