Med bullets is a learning platform for medical students preparing to take Step 1 or Step 2. It contains  peer reviewed articles covering topics on the clinical as well as basic sciences. Each article contains a set of questions that correspond to it. This article is an objective review on the quality of this question bank.

Pricing

They offer varying packages for both the step 1 and the step 2 set. However for both sets you can actually sign up for a free 3 months which includes ALL of the questions that premium members get

Pros

Within each article there are small circles which contain questions marks next to certain paragraphs. These circles are how you would see the information presented in question form. This is a great feature because it allows you to connect information that you have just obtained to how it might be asked in question form. Additionally it is a great way to quiz yourself immediately after having just read the information.

Another pro is that all of the articles are short and to the point. They do not put any excess information that might slow down your studying. 

After each question there is a comment bar where you can ask questions about the topic, or add any input to the question. After you do this you can expect one of the physicians on the medbullets team to reply with a very detailed explanation. THis is a great feature because it allows the platform to constantly improve and eliminate any incorrect or inaccuracies in articles and question stems, and it also allows you to better understand the subject material.

Another positive aspect of the learning platform is that it uses something called Anconious to track your progress and let you know which questions that you need to review. This is a great way of incorporating spaced repetition which is proven to be effective for studying in medical school.

Additionally, Medbullets contains a lot of image based questions. This may seem like not really a big deal, but a big part of learning medicine is not just learning about something through words and descriptors in text form, but also seeing images and being able to visually identify certain conditions, histological images, or microorganisms. Statpearls contains a lot of these question types which is something that definitely separates it from a lot of other question banks. 

Finally, Med bullets allows you to create a custom quiz feature. This means that you are able to make your own quiz and add as many questions as you want to it. This is great for simulating USMlE testing conditions.

Cons

One con is that I think that they could add more videos to the content library because there are not videos for every topic as of now. Additionally they should put the videos in a more central location because to my knowledge the only way to find the videos for a specific topic is to search for it on the main page and then scroll through and look for it. Having all of the video in a singular location helps students to study more efficiently and spend less time looking for a certain piece of information.

Additionally another con is that sometimes they put test questions on material that was not necessarily covered in the specific topic that the questions correlate to. 

Spaced repetition

There is section titled Daily Reinforcement Questions which basically presents you with a set of questions that you have previously answered. This is very helpful as it helps not to forget the information over a long period of time. To access this feature, click on the icon at the far left that resembles a robot face.

Question format

The questions are all multiple choice and are  written in the standard USMLE format style vignettes. 

Filtering ability

The platform allows you to choose specific topics that you want to work on within an organ system. All you do is click on the organ system and then it keeps giving you subcategories of the organ system until you are able to find specifically what you want to study. 

Alternatives to Medbullets

Medbullets has its own unique features that I think make it a good addition to to another question bank. Great alternatives to medbullets include

• Amboss
• Statpearls
• Truelearn
• Boards and Beyond
• Osmosis

When is the best time to start Med Bullets

The best time to buy Medbullets is as early as possible at the beginning of 1st year. Many of the questions touch on basic concepts that you begin learning in First year of Medical School.

How to use medbullets alongside other resources?

The questions in medbullets are more straight forward and really help you to gain an initial understanding of the material. It may be helpful to use this earlier on to get your brain used to recognizing how certain questions will be asked. The following question is an example of how a med bullets question looks. This question type is basically just an identification question which is really just counting on your ability to memorize an associated condition.

Medbullets vs Statpearls

• filtering

Both medbullets and statpearls are very similar in that they allow you to search up specific articles and allow you to take a quiz that contains questions from that one specific article.

• Video library

One thing that Medbullets has that statpearls does not have is a video library. Statpearls however does contain articles which are longer in length.

• Spaced Repetition

Statpearls does not have a spaced reception feature which medbullets does have.

Medbullets vs USMLE Rx

Medbullets is a much better option in my opinion to use in the beginning.

• filtering

USMLE Rx makes it very difficult to search through and find specific topics that you want to go over, which makes it very difficult to take on a more targeted approach to your studying. I would say that it would be better to use Medbullets first and then maybe use USMLE Rx afterwards when you want to review an entire organ system rather than just one aspect of an organ system such as a disease or a specific physiological concept.

• video library

USMLE Rx does contain videos but these have to be purchased separately. Medbullets videos are included in the subscription

• Spaced Repetion

USMLE Rx does not have a spaced repletion feature but they do have flashcards. These however must be purchased separately.

Step 1 and Step 2 questions

Medbullets contains a step 1 and a step 2 bundle. These both have to be purchased separately

Should you buy it

Yes Medbullets is definitely worth buying. I would buy it as a supplementary question bank to another question bank. The features such as the peer reviewed articles, spaced repetition function, and high quality USMLE formatted questions make it a great resource worth investing in.