10 Best Mobile apps for Medical Students
In Medical School, there is so much material to learn that students are forced to rely on new applications to make the process of studying more efficient. With so many applications and learning resources out there, which ones are best for Medical Students? in this article I will be doing a comprehensive breakdown of the best mobile apps for Medical Students.
What are the Best Mobile Apps for Medical Students?
TrueLearn
The TrueLearn mobile app contains many of the same features which can be found on the TrueLearn Question bank. On the app, users have the ability to review questions
The layout of the home page is slightly different compared to the desktop version as it immediately shows you your performance statistics which includes your percentile ranking for the amount of questions that you got wrong, as well a progress bar which shows you how many unique questions that you have taken. You can learn more about the TrueLearn Question Bank here.
Amboss
Amboss is library of clinical and basic science information used by Medical Students and Residents. What separated Amboss from other apps is the ease with which topics can be searched. Every single topic is indexed and stored in a comprehensive article which also contains question banks. Additionally one of the things that Amboss has which other resources do not have are very good radiological images with overlays and captions.
Finally Amboss has other features such as highlighting important information in question stems so that you know what to focus on when you are approaching questions.
Picmonic
Picmonic is a app designed to help students memorize medical information using visual imagery as well colorful storytelling. The way that it works is that you are first prompted to watch a video going over all of the basic facts on a particular topic. You are then prompted to watch a story that assigns various characters to certain facts to help you memorize them better.
For example in this picmonic designed to teach students about the signs of pregnancy, the story uses a picture of “gouda cheese” to represent Gouda’s sign which is the term used to describe softening of the cervix that occurs during Pregnancy.
Another example of how Picmonic uses mnemonic devices is this picture of a syrup and urine used to help students remember that a urine sample and serum sample that contains BhCG ( a type of hormone) signifies pregnancy.
In addition to this visual imagery to aid in memory, the app also has daily quizzes which are shown at specific intervals in time to further help you memorize the topics.
StatPearls
Statpearls is an online medical library which contains over 8000 pubMed indexed articles which cover over 400 medical specialties. The app will run just as well as the desktop version.
The articles all contain colorful illustrations, Easy to read subheadings that make finding information very quick.
In addition to containing a vast library of peer reviewed articles, StatPearls also contains a question bank for the USMLE board exams which medical students take, as quiz activities that can be counted towards Continuing Medical Education credit for Practicing Physicians.
You can get the question bank either as an in app purchase or by going to the main website and getting the desktop version. If you buy a subscription for the Desktop version then you will have access to the mobile app simply by logging into your account.
Anki
This arguably the most popular application amongst medical students. Anki is a flashcard application which uses a principle called spaced repetition to show you you flashcards over an amount of time that you specify. There is a free version which can be used by the iPhone and desktops, as well as a paid version which can be used on iPads. Additionally the application gives you the ability to create your own decks as well as
Med School Bootcamp
Med School Bootcamp is a resource used to prepare for step 1. In addition to high quality questions, it contains a comprehensive video library which goes through each Organ system. It also contains printable notes as well as quiz questions that follow each video lesson.
Osmosis Medical
Osmosis is known for its breakdowns of complex medical concepts from its easy to understand videos. It is commonly used by medical students alongside their normal classroom lectures. It contains spaced repetition review flashcards as well as a comprehensive question bank that covers most of what you would need to know for the USMLE step exams. The breakdown of Osmosis by the numbers is as follows:
- 2700 USMLE questions
- 1700 medical videos
- 15000 flashcards
I discuss more about Osmosis in the following post here.
Lecturio
Lecturio is a lecture based learning platform which consists of organized playlists of video lectures which have associated short quizzes which follow them.
It is commonly used during Pre Clinical and Clinical phases of medical school to help with School Exams, and it also contains Board style questions to help with the USMLE Board Exam.
This is a great learning tool because each video is covered by a different Physician which specializes in that one particular topic. The Learning app is available on iTunes stores for both Android and apple devices.
Complete Anatomy
Complete Anatomy is an anatomy learn gin platform created by 3d4Medical which gives students the ability to examine 3d anatomy Human Models using a user friendly navigation tool. The app is available on the App Store for download and can be used for desktop computers, iPads as well as iPhones. This product is best used to prepare for Anatomy exams for both pre Meds and medical students.
GeekyMedics
GeekyMedics is an appliation which not only contains practice questions which are useful for honing in on clinical knowledge and basic sciences, it also contains over 600 OSCE cases to help you develop better clinical skills as well as prepare for he OSCE exam.
As you can see, there are many useful applications which medical students can use to help with their students. If you found this article helpful. you may find some of these articles useful as well.
MedCalc
The MDCalc app is available for free on the App Store and includes over 270 clinical decision tools for healthcare professionals[3]. The app is created exclusively by board-certified physicians for use by physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, and medical students[5].
Overall, it seems that the MedCalc app, specifically the MDCalc feature, is a useful tool for healthcare professionals looking to make medical calculations and clinical decisions.
If you are a medical student o the wards then this is an especially great tool if you need to calculate something such as a MELD score or if you need to calculate corrected calcium levels. You wont be bogged down by having to look for where things are on the app since the interface and layout of the navigation is extremely clean and organized.
Honorable mention Apps for Medical Students
The following apps below are also especially helpful for medical students!
