10 FREE Websites EVERY Medical Student Should Know About

Summary

In this informative video, medical student Hibber shares top online resources that have significantly aided his medical education at the University of Manchester. From the comprehensive MSD Manuals for disease understanding to Teach Me Anatomy for a clear grasp of anatomy, DrugBank for medication details, and BMJ Best Practice for British guidelines, these resources are invaluable. He also covers tools like MD Calc for clinical decision-making, Geeky Medics for clinical skills, UpToDate for guidelines, and Zero to Finals for exam-focused revision. Lastly, he recommends the Quest Med question bank, a paid resource that has noticeably improved his exam performance.

Takeaways

• 📚 The speaker has successfully utilized various online resources for their medical education, finding them as valuable as textbooks.
• 🌐 MSD Manuals is a comprehensive online resource detailing medical conditions, pathophysiology, and diagnosis, though it's American-centric.
• 🧍 Teach Me Anatomy is highly recommended for its detailed yet approachable content on anatomy, suitable for medical students.
• 💊 DrugBank.ca is a free database providing extensive information on medications, including mechanisms of action, pharmacodynamics, and pharmacokinetics.
• 🇬🇧 BMJ Best Practice is a UK-focused resource similar to MSD Manuals but aligned with British medical guidelines and protocols.
• 🏥 NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) provides UK medical guidelines and protocols, including the British National Formulary (BNF).
• 📊 MD Calc offers evidence-based equations, scoring systems, and risk stratification tools useful for clinical decision-making.
• 👨‍⚕️ Geeky Medics is a widely used resource for clinical examinations, patient history taking, and patient counseling.
• 📈 UpToDate provides guidelines and protocols to assist doctors in making informed decisions, useful for medical students to understand clinical reasoning.
• 🎓 Zero to Finals is a concise study resource focused on exam preparation, containing simplified notes and relevant NICE guidance.
• 💰 Quest Med is a paid online question bank with practice questions, flashcards, video tutorials, and an AI system for personalized revision.

Q & A

What is the primary mode of learning the speaker used during medical school?

The speaker primarily used websites and online resources for learning during medical school, rather than textbooks.

What is MSD Manuals and how was it helpful for the speaker?

MSD Manuals is an online resource that provides detailed information on medical conditions, including pathophysiology. It was particularly helpful for the speaker in understanding disease processes during the pre-clinical years.

Why did the speaker find MSD Manuals less useful in clinical years?

The speaker found MSD Manuals less useful in clinical years because it is an American website, and there were minor differences in protocols and guidelines compared to those in the UK, where the speaker is studying and planning to practice.

What is Teach Me Anatomy and how did it assist the speaker's studies?

Teach Me Anatomy is an online resource for studying anatomy. It was instrumental in the speaker's anatomy studies, providing just the right amount of detail for a medical student's needs.

What is DrugBank and how did it support the speaker's pharmacology learning?

DrugBank is a free online database containing comprehensive information on medications, including mechanisms of action, pharmacodynamics, and pharmacokinetics. It was a go-to resource for the speaker during pharmacology studies.

How does BMJ Best Practice differ from MSD Manuals?

BMJ Best Practice is similar to MSD Manuals in providing information on medical conditions but is built around British guidelines, making it more accurate for the speaker as a future doctor in the UK.

What is the significance of the NICE BNF for medical students?

The NICE BNF (British National Formulary) is an A to Z list of medications, including how to prescribe them and their dosing. It is an important resource for medical students to understand medication management.

What is MD Calc and how does it aid clinical decision making?

MD Calc is an online calculator containing evidence-based equations, scoring systems, and risk stratification tools used by doctors for clinical decision making. It helps by performing calculations for these tools, which would be difficult to remember otherwise.

Why is Geeky Medics a valuable resource for the speaker during clinical years?

Geeks Medics is a comprehensive resource that provides information on clinical examinations, taking patient histories, and counseling patients. It has helped the speaker develop clinical skills and vocabulary.

What does UpToDate offer that makes it a useful resource for medical students?

UpToDate offers specific guidelines and protocols to assist doctors in making decisions on the ward. It serves as a reliable information bank for medical students to understand clinical decision-making processes.

How does Zero to Finals differ from other resources mentioned in the script?

Zero to Finals is specifically designed for medical students preparing for exams, providing concise and targeted information on medical conditions relevant to finals, unlike other resources made for practicing doctors.

Why is the Quest Med online question bank considered valuable by the speaker?

The Quest Med online question bank is valuable because it contains practice questions in the style of medical school exams, written by qualified doctors, and includes additional resources like flashcards, video tutorials, and an AI system to tailor revision.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Medical School Learning Resources

The speaker emphasizes the importance of online resources for medical education, highlighting that their learning has been primarily through websites rather than traditional textbooks. They mention that these resources are as legitimate as textbooks and are used extensively by medical professionals. The speaker introduces a series of websites they have used throughout their medical school journey, starting with MSD Manuals, an online resource for detailed medical conditions and pathophysiology. They also note the resource's American orientation but still recommend it for its comprehensiveness. The paragraph concludes with a welcome message and an introduction to the speaker, Hibber, a final year medical student at the University of Manchester.

05:02

🧠 Pre-Clinical Learning Websites

This section focuses on the websites that were instrumental during the pre-clinical years of medical school, before hospital placements. The first resource mentioned is MSD Manuals, praised for its depth on pathophysiology. The speaker then discusses Teach Me Anatomy as an excellent resource for learning anatomy, appreciated for its balance of detail and simplicity. DrugBank is highlighted as a comprehensive database for medication information, including mechanisms of action. The paragraph also mentions other websites used both pre-clinically and clinically, such as BMJ Best Practice, which is likened to a British version of MSD Manuals but built around British guidelines. The speaker advises that most medical schools provide access to these resources, and if not, they can be accessed through an open Athens account.

10:04

💊 Pharmacology and Clinical Decision Tools

The speaker continues to discuss additional online resources that have been vital for their medical education. They mention NICE's official website, which includes essential guidelines for UK medical practice and the British National Formulary (BNF), an A to Z list of medications. MD Calc is introduced as a tool for evidence-based equations and scoring systems used in clinical decision-making. The speaker also covers resources used during clinical years, such as Geeky Medics, which provides information on clinical examinations, patient counseling, and OSCE practice. UpToDate is another resource highlighted for its guidelines and protocols to assist doctors in making ward decisions. The paragraph concludes with an introduction to Zero to Finals, a resource specifically designed for exam preparation, and Quest Med, a paid question bank with practice questions, flashcards, and tutorials.

Keywords

💡Medical School

Medical School refers to an institution that provides education and training for individuals pursuing a career in medicine. In the video, the speaker reflects on their positive experiences during medical school, emphasizing the importance of learning through online resources as opposed to traditional textbooks.

💡Online Resources

Online Resources are digital materials available on the internet that can be used for learning and research. The video's theme revolves around the speaker's reliance on various online resources for their medical education, highlighting their effectiveness compared to traditional learning methods.

💡MSD Manuals

MSD Manuals is an online medical resource that provides detailed information on medical conditions, including pathophysiology and treatment. The speaker highly recommends this resource for its depth and accuracy, particularly during the pre-clinical years of medical school.

💡Pathophysiology

Pathophysiology is the study of the mechanisms and causes of diseases. It is a key concept in the video, as the speaker appreciates the detailed pathophysiological information provided by MSD Manuals, which aids in understanding the disease processes.

💡Teach Me Anatomy

Teach Me Anatomy is an online resource specifically for studying anatomy. The speaker praises this website for its clarity and detail, which is tailored to the needs of medical students, making it an essential tool for their anatomy education.

💡DrugBank

DrugBank is a comprehensive online database that contains information on medications, including mechanisms of action and pharmacokinetics. The speaker mentions using DrugBank extensively during their pharmacology studies to understand how medications work.

💡BMJ Best Practice

BMJ Best Practice is an online resource that provides evidence-based information on medical conditions, following British guidelines. The speaker finds it useful for its alignment with UK medical protocols, which is crucial for their medical practice.

💡NICE Guidelines

NICE, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, sets guidelines and protocols for medical practice in the UK. The speaker emphasizes the importance of NICE guidelines for medical students, especially for understanding the correct treatment approaches.

💡MD Calc

MD Calc is an online calculator that provides various medical scoring systems and risk stratification tools. The speaker uses MD Calc for its convenience in clinical decision-making, as it simplifies the process of remembering and calculating complex medical formulas.

💡Geky Medics

Geky Medics is a widely used online resource for medical students, offering information on clinical examinations, patient history taking, and patient counseling. The speaker finds it particularly useful during their clinical years for enhancing practical skills.

💡UpToDate

UpToDate is a subscription-based website that provides current medical information and guidelines to assist healthcare professionals in decision-making. The speaker mentions it as a valuable resource for staying updated with the latest evidence-based practices in medicine.

💡Zero to Finals

Zero to Finals is an online resource specifically designed to help medical students prepare for their exams. It provides concise and targeted information on medical conditions relevant to examinations. The speaker appreciates its focus on exam preparation, making the revision process more efficient.

💡Quest Med

Quest Med is a paid online question bank for medical students, offering practice questions, flashcards, and other study materials. The speaker recommends it for its effectiveness in improving exam performance and feels well-prepared after using it for exam preparation.

Highlights

The speaker emphasizes the importance of online resources over textbooks during medical school.

Recommends legitimate websites for medical learning that are created by medical professionals.

MSD Manuals is praised for its detailed pathophysiology of medical conditions.

Teach Me Anatomy is highlighted as the best online resource for studying anatomy.

DrugBank is recommended for comprehensive information on medications and their mechanisms.

BMJ Best Practice is described as a British version of MSD Manuals, tailored to UK guidelines.

NICE Guidelines and BNF are essential for UK medical students due to their evidence-based protocols.

MD Calc is an online calculator for evidence-based medical scoring systems and tools.

GeeksMedics is a resource for clinical examination techniques and patient counseling.

UpToDate provides guidelines and protocols for clinical decision-making.

Zero to Finals offers concise exam-focused notes for medical students.

Quest Med is a paid resource with an online question bank and AI-tailored revision.

The speaker shares personal experiences with these resources and their impact on exam preparation.

All resources mentioned are free except for Quest Med, which is considered worth the investment.

The video aims to provide ideas for accessing online resources to aid in learning and revision.

The speaker invites viewers to share their known resources and discover new ones from the list.

Transcripts

so I've done pretty well during my time

at medical school and the majority of my

learning has been through websites and

online resources rather than textbooks

all of these websites I'm going to

mention I've used heavily for my

learning during my time at medical

school they're all as legitimate as a

textbook created in line with clinical

guidance and by existing doctors or

medical professionals and I would

recommend them to every medical student

they're also all free apart from the

final one

[Music]

hi everyone welcome back to my channel

my name's hibber and I'm a final year

medical student studying at the

University of Manchester starting from

the websites that helped me the most in

my pre-clinical years so before we

started our Hospital placements and when

we were just learning all of the theory

the first website on this list is MSD

manuals so MSC manuals was an online

resource that not a lot of my colleagues

used to use at the time or actually were

aware of and I always wondered why

because this was at times the only

resource I would use for my pbl sessions

it's a fantastic online resource that

has a list of pretty much every medical

condition Under the Sun and what I

really like about MSD manuals is that it

goes into immense detail about the

pathophysiology of all the various

conditions and sometimes it would be the

only website that answered my questions

accurately on the disease process of the

different conditions that I was studying

and obviously in the early stages of

medical school it's really important to

understand that process of how a disease

comes about with that said though it's

definitely a technically oriented

resource so it does go into symptoms of

a condition how to manage it how to

diagnose it which again really helped my

understanding probably the only reason I

moved away from using MSD manuals in my

clinical years was because it's an

American website so sometimes when I was

studying there would be very minor

differences in for example which blood

tests you would order when you would

refer a particular condition how you

would treat a particular condition

because obviously the UK has its own

specific guidance and protocols for that

sort of stuff which is where I'm

studying and where I'm going to be

practicing but as I mentioned these

differences are really quite small and

for the most part I'd really really

recommend this resource to every medical

student there are different versions of

the website so make sure you're using

the professional version which is made

specifically for healthcare

professionals and not the consumer

version which is simplified for the

general public the next online resource

I used to death in my pre-clinical years

was teach me Anatomy by far the absolute

best online resource out there to study

anatomy this website played a key role

in my and I Anatomy studies and I used

it to prepare for every single Anatomy

session I have a more detailed video on

my week on week process on how to learn

Anatomy which I think is the best way so

do give that a watch afterwards if you

are interested but what I love about

teach me Anatomy is that it's just

enough detail at the level that a

medical student needs to know so not too

much and not too little textbooks can be

really overwhelming especially if you're

looking at a certain area of anatomy for

the first time and you're not familiar

with the vocabulary but with the

diagrams and explanations on teach me

Anatomy it just made it very simple and

easy to understand I think I would have

really struggled learning Anatomy if it

wasn't for this website the next website

that was an absolute savior during my

pre-clinical years was a website called

drugbank.ca I think it's actually a

Canadian website but it's really widely

used and everyone in my pbl group knew

about this one everyone used to use it

and it's basically a free online

database that contains loads of

information on pretty much every single

medication and it targets I would use

this resource a lot for pharmacology

when we were told to learn the different

mechanisms of actions of different

medications and sometimes this would be

the only website where I could actually

find the mechanism of action the

pharmacodynamics the pharmacokinetics of

a medication which basically means how

the medication acts on the body and how

the body acts on the medication it's

really really comprehensive and

sometimes even the nice BNF wouldn't

have the mechanism of action and this

information but this website did

obviously you don't use it to learn

dosing regimens unless you're in Canada

because obviously that sort of thing

varies with the country that you're in

but it was a great reliable resource to

learn how the medications actually work

and their interactions and so forth so

these next few websites that I'm going

to talk about are websites that I use

both in my pre-clinical and clinical

years so I'm still currently using them

right now the first you may have already

heard of but that is bmj best practice

and bmj stands for British medical

journal this is is an absolute favorite

which I've been using since my first

year of medical school and I'll probably

continue using even after I graduate

into my career and I'd say it's like a

British version of MSD manuals it's

similar in that it has subsections for

all of the different medical conditions

that you need to know about on things

like pathophysiology etiology

epidemiology how to treat it prognosis

Etc but it's obviously built around

British guidelines so the guidelines are

more accurate for me as a soon to be

doctor in the UK I'd say it does take a

while to get the hang of using best

practice because sometimes it does feel

like an overload of information and it's

not specifically for medical students

it's for doctors and other Healthcare

professionals as well so sometimes there

will be detail that you don't need to

know so it does take a while to get used

to where to find the key bits of

information that you need but when you

do it's pretty much a One-Stop resource

for everything you need to know about

condition from when it presents to how

long a patient is expected to live with

it when you first go on the website it

does say you need a subscription to

access it but the vast majority of

medical schools already subscribed to it

so you don't need to buy a subscription

and be very very surprised if your

medical school didn't so you can just

log into it using your University's

login alternatively you can make an open

Athens account which is free for anyone

in the healthcare world and you can

access it this way instead so then we

have the nice official website which

includes the nice BNF nice stands for

the National Institute for Health and

Care excellence and this is the

governing body in the UK that sets

doctors their guidelines and protocols

on how to do what to do and when to do

and it's backed up by a large evidence

base as you can tell from what I've just

told you their website is going to be

really helpful and that's where you can

find all of the guidance that they've

issued on how to treat a medical

condition how to refer how to monitor

Etc if you study at a medical school in

the UK it's very important to be

familiar with these guidelines because

the information that is on there is

going to determine what the right or

wrong thing to do is in your exams but

even if you're not in the UK I can't

imagine the guidelines being drastically

different so I think it's still going to

be a really useful resource it also

contains a nice BNF which is the British

national formulary it's an A to Z list

of every single medication how to

prescribe it when to prescribe it the

dosing Etc so obviously a very important

resource for medical students to be able

to look up any medications that they are

learning about next up on a list of

online resources that are used both in

pre-clinical and clinical years is a

website called MD calc and this is

basically an online calculator

containing all of the different

evidence-based equations scoring systems

and risk stratification tools used by

doctors on a daily basis to help with

their clinical decision making for

example a commonly used tool that you

may already know about is the curb 65

score to assess the severity of

pneumonia and this is an evidence-based

system used to determine how severe a

patient's pneumonia is based on their

confusion on their urea levels on their

respiratory rate on the blood pressure

and whether or not they're over 65.

hence the acronym being curb 65. MD calc

lets you import all these variables into

their calculator and does the

calculation for you for this and for

thousands of other similar scoring

systems used in the medical world and

needless to say this is really helpful

because you can't possibly remember them

all in your head the final four websites

I think all medical students need to

know about are websites that I only

started using in my clinical years the

first one is geeky Medics the vast

majority of medical students already

know about geeky Medics it's very widely

used it's an absolutely fantastic

resource where you can find all sorts of

information and it can be really helpful

for pre-clinical years as well because

it has a lot of information about

general medicine and Anatomy but I never

really felt the need to use it in my

pre-clinical years just because I had

already found resources that were

comprehensive and that I was comfortable

using which we've already discussed in

this video I mainly use geeky Medics for

its oski related content over my

clinical years I've really benefited

from their pages on how to perform

clinical examinations which come with

really helpful videos they also have

lots of information on how to take

histories and when and why certain

information is important to ask and they

also have loads of information on how to

counsel patients on different

medications diagnoses on different

treatment procedures and over the years

this website has really helped me to

pick up some good skills and good

vocabulary and phrases to use in my

Huskies it's definitely been a 10 out of

10 resource when it comes to Oscar

practice next up is a website called up

to date like best practice when you

first open the website it does ask you

to subscribe to the website but as far

as I'm aware every single trust in the

UK purchases a subscription for their

Healthcare team to use so if you ask

about this at your hospital or your GP

practice you'll be given a login

alternatively you can also use open

Athens as well but this is another

really helpful website where you can

find specific guidelines and protocols

that help doctors to make decisions

whilst they're on the ward the intended

purpose of this website is if for

example a doctor is in a situation where

they don't know the next steps on what

to do this resource will tell you what

decision to make according to the best

evidence available at the time in a

world where guidance and evidence is

constantly changing and that's why it's

called up to date as medical students

we're unlikely to be in these sorts of

situations but the website acts as a

really good information Bank to revise

from or at least look things up faster

on placement to help you get a better

understanding of why doctors are making

certain decisions the penultimate

resource on this list is one of my

favorites well to be honest they're all

my favorites but when I'm finding myself

using the most these days in preparation

for finals and I've been using since

third year is zero to finals the founder

of the zero to finals online resources

is a doctor who actually also studied at

the University of Manchester you may

have heard me talk about this website on

my channel before but it's basically

what it says on the tin for almost every

medical condition you need to know about

for your finals it gives you start to

finish information on that topic what I

love about series of finals is that it's

very concise it's very straight to the

point and it's made especially with a

focus for exact exactly what you need to

know for your exams unlike some of the

other resources that are made for

doctors who are already working zero to

finals is specifically made with a focus

for your exams so if you don't need to

know it through exams it's not on there

and using the zero to finals resources

helps me make my revision more targeted

to what I actually need to know and less

overwhelming it also contains all of the

relevant nice guidance that you need to

know for your exams as well because the

notes are quite simplified I do always

use it in conjunction with best practice

so once I've read through a set of zero

to finals notes I do always just give

the best practice page a read as well

just to make sure I've not missed

anything but considering how tight I am

on time these days I'm incredibly

grateful for the doctor who made this

resource to allow me to revise

effectively and concisely last but not

least on this list we have number 10

which is the only paid resource on this

list but in my opinion is worth every

penny it is the quest Med online

question bank for medical students which

contains thousands of practice questions

in the style that you'd expect to see in

your actual medical school exams the

questions are written by qualified

doctors but as well as this they have

pre-made flashcards video tutorials mock

tests and a concise textbook of all of

the information you need to know it also

uses an AI system to help tailor your

revision to you and to the topics that

you specifically need to work on and

this isn't sponsored or anything none of

anything I've said in this video is

sponsored just from personal experience

after using Quest Med to practice

questions I did see a huge Improvement

in my exam results and while sitting in

my exam I genuinely felt really well

prepared for every single question that

was coming up having used Quest Med

beforehand I really hope this video is

able to give you a few ideas on where

you can turn to access online resources

to Aid you're learning and revision

comment below which resources you

already knew about and were using and

which resources you didn't actually know

about thank you so so much for watching

and I'll see you in the next video

[Music]

thank you