OMM/OMT is an integral portion of the COMLEX and USMLE exams, meaning you’ll need a solid knowledge base of the subject. 

Anki decks have been a savior for medical students. We’ll cover the four best Anki Decks and additional resources for studying OMM/OMT.

Best OMM/OMT Anki Decks 

We’ll only look at the most used and popular decks to save you the extra time sifting through decks. Anything that doesn’t offer the highest yield information isn’t included. 

The decks we’ll be reviewing are: 

• D.O. Demeter Deck: an Anking-level deck for OMM 
• PathoTurnUp’s TurnUp2 OMT Deck
• ATP7B’s AnkiStill OMM Deck 
• Khanos77 Savarese 3rd OMM Anki Deck 

D.O. Demeter Deck: an Aking-level deck for OMM 

One of the most popular decks used for OMM study is the D.O. Demeter Deck. Out of 1,263 cards, the deck of cards features high-yield information from Savarese, AMBOSS, First Aid for the COMLEX, Netter’s Atlas, and Combank. 

Most of the material is in a cloze format. This means there are fill-in-the-blank words and supplemental information for faster recall.

I like that each card has a notes tab to expand the topic further. The notes typically provide charts, tables, and graphics that visually explain the concept. 

Additionally, Demeter separated the cards by “basics” and “clerkships.” The clerkship is a quick-paced review highlighting the most common conditions for OMM. 

TurnUp2 OMT Deck

Created by the Redditor u/PathoTurnup, the Turn Up 2 OMT deck is a cloze deletion deck similar to Zanki. 

The deck includes material from resources such as OMED, OMGOMT, Savarese, Comquest, and Combank. 

It features a cloze deletion format to test your memory and see whether you remember the blanked word or phrase. You’re given clues through the context of the other words in the sentence.

These cards pull out the important points to help direct you to the correct answer. There are a lot of italicized, bolded, and colored words to help highlight certain important information.

The following chapters organize this deck: 

• Chapter 1: The basics
• Chapter 2: Cervical spine 
• Chapter 3: Thorax and ribcage 
• Chapter 4: Lumbar spine 
• Chapter 5: Scoliosis and short leg syndrome 
• Chapter 6: Sacrum and innominate 
• Chapter 7: Upper extremities 
• Chapter 8: Lower extremities 
• Chapter 9: Craniosacral motion 
• Chapter 10: Facilitation 
• Chapter 11: Chapman points 
• Chapter 12: Myofascial release 
• Chapter 13: Lymphatics 
• Chapter 14:Counterstrain and FPR
• Chapter 15: Muscle energy
• Chapter 16: HVLA
• Chapter 17: Articulatory 
• Chapter 18: Special Test 

You can easily navigate the deck by category if you’re focusing on a specific area in which you need more practice. 

AnkiStill OMM Deck V4

The AnkiStill OMM Deck version 4 is the most comprehensive deck we’ve found. With 3211 cards, it covers practically everything you need to know for your exam. 

If you’re on a time crunch, 569 of the most high-yield OMM/OMT cards have been tagged as OMM: HighYield. This lets you learn the most important information quickly. 

The contents included in the deck are: 

• Anatomy review 
• Basic overview of OMM 
• Cervical spine 
• Thorax and ribcage 
• Lumbar spine: Q&A format 
• Sacrum and innominates 
• Upper extremities: Q&A format 
• Lower extremities: Q&A format 
• Cranial: Q&A format 
• Myofascial release 
• Chapman points: Q&A format 
• Counterstrain: Q&A format 
• Muscle energy: Q&A format 
• HVLA: Q&A format 
• Stretches and exercise
• Special tests: Q&A format  
• Rapid review: Q&A format 

This deck has lots of Q&A and cloze deletion format. Also, there are lots of charts and pictures to help you visually put the information together. 

Khanos77 Savarese 3rd OMM Anki Deck 

Redditor u/Khanos77 built a concise and impactful OMM for the Zanki deck. It includes Zanki-style cards with material containing every chapter of the OMT Review 3rd edition by Savarese. 

All of the information is strictly OMM and directly related to COMLEX. 

Like the Turnup 2 OMT deck, you can easily navigate the deck by chapter to find what you’re looking for. 

While the deck is quite short, it’s a great quick review to have on hand before the exam.

Additional OMM/OMT Resources 

Preparing for the COMLEX Level 2 is much different than practicing for COMLEX Level 1. For Level 1, you can likely get away with using standard USMLE Step 1 resources such as UWorld, Sketchy, Pathoma, and First Aid. You can achieve outstanding scores by reviewing OMM content and doing practice questions. 

Here are some valuable resources out there:

Online Med Ed 

Online Med Ed is a platform featuring video lectures that are easy to understand. It covers a comprehensive curriculum on COMAT/shelf and COMLEX level exams. This is a great option for acquiring and learning content that will be tested on the exam. 

OMG OMT

There are newer video resources that are more high-yield and more engaging than the old-fashioned Savarese book. While there is a monthly subscription of $39 per month, it’s absolutely worth it. Their content includes: 

• Clinical videos of demonstrations on setting up OMM techniques
• Didactic videos of high yield
• Practice questions in PDF format covering every OMM subtopic
• Rapid review notes and tables. 

UWorld 

UWorld is a practical resource for preparing for COMLEX Level 2. Make sure to work through the question bank during your study period and clinical rotations to get a solid foundation of OMM knowledge. 

Colin Ngai

Colin is a healthcare writer who focuses on generating impactful content for young med
students. Particularly, he specializes in the finances and money-making opportunities that a
career in the medical field can provide.

As a once-struggling college student, he now has built a career from freelance writing and other
side hustles. Hailing from Chicago, he loves writing, reading, and weight lifting.

His goal is to become a world-class copywriter, using his creativity and words to inspire others
to improve their lives.

Pixorize uses these memory hooks to help these concepts stick in our minds better and improve recall of these details. 

Here we’ll cover the best Anki Decks that review the Pixorize material to help memorize the material for your high-stakes board exams. 

Best Pixorize Anki Decks 

Every Anki deck is unique in the number of cards, topics covered, and format. We’ll take a closer look at what’s inside these decks: 

• Pixy Sugar Anki Deck 
• Full Pixorize Anki Deck 
• Ktron Pixorize Anki Deck 
• Zanki Biochemistry 

1. Pixy Sugar Anki Deck 

Redditor u/deadbeet_fly compiled a deck that covers all of the high-yield information from Pixorize. It combined information from a few decks from other trusted decks. 

This deck comprises a Q&A format, and the answer given is a detailed image with texts associated with parts of the picture. 

Once you memorize the image, you can recall multiple terms. 

For example, the question from this card asks, “ependymoma may cause what complication? 

The image shows all of the various complications. Often each part of the image is detailed and describes the term. 

2. Adytumdweller Anki Deck 

U/adynumdweller is a popular Redditor who’s responsible for building this deck. Comprised of about 2,400 cards, it contains all of Pixorize Immuno and Biochemistry complections sections. 

Each deck is incredibly comprehensive. The Pixorize Biochemistry covers 20 chapters ranging from biochem pathways to lung cancer.

In the Immunology deck, you’ll receive ten categories covering cell types and immunodeficiencies. 

Many cards are in cloze format accompanied by a relevant picture that describes or helps you memorize the term. 

3. KTron Pixorize Anki Deck 

KTron created a deck specifically on the biochemistry portion of the Pixorize videos. While the deck is quite small, it focuses on many diseases, biochem bathrooms, and vitamins. 

Most of the vitamins, glycogen storage disorders, lysosomal, and dyslipidemias are included. In addition, it also covers brain tumors, metabolic diseases, immunodeficiencies, and neurocutaneous disorders. 

This deck focuses on a question-and-answer style deck along with the associated Pixorize images. 

For example, you can see that this picture adds funny details to help you remember a term. A car moving around the moon helps you to remember the increase in autoimmune diseases. 

4. Zanki Biochemistry Anki Deck 

The Zanki biochemistry deck is the gold standard for helping you learn and retain biochemistry knowledge. This deck has been around for quite awhile time and is always updated to help you with the step 1 exam. 

The cards are primarily in cloze format, allowing you to review them rapidly. They work great alongside referencing with the associated resource. 

While it does pull from multiple resources like Kaplan Biochemistry and First Aid for USMLE, it does include Pixorize. 

There are plenty of images throughout the deck to clarify the difficult concepts. 

The deck consists of 2128 cards and covers the following topics: 

• Genetic disorders 
• Metabolism
• Molecular, Cellular, Genetics 
• Vitamins 

With these hierarchical tags, you can easily get to the key areas of biochemistry you’re struggling with most. 

Is Pixorize Worth It? 

Pixorize has been worth it for many medical students, especially in helping them achieve high board exam scores. 

Pixorize is similar to Sketchy and Picmonic. They all encode complex medical concepts with memorable and humourous imagery. This helps facilitate the retention of extensive amounts of medical information. 

Pixorize can be valuable during high-stakes exams since you’ll recall the imagery when you visually see associated terms. Consequently, you’ll remember the details of the image and better answer the question. 

Typically, these images are shown in an active-sketch video format. It starts with a relatively blank image and develops as the narrator explains the meaning of each part of the picture. 

For medical students, Pixorize focuses on the following topics: 

1. Neuroanatomy 
2. Pharmacology 
3. Microbiology
4. Immunology 
5. Biochemistry 

The primary benefit of using Pixorize is that it offers much cheaper plans than Sketchy. However, Sketchy does offer more subjects, reviews, and end-of-video quizzes. 

Many medical students prefer to mix and match Pixorize and Sketchy resources for topics. We recommend using both Sketchy and Pixorize Anki decks for better recall retention. 

How to Use Pixorize Effectively 

Efficient studying is one of the most crucial lessons you’ll learn as a medical student. If you’re already using Pixorize or plan on using it, you’ll have to know how Pixorize fits in with the other material you use. 

Pixorize focuses on visual mnemonics to help you review and memorize all the high-yield factoids and details. 

It’s excellent for tying facts to diseases and creating associations in your mind. However, they can’t be used as a substitute for high-level understanding. You’ll still need to learn and understand the high-level concepts. 

That means it’s important to consider using First Aid for high-level concepts and USMLE-Rx for practice questions. Other resources you’ll want to consider are Boards and Beyond, Pathoma, SketchyMedical, and UWorld. 

It’s best to watch the step-by-step Pixorize videos on each topic, like vitamins, during your dedicated USMLE study periods. Then use the Anki decks above to help you better retain the knowledge for the exam. 

Colin Ngai

Colin is a healthcare writer who focuses on generating impactful content for young med
students. Particularly, he specializes in the finances and money-making opportunities that a
career in the medical field can provide.

As a once-struggling college student, he now has built a career from freelance writing and other
side hustles. Hailing from Chicago, he loves writing, reading, and weight lifting.

His goal is to become a world-class copywriter, using his creativity and words to inspire others
to improve their lives.

Even as Anki continually updates its software, you often can’t find the features you need. Independent developers have made add-ons that work seamlessly with the software. 

You can enhance your Anki experience by using add-ons that make your study time easier and more productive. 

We’ll cover the best Anki add-ons to install and cover what they do. 

Best Anki Addons for Medical School

Installing these plugins into your Anki software can help you learn more efficiently. They all vary in their function. Some are designed to help you navigate the software better, while others help you create better decks. 

Here are the following add-ons we’ll be reviewing: 

• AMBOSS Add-on
• Frozen Fields Add-on
• Night Mode Add-on
• Fastbar Add-on
• Image Occlusion Add-on 
• Clickable Tags Add-on
• Speed Focus Mode Add-on 
• Load Balancer Mode Add-on 

1. AMBOSS Add-On

AMBOSS offers a library of online resources dedicated to helping medical students learn medicine. 

With the add-on, you can unify your AMBOSS resources and connect their high-yield confirmation directly to your deck. 

It links automatically to AMBOSS, so you can easily find explanations of the terms. 

You’ll see pop-up explanations and the corresponding articles by hovering over the medical terms in the flashcards. This lets you strengthen or fill in knowledge gaps and opt to dive into related QBank sessions.

If you’re already using AMBOSS to study, it’s a seamless integration to help you refer back to the content in AMBOSS when using your Anki deck. 

2. Frozen Fields 

If you’re a student who enjoys making your own card flashcards, the Frozen Fields add-on will save you a boatload of time. It lets you copy and paste information from one card to another. 

Frozen Fields allows you to create sticky and unsticky fields from the note editor. A sticky field means the value doesn’t get deleted when switching to a new note. It’s useful when making notes that change very little or have the same value. 

You can produce multiple cards using the same theme and image by clicking the snowflake button.

Download the link to Frozen Fields here. 

3. Night Mode 

Night mode is offered in nearly any device, from smartphones to desktops. For iPhone, night modes are used to reduce battery consumption. For other devices, it’s helpful to reduce eyestrain, especially when studying for long hours. 

Night mode for Anki makes the entire Anki software into a black background. You can either automatically or manually turn the app into night mode. Additionally, you can invert color formulas or images while defining the color substitution rules. 

For example, all the high-yield terms can be colored into a specific color.

Download Night Mode here. 

4. Fastbar 

Fastbar is an Anki Add-on that creates an additional toolbar at the top to keep all of the features of the Anki software organized. Completely your daily reviews can be time-intensive, but it’s also necessary for students to organize their decks. 

You may need to change decks, make notes or suspend certain cards. In Anki, suspending a card means it stops showing up in the deck. This lets you focus on your weaknesses rather than your strengths. 

Fastbar saves you a lot of time by keeping its most useful features in an easily accessible toolbar. You might discover lesser-known functions like “change note type” or “clear unused tags.” With Fastbar, you won’t fast time trying to figure out what features are available or where to find them. 

Download the Fastbar add-on here. 

5. Image Occlusion 

Image Occlusion is a must-have add-on for those who want to level up their anatomy knowledge. This add-on lets you hide portions of an image to test your memory of the hidden information. 

Think of it like cloze-deletions except for images. This is currently only available for Anki 2.1.50 and up, so make sure you update your Anki before trying to download. 

When using this add-on, we recommend following these rules: 

• Mix real images with cartoons. Mixing up real anatomy dissections with cartoons lets you get the complete picture. 
• Use different angles. This prevents you from trying to memorize the label. Try using different images, so you’re not comfortable reading the same picture. 
• Don’t overuse this add-on. Only focus on your weaknesses and build the deck around them. There’s no point in creating image occlusions of topics you’re comfortable with. 

Download Image Occlusion here. 

6. Clickable Tags 

When using premade decks, especially from Lightyear, Zanki, or AnKing, it’s vital to have the Clickable Tags add-on. This add-on lets you see the tags on the bottom of the card. This is where you’ll see the study resource that the question came from. 

The tag is clickable so that it leads you directly to the resource so that you can learn more information about that particular topic. 

Within the deck, you can brown by tag so you can view all the related questions in the tag.

Download Clickable Tags here. 

7. Speed Focus Mode 

The Speed Focus Mode add-on is a vital tool to add to your Anki software. This plugin helps you to answer questions faster and go through the deck as quickly as possible. 

Medical students need fast recall, especially when it comes to board exams. Speed Focus Mode trains you to pay close attention and speed up your reps. It will reveal the answer or fail the flashcard after a set time. 

You can customize the speed of the answer shown. Additionally, it lets you select whether you want the card to play in audio or be replaced after a given time. 

Download Speed Focus Mode Here. 

8. Load Balancer 

Load balancer allows you to divide the number of flashcards you have left to do each day until the deadline. 

This is useful in the early stages, where some days you get a lot of cards, while others you don’t receive many. 

Consequently, the Load Balance adjusts the load to be less intensive on specific days. It helps evenly balance your deck and ensures you receive spaced repetition benefits. This concept means you best remember pieces of information with strategic and timed reminders. 

Download Load Balancer here. 

How to Download Add-ons for Anki 

Download Anki is incredibly simple. You’ll need the code from the Ankiweb site. 

Here’s how you can download the Ambosss onto Anki Decks: 

1. Copy the code from the Ankiweb site or source. 
2. Open Anki and select Tools. 
3. Navigate to Add-ons. 
4. Click on Get-Add-on and then paste the code. 
5. Click-ok. 
6. Restart your Anki software so that the plugin can take effect. 

You can check out our guides on Anki decks for all medical school (and residency) needs here.

Colin Ngai

Colin is a healthcare writer who focuses on generating impactful content for young med
students. Particularly, he specializes in the finances and money-making opportunities that a
career in the medical field can provide.

As a once-struggling college student, he now has built a career from freelance writing and other
side hustles. Hailing from Chicago, he loves writing, reading, and weight lifting.

His goal is to become a world-class copywriter, using his creativity and words to inspire others
to improve their lives.

One solution to help with overwhelm is the Boards and Beyond video subscription service. It’s a comprehensive resource that covers nearly every topic on a medical school curriculum. 

Fortunately, there are pre-made Boards and Beyond Anki decks to help you retain information and pass the USMLE step 1 or 2. 

We’ll cover the best decks that review Boards and Beyond material. 

Best Boards and Beyond Anki Decks 

Every deck is unique and designed for a specific goal. Some are suited for studying for Step 1, while others are for Step 2. Also, some decks are focused on specific subjects, while others are more all-encompassing. 

We’ll be reviewing the following boards and beyond Anki decks: 

• Lightyear: Step 1 Anki Deck 
• Soze Step 1 Master Anki Deck 
• Cheesy Lightyear Boards and Beyond Anki Deck 
• Boards and Beyond Cardio Anki Deck 
• Boards and Beyond Pathology Anki Deck 
• Lightyear Infinity for Step 2 

1. Lightyear: Step 1 Anki Deck 

The Lightyear deck step 1 deck is consists of 22,5000 cards and one of the most comprehensive Board and Beyond decks out there. Of the total deck, 18.7k cards are from Boards and Beyond videos, 1.8k from the First Aid book, 1k from Pathoma, and another 1.1k from UworldRX. 

Most cards feature snapshots of the associated section from Boards and Beyond, First Aid, or a helpful diagram. 

This deck is neatly organized using hierarchical tags to find topics from the 400+ videos sourced. 

The cards are mostly delivered in a cloze format with a fill-in-the-blank term. Some images with texts are blurred, requiring you to recall the keyword. 

In the latest update of the deck, Redditor u/Infinity2k has offered supplementary options. You can also choose to download decks from Lolnotacop and Zanki pharm cards.  

Overall, the deck gives a good grasp of everything to prepare you for the USMLE Step 1. 

2. Soze Step 1 Master Anki Deck 

Soze Step 1 Master Anki deck is another popular deck to prepare for Step 1. 90% of the cards are sourced from Boards and Beyond. The remainder of the cards come from First Aid, USMLE-Rx, and various class lectures. 

This deck covers a variety of topics from Boards and Beyond, such as: 

• Endocrinology 
• Cardiovascular 
• Hematology
• Renal
• Reproductive 
• Pulmonary 
• Biochemistry 
• Psychiatry 
• Musculoskeletal 
• Gastrointestinal 

Additionally, a small portion of the deck consists of basic science subjects. This includes pharmacology, behavioral science, cell biology, biostatistics, and infectious disease. 

Many cards are a little longer, requiring more initial effort. However, the payoff is that you won’t be scattered with unrelated information in the deck. 

If you’re trying to recall thiazide diuretics’ side effects, all of the information will be on one card rather than adding many cards. 

Typically, remembering one or two side effects gives you a better chance to remember the other effects. 

What’s also great about the deck is that the creator added a mnemonic to people students remember certain concepts. 

3. Cheesy Lightyear Boards and Beyond Anki Deck 

A Redditor with the name u/Cheesy_Doritos decided to update the Lightyear Boards and Beyond deck. 

The primary difference is that there are more images from varied sources, such as First Aid 2019, Pixorize, Picmonic, and DirtyUSMLE. 

This deck also organizes the cards by modules into subdecks. You can choose to review by subdeck or do all the cards mixed. 

The cards are formatted similarly to the original Lightyear in that there are fill-in-the-blank words. However, screenshots from the associated source are also attached to give you more in-depth information on the topic. 

In the cardiology section, built-in sound effects correspond to the heartbeat based on the condition.

4. Boards and Beyond – Cardio Anki Deck

If you’re searching for a quick review of cardiology, consider the Boards and Beyond Cardio deck. It’s only 132 cards, so you can easily run through the entire deck within a few hours or less. 

The cards are formatted in a few different ways. Some are fill-in-the-blank words, while others are Q&A. 

Some answers even force you to draw a diagram to explain the term more thoroughly. This forces you to understand the concept rather than memorize information. 

5. Boards and Beyond Lightyear Pathology Anki Deck

One Redditor decided to add to the Lightyear deck by creating a Pathology deck. He believes the Boards and Beyond pathology portion doesn’t thoroughly cover certain topics. Therefore, there are sections from Pathoma, specifically chapter 3, covering these gaps. 

We recommend adding it to your Lightyear deck as a bonus to beef up the Pathology portion. 

6. Boards and Beyond Lightyear Infinity for Step 2

Until recently, there hasn’t been a deck geared toward Step 2. The Lightyear Infinity for Step 2 is a comprehensive deck that covers Boards and Beyond and UWorld for Step 2 videos. 

Some cards come from other resources like AMBOSS, Online Med Ed, the free AAFP questions, and others. 

According to the creator of this deck, u/dan-yul-sun, the best ways to use this deck are as follows: 

1. Watch the Boards and Beyond videos fully. 

2. Download the cards and go through them. 

3. Complete the UWorld practice questions. 

4. Search relevant terms and keywords in the deck to retain the information as you go along with the questions. 

5. Continue to review the deck and make more cards to fill your unique knowledge gaps. 

While the deck is comprehensive, it’s suited for the original creator’s particular knowledge gaps. You’ll want to add cards to help you fix any sticking points you have. 

Additional Study Resources For Medical Students 

There are many study resources available for board exams. Check out our recommendations page for a guide to the best of them.

Colin Ngai

Colin is a healthcare writer who focuses on generating impactful content for young med
students. Particularly, he specializes in the finances and money-making opportunities that a
career in the medical field can provide.

As a once-struggling college student, he now has built a career from freelance writing and other
side hustles. Hailing from Chicago, he loves writing, reading, and weight lifting.

His goal is to become a world-class copywriter, using his creativity and words to inspire others
to improve their lives.

Many students turn to Sketchy, an online video platform that covers an array of preclinical and clinical material for your exam. 

With hundreds of high-yield lessons and quiz questions, it’s certainly an excellent resource for med students. 

Using Anki decks is the best way to memorize all Sketchy material to help you pass the USMLE and retain long-term knowledge of these concepts. 

This guide will review the best Sketchy medical Anki decks we’ve found from trusted sources. 

Best Sketchy Medical Anki Decks 

We’ve aimed only to review the decks that offer high-yield information to help you with your exam. 

There are more comprehensive decks like the Zanki – Anking Step 1 deck, which covers Sketchy Pharmacology and Microbiology. However, this deck also pulls from many other resources. 

Since the card count is very high, it can be demanding to keep up with daily reviews. That’s why we’ve focused on more Sketchy-specific decks that only offer the most high-yield information and won’t consume much study time to review. 

For every deck, we’ll look to explain what is inside and tell you about how to utilize the deck best. 

Below, we’ll review the following Sketchy medical Anki decks: 

• Lolnotacop Anki Deck 
• Conaanaa’s SketchyPath SALT Anki Deck 
• NourishedStudio’s Pharmacology Anki Deck 
• Pepper Deck Microbiology Anki Deck 

Note: please make sure you are a paid user of the Sketchy Medicine platform before using any of these decks. It’s important to help keep great educational resources like this alive!

1. Lolnotacop Anki Deck 

Lolnotacop Anki deck is a pharmacology-specific deck that covers the Sketchy Pharm chapters. 

It’s much less comprehensive than the Zanki decks. However, it’s useful for getting a quick Pharmacology review. 

Reddit user u/DepryMD’s did an overhaul of this deck to separate the deck into two sections: bugs (microbiology) and drugs (pharmacology). 

This deck reviews the primary drug classes, such as 

• Gout drugs 
• Antineoplastics 
• Antimicrobials 
• Antivirals 

2. Conaanaa’s SketchyPath SALT Anki Deck 

Connanaa SketchyPath SALT Anki Deck reviews Sketchy’s videos from the Pathology section. The cards are divided up in a Google Drive into each particular section. 

Unlike most links that require you to download the entire deck, you can download each section. 

Essentially, the Reddit user u/connaanaa made a collection of decks available on Google drive. The following decks are 

1. Blood and Coagulation
2. Cardiac 
3. Endocrinology 
4. Gastrointestinal
5. Hepatobiliary
6. Immunology 
7. Musculoskeletal 
8. Myeloid and Lymphoid 
9. Neurology
10. Pulmonary 
11. Reproductive and GU 
12. SketchyRenal 
13. Vascular 

Every card features images under the answer to further explain these conditions. These images paint a scenario of how these diseases can occur, which can help you recall. 

The creator of the deck made sure to decrease any wordiness so that each question gets to the point. Also, nearly all the cards contain the explicitly associated image to help you remember the specific image from Sketchy. 

This deck is specifically useful for people trying to use SketchyPath and want to better retain the information. 

4. NourishedStudio’s Sketchy Pharmacology and Microbiology Anki Deck 

This Anki deck covers all of the training and video material in the sketchy Micro and SketchyPharm sections. This is helpful for students who plan on taking the USMLE Step 1 and COMLEX level 1. 

The cards within the deck feature small, cropped portions of the overall sketch. This forces you to prioritize and focus on the granular details of each sketch. 

The micro deck has 1158 cards, and the pharm deck has 1248 cards. The micro deck is tagged and organized by the following: 

• Bacteria
• Fungi
• Parasites 
• Viruses 

Comparatively, the pharm deck covers the following: 

• Antimicrobials 
• Antineoplastics 
• Autonomic Drugs 
• Blood and Inflammation 
• Cardio & Renal 
• GI & Endocrine 
• Neuro & Psych
• Smooth Muscle 

Most cards have a Q&A format accompanied by images to help you remember an image better recall the information. 

Some cards will provide the image first, forcing you to work backward and remember the concept from the picture. For example, the image below displays a “cracked crab.” 

When you reveal the answer, it’ll force you to recall the substance antimetabolites and treatment. 

5. Sketchy Micro Pepper Deck 

Pepper was a popular source for pharmacology and micro deck. While the pharmacology deck seems to have been removed from Reddit, the microbiology deck still exists. 

This deck totals 958 decks, making it appealing to those who want to study for the microbiology portion of the USMLE. 

It covers most of the bugs that will be asked in Step 1 and lets you follow along with Sketchy Microbiology. 

This deck is mostly in a Q&A format, making it easy to go through. 

All of the images help to memorize the term more effectively. For example, the question is, “what is Staph aureus’ main virulence factor?” 

The answer is “Protein A.” Then you’ll receive an image of a person holding a staff with an A on top.

Additional Study Resources for Medical Students 

There are many study resources available for board exams. Check out our recommendations page for a guide to the best of them.

Colin Ngai

Colin is a healthcare writer who focuses on generating impactful content for young med
students. Particularly, he specializes in the finances and money-making opportunities that a
career in the medical field can provide.

As a once-struggling college student, he now has built a career from freelance writing and other
side hustles. Hailing from Chicago, he loves writing, reading, and weight lifting.

His goal is to become a world-class copywriter, using his creativity and words to inspire others
to improve their lives.

We’ll cover the best clinical Anki Decks, so you can brush up on clinical knowledge before you enter real-world patient care. 

Best Clinical medicine Anki Decks

Let’s take a closer look at the following Anki Decks: 

1. Dope 2 – Clinical Medicine Anki Deck
2. Groovernaculum’s Clinical Rapid Anki Deck 
3. De Virgilio’s Surgery Anki Deck
4. Dope 1 – Medical Science Anki Deck 
5. Cheesy Dorian V2 Anki Deck 
6. Zanki Step 2 Deck 

Every deck is structured differently, making it suitable for many learning styles. They vary in the number of flashcards, so some will be easier to finish than others.

Dope 2 – Clinical Medicine Anki Deck

With 17,000 flashcards, it’s one of the most comprehensive clinical decks you’ll find. This is great for students looking to learn about anatomy and clinical medicine. 

The primary topics that are covered in the Anki deck are: 

• De Virgilio’s A Case-Based Clinical Review 
• FA for USMLE, 2017 edition 
• Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine 
• Greenberg’s Neurosurgery
• Pediatrics at a glance
• Pestana
• Paul Bolin crash series 
• Surgical Recall 
• Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine 
• Kaplan lecture notes for Clinical Medicine 

Here’s a sample from the deck. You receive very in-depth answers, and it’s a great deck to learn all about anatomy, which is useful before beginning clinical work. 

Groovernaculum’s Clinical Rapid Anki Deck 

Groovernaculum’s clinical rapid deck is ideal for students learning about patients’ health conditions. 

It’ll provide comprehensive information on the diagnosis and treatments for those conditions. 

These cards use colors, bold, underlined, and italicized, along with images to help concepts better stick. 

Some examples of the topics covered are: 

• Diagnosis of hypertension 
• Treat for Diabetes insipidus 
• Maternal mortality ratio 

De Virgilio’s Surgery Anki Deck

The surgery deck was created based on the “Surgery: A Case-Based Clinical Review” by Christian de Virgilio. 

Due to its many short “cloze” cards, it’s highly useful for fast recall. And on top of every flashcard, it’ll show the chapter textbook where the information can be found. When you want to go further in-depth on a topic, you can gain clarity by referring to the corresponding section in the textbook. 

Furthermore, this deck is perfect for refreshing your memory with theoretical information. This can be helpful for students on surgical rotations. 

The primary categories you’ll find in this deck are 

• Acute care
• Breast skin
• Cardio
• Endocrine
• Orthopedic
• Head neck
• Hepatopancreaticobilary
• Lower-GI
• Neurosurgery
• Pediatric 
• Complications 
• Trauma 
• Upper GI Bleed 
• Urology 
• Vascular 

Dope 1 Medical Science 

This Anki deck is best for students looking to learn the human body’s general anatomy and body structures. While it may not provide diagnosis or treatment information, it’s a precursor for clinical studies. 

These flashcards are ideal for building on existing knowledge from Nolte’s Neuroanatomy. 

These flashcards are ideal for building on your existing knowledge from Nolte’s Neuroanatomy. It offers tagging add-ons, making it simple to work with anatomy sections like the sub-category muscles or lower limbs. 

Pair this deck with the Dope 2 Clinical Medicine for a comprehensive overview of anatomy and the common conditions of the body.

Cheesy Dorian V2 Anki Deck 

The Cheesy Dorian V2 deck is one of the most thorough decks on clinical medicine. With 11,650 cards, you’ll learn a wide variety of clinical topics. For example, the latest version has added cards from dermatology, renal, and lung videos. 

You can easily go through the tagged categories, such as Preventative Medicine and Neurology. Most answers come with tables, images, and different colors, making learning and visually seeing the topics easier.

Zanki Step 2 Deck 

The Zanki Step 2 Deck is designed for students in their third-year clerkship looking to study and pass the USMLE. It offers core education materials and breaks them into digestible cards. 

Some of the categories covered include 

• Surgery 
• Medicine
• Psychiatry
• Neurology 
• Pediatrics 
• OB/GYN

No matter the clerkship you decide to go into, there’s likely to be a category for you. Many of the cards focus on the diagnosis and the next step. For example, many of the cards you’ll find are scenario-based and may ask, “what is the likely diagnosis?” 

These digital flashcards are based on high-yield resources, perfect for memorizing nit-picky details. 

Colin Ngai

Colin is a healthcare writer who focuses on generating impactful content for young med
students. Particularly, he specializes in the finances and money-making opportunities that a
career in the medical field can provide.

As a once-struggling college student, he now has built a career from freelance writing and other
side hustles. Hailing from Chicago, he loves writing, reading, and weight lifting.

His goal is to become a world-class copywriter, using his creativity and words to inspire others
to improve their lives.

To reach the USMLE Step III, you would have had to complete the Step 1 and 2 and have already become ECFMG certified. 

The COMLEX is another examination demonstrating competency in clinical sciences. 

If you’re planning to take any of these tests, having the proper Anki decks to help can ease the stress and anxiety. 

Best USMLE Step III/Comlex II Anki Decks 

The six decks we’ll be covering are 

1. Hoop and Ruck’s Step 3 Anki Deck
2. Doran Step 3 Anki Deck
3. Nic’s Step 3 Anki Deck 
4. Medicine Doc Anki Deck 
5. Psychiatry Doc Anki Deck 
6. OBGYN Doc Anki Deck 
7. Dirty OMM Anki Deck 

Each deck has a different structure and format, so it’s important to understand whether or not it suits your learning style. 

We’ll cover the basics of what’s in these decks and who they are for. 

Hoop and Ruck’s Step 3 Anki Deck

Redditor’s u/originalhoopster and u/Ruckamongus have compiled the most comprehensive deck for USMLE stage 3. All cards come in an easy-to-study Q and A format with Zanki style. 

It spans through an array of topics, such as: 

• Pediatrics 
• Internal Medicine 
• OBGYN 
• Surgery 
• Psychiatry
• Neurology 
• Nephrology 
• Heme/Onc
• Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine 
• Hematology/Medical Oncology

With this deck, you’ll receive flow charts to help better contextualize the material. 

The primary focus of the deck centers around diagnoses. For example, you’ll have to determine whether the patient has a migraine or tension/cluster headache. This is incredibly important since the treatment varies depending on the diagnostics. 

A rapid review section offers short answers, making it extremely useful for oral exams. 

Dorian Step 3 Anki Deck

Dorian Step 3 Anki Deck takes many concepts from the UWorld Step 3 module, UWorld PDF, UWorld self-assessment, AMBOSS, and Crush Step 3 CCS. 

Various topics are covered, from allergy and immunology to cardiology and ENT. 

Here are some of the subcategories and the corresponding cards to them. 

One of the main advantages of using this deck is its practice test questions to help you better prepare for the USMLE. 

You can refer to the categories anytime and systematically study one topic at a time. Then take the practice tests to see how well you perform. 

Nic’s Step 3 Anki Deck 

Found on AnkiWeb, this deck is one of the lesser-known ones. It’s not as comprehensive; however, it’s a concise deck that gives useful tidbits that can help you with factual information. 

This short deck is great for studying all the infections, diagnoses, and treatments from various areas of the body.

Most questions offer fill-in-the-black answers, allowing for fast recall and memorization. 

With only 484 cards, it’s a great way to give yourself a refresher. 

Some flashcards offer diagrams allowing you to ingrain these concepts into your brain visually. 

Internal Medicine Clerkship Doc Anki Deck 

This Internal Medicine Clerkship deck is designed to help students shine during rounds. Made by the Redditor u/DocZay, it compiles information from a UWorld Deck, Step-Up to Medicine, OnlineMedEd, and AMBoss. 

This deck’s flawless organization walks you through disease recognization, various diagnoses, and treatments. The cards are concise, high-yield, and focused on the first-line treatment option for each condition. 

The deck strikes a balance between overly detailed and overly simplified, giving you enough information to help you pass USMLE step 3. 

It’s also extremely useful to help you prepare for internal medicine clerkship. 

Psychiatry Clerkship Anki Deck

Also created by Redditor u/DocZay, this deck is based on the first aid for Psychiatry clerkship, OME, and uWorld. 

This particular deck does an amazing job of covering all psychiatric pathology systematically. It helps you look at the diagnostic criteria, epidemiology, course and prognosis, and treatment for each disease. 

Many cards in the deck feature a rapid review format, where there is only one fact per card via a cloze format. 

It’s also formatted simplistically, letting you contextualize facts and provide high-yield takeaways. 

Obgyn Clerkship Doc Anki Deck  

These Anki cards are based on high-yield OBGYN information with an outline-based organization. The goal of this deck is to guide you through commonly tested OBGYN pathology. 

There are clinical situations that provide a patient snapshot. Then you’re required to provide proper diagnoses, care, and treatment. These high-yield situations are typically tested on the USMLE Step III and COMLEX II exams.

Keep in mind that this deck automatically adds to the two previous clerkship decks from u/DocZay. This means you’ll want to either browse through the categories or delete the previous two decks so that you can isolate your studying. 

Dirty Medicine OMM Anki Deck 

A Redditor named HopefulRad compiled an entire OMM deck based on Dirty Medicine youtube videos and a pre-clinical deck, “Turn up to 2 OMT.” 

Dirty Medicine offers a free OMM/COMLEX video series comprised of 23 videos going over all of the fundamentals of OMT. 

These flashcards cover topics such as: 

• Viscerosomatic Reflexes and Autonomics 
• Cervical Spine 
• Thoracic Spine 
• Upper Extremity 
• Lower Extremity 
• Low Back Pathology 
• Scoliosis 
• Leg Length Discrepancy
• OMM in Pregnancy 
• OMM//OMT/Osteopathic Medicine 
• Chapman Points 

These flashcards have short answers, giving you a quick recall. With only 243 cards, it’s easy to learn and ingrain these ideas into your mind quickly. 

Some questions are fill-in-the-blank, asking you to recall specific terminology. Others require you to understand where certain conditions occur in the spine. 

Colin Ngai

Colin is a healthcare writer who focuses on generating impactful content for young med
students. Particularly, he specializes in the finances and money-making opportunities that a
career in the medical field can provide.

As a once-struggling college student, he now has built a career from freelance writing and other
side hustles. Hailing from Chicago, he loves writing, reading, and weight lifting.

His goal is to become a world-class copywriter, using his creativity and words to inspire others
to improve their lives.

This phase is necessary for effective and safe patient care under supervision. 

You must complete clinical examinations and history-taking for each patient as the examinee. Also, you’ll need to write the patient note describing the finding, differential diagnoses, and initial tests. 

These digital flashcards can help you better prepare and help you ace this portion of the test. 

4 Best Step II CS Anki Decks 

Each deck is formatted and structured differently, which suits various learning styles. They also will vary in size, meaning some are more comprehensive than others. 

We recommend looking at each and seeing which deck helps you learn the material best. 

1. Visitor’s CS (Unedited) 

The Visitor’s CS card utilizes a cloze formatting, meaning they’ll blank out specific pieces of information. The blank information becomes the portion that you need to recall. The information or data presented around the blank helps guide you to the answer. 

This deck takes study material and patient cases from UWorld, AMBOSS, and the latest First Aid for CS book to provide a comprehensive list of cards. 

Each card offers a small patient presentation. Then you’ll need to identify the most likely diagnosis and give a differential. You’ll have to work up tests to rule out or rule in various outcomes. 

With a variety of mini-cases, you’ll be well-prepared for the CS portion of the exam. 

2. Hoop’s DDX (Visitor’s edited) 

Created by the Redditor u/originalhoopsta, you’ll find a bunch of clinical cases to practice. 

This deck is focused on presenting patient cases and offering differential diagnoses. 

Before taking Step CS, differential diagnoses are the most important skill to practice, which is why this deck is necessary. 

Additionally, this deck focuses on the phrasing of answers and reviewing systems. This technique is a skill that needs to be mastered to help you elicit the medical history from a patient. 

When writing your prescribed note, you’ll need to include the system and the patient’s perceived symptoms. 

For example, symptoms of faintness and chest pain correlate to the cardiovascular system. 

3. Grooveranaculum’s Clinical Rapid Review 

Made by the Redditor u/Groovernaculum, this deck copies exactly from the Clinical Skills section of the FA book. Additional images, history, and important facts were added. 

These cards are color-coded with various background colors and colorized words to help topics stick. 

Most of the deck is a rapid review style, providing basic prompts. Then you must complete the details. Rapid reviews are perfect for oral exams since you’ll need to find answers based on the scenario presented quickly. 

Many of the cards you find will require you to provide the appropriate treatment based on the diagnosis.

4. USMLE Step 2 CS – Mini Cases 

The USMLE Step 2 CS – Mini Cases deck is found on the AnkiWeb. All of the cards are separated by differential and workup. You’ll receive the stem of the mini-case, and you’ll be asked about either of the two parameters. 

For example, you’ll be given a patient scenario that explains the situation and symptoms. Then you’ll need to provide the differential diagnoses. 

With 360 mini cases to go through, you’ll quickly master the skill of providing differentials for the USMLE Step 2 CS. 

Additional Step II CS Resources 

Students take about a week or two to study for Step 2 CS fully. 

You’ve already taken clinical skills classes in medical school, so these materials should serve as a refresher. 

If four Anki decks aren’t enough for you, we’ve put together a few other resources you can check out. 

AMBOSS

AMBOSS is an online program that covers the entire scope of CS material. You get access to 40 cases and video training. 

Also, you can compare your patient notes with samples of physicians. There are plenty of bonuses they provide, such as differential diagnosis tables. 

With the detailed checklists provided, your study partner can fill them out as you complete each case. 

AMBOSS is perfect for U.S. medical students and international medical graduates (IMG) by giving them a feel for the real exam. 

First Aid for USMLE Step 2 CS 6th Edition 

The First Aid for the USMLE Step 2 CS is a book that gives 44 full-length practice cases to simulate the exam. 

Hundreds of high-yield mini-cases and step-by-step strategies for interacting with standardized patients exist. 

We recommend spending a week or two reading this textbook thoroughly and going over each case. 

Kaplan Clinical Skills Courses 

Kaplan is a credible education platform that offers full-length courses on every topic imaginable. 

While it does cost a hefty amount for their courses, they are well worth it. 

You’re getting taught in real-time by their world-class faculty. 

The course includes over 15 hours of live online lectures and access to a physician in class to answer your questions. You’ll also have on-demand video training that can be accessed anytime. 

There are ebook lecture notes with over 30 clinical cases and differential diagnosis tables. 

UWorld Medical Step 2 CS 

UWorld is a test prep company that helps you with all types of exams. For medical students, it can help with the USMLE, COMLEX, ABFM, ABIM, and PA. 

Their USMLE Step 2 CS test prep provides over 70 high-yield clinical cases for you to practice. In addition, they share videos teaching you physical examination and detailed history techniques. 

You also learn how to respond to patients’ challenging questions and how to write patient notes. 

Colin Ngai

Colin is a healthcare writer who focuses on generating impactful content for young med
students. Particularly, he specializes in the finances and money-making opportunities that a
career in the medical field can provide.

As a once-struggling college student, he now has built a career from freelance writing and other
side hustles. Hailing from Chicago, he loves writing, reading, and weight lifting.

His goal is to become a world-class copywriter, using his creativity and words to inspire others
to improve their lives.

Both perform similar functions like diagnosing illnesses and prescribing medications. However, some notable differences exist, such as how they approach patient care. Nursing practitioners specialize in caring for a certain population of patients. Physician assistants focus on a specific type of medicine. 

This guide unpacks the differences between NPs and PAs to help you decide which career path best aligns with your goals and interests. 

Overview of a Nurse Practioner 

Nurse practitioners examine patients, diagnose illnesses, provide treatment, and prescribe medication. They primarily focus on a specific population of people. Their typical specialties include: 

1. Emergency care 
2. Geriatric care 
3. Women’s care 
4. Mental health 
5. Patients with chronic conditions 

Nurse practitioners focus on holistic care. Thus, they emphasize the patient’s emotional, mental, and physical needs. 

Overview of a Physician Assistant 

Physician assistants are practitioners that work under a physician’s supervision. They are tasked with examining and diagnosing patients, prescribing medicine, and treating patients. PAs can work in all areas of medicine, including family medicine, primary care, psychiatry, and emergency medicine. 

Physician assistants differ in their methodology of treatment. They primarily focus on understanding disease pathology. 

Pros of Being a Nurse Practioner 

Here are a few advantages of being a nurse practitioner: 

Ability to Practice Independently 

Depending on where you live, nurse practitioners have varying levels of autonomy based on the NP practice regulations. Full practice autonomy lets NPs perform functions without collaborating with other medical professionals. In addition, they can run their own clinic, similar to a physician. Currently, 24 states approve full practice autonomy of nurse practitioners.

Get Paid Well 

One of the main benefits of becoming a nurse practitioner is the salary. NPs have an average salary of $123,780 annually, which is well above what most healthcare jobs pay. 

The income allows NPs to live comfortably anywhere in the US without the additional education and training that a doctor needs. 

More Job Positions Available 

Both careers are growing in demand. However, nurse practitioners are outpacing physician assistants in the number of jobs available. In 2020, NPs had a total of 271,900 jobs available and were expected to grow by 45%. 

PAs have 129,400 jobs available and has an expected growth rate of 31%. Thus, it’ll likely be easier to land a job as a nurse practitioner. 

Flexibility in Work Hours 

Depending on the environment they work in, NPs have the opportunity to choose how long their shifts are. In emergency rooms that operate 24 hours, these shifts can run 12 hours.

Nurse practitioners that work three twelve-hour shift workdays likely have the other weekdays off. This offers a lot of time off from work and flexibility to schedule your free time. It also offers a good work-life balance. 

PA’s are more likely to stick to a 9 to 5 schedule, although some may work even longer. 

Opportunity for Telehealth

Telehealth is increasingly becoming a prominent part of healthcare. Many nurse practitioners may be asked to conduct telehealth visits with their patients. If you have constraints such as children or have to care for a family member, working from home as a nurse can be incredibly beneficial. 

Cons of Being a Nurse Practioner 

Despite the many benefits, there are some drawbacks to being an NP. 

Not Flexible In Changing Specializations 

Nurse practitioners specialize in nursing, while physician assistants focus on general medicine. 

NPs specialize in a few areas like mental health, pediatrics, gerontology, and women’s health. However, due to their specific training in nursing, it’s difficult to change fields during your career path. 

Very Intensive Renewal Requirements 

Both professions require recertification. However, the process for NPs is much more rigorous. The NP recertification requires 1,000 clinical hours in the certified specialty and must be renewed every two years. In comparison, PAs only need 100 continuing education hours and only need to pass the recertification exam every ten years. 

Related: Why Become A Doctor Instead Of A Nurse? (6 Reasons)

Pros of Being a Physician Assistant 

Being a PA is very rewarding, especially considering the many perks it offers: 

Flexibility to Change Specialties 

Physician assistants have a more generalized education. As a result, they can specialize in areas such as orthopedics, emergency medicine, and general surgery. 

One of the main benefits of becoming a PA is that it’s easy to switch from one specialty to another without needing a new certification. About 6-7% of PAs change their specialties every year. Having the option to change specialties if you don’t enjoy a specific field can mitigate burnout or feelings of overwhelming. 

High Salary 

Physician assistants make about the same as nurse practitioners. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, they make an average of $121,530. Like NPs, they can live off a good salary that affords them a comfortable lifestyle. 

Good Work-Life Balance 

PA’s are less likely to be on call 24/7, allowing time for you to relax, have hobbies or spend time with family. While there are more demanding specialties, you can enjoy your days off without worrying about work. 

Cons of Being a Physician Assistant 

Here are some of the disadvantages of becoming a PA. 

Physician Assistants Can’t Operate Their Own Practice. 

Unlike NPs, PAs must work under strict delegation and supervision of a physician. They often don’t take on acute or complex medical cases, and they don’t perform surgeries. 

While it’s not a deal-breaker for many physician assistants, some people may want to run their own practice someday. If so, NPs offer the flexibility to have full autonomy in how they operate and run their business. 

More Clinical Hours are Required

Physician assistants must complete about 2,000 clinical hours; nurse practitioners may need as little as 750 hours. 

This varies depending on the specialty, but PAs generally need more clinical experience. Both professions are quite intensive. Thus, you’ll want to research the exact requirements before going through the education and training process. 

Colin Ngai

Colin is a healthcare writer who focuses on generating impactful content for young med
students. Particularly, he specializes in the finances and money-making opportunities that a
career in the medical field can provide.

As a once-struggling college student, he now has built a career from freelance writing and other
side hustles. Hailing from Chicago, he loves writing, reading, and weight lifting.

His goal is to become a world-class copywriter, using his creativity and words to inspire others
to improve their lives.

You know that you’d like to work by using your clinical skills to treat injuries and sickness. However, before you decide on your career, evaluating the roles of a PA vs. MD is vital. 

Understanding the primary differences can help you choose the best career path that gives you a more fulfilling life. We’ll break down how the two jobs compare and help those still undecided about their careers. 

PA Vs. MD: What’s Better? 

There isn’t a right answer for a better career between PA vs. MD. Both are unique and have their own benefits and drawbacks. Physician assistants enjoy a typical work-life balance, but doctors earn a more lucrative salary. The choice boils down to your personal interests and what you want out of your job. 

Let’s dive deeper into both professions and answer common questions you may have when comparing the two. 

Is It Easier to Become a PA or an MD? 

Physician assistants require less education and training than physicians. They only require six years of education to get their medical license. This includes a four-year degree, an accreditation physician program, and one year of clinical rotation.

Related: Check out our PA Programs articles here – we cover all major schools!

Medical doctors require at least nine years to obtain their medical license. They need a four-year undergraduate degree, pass the MCAT, and complete a four-year medical school program. 

Physicians will take three to seven years of residency, two years of clinical rotations, and pass a board certification exam. 

It’s important to consider the road that it’ll take to become a PA or MD. Physicians demand more extensive education and training path since they’ll need specialization training. However, the perks of the career might be worth it. 

Who Works in a Better Environment? 

Physician assistants work under the guidance of MDs and therefore don’t have as much autonomy. Some PAs can work autonomously and only confer with doctors in complex cases. 

Related: Why Be A Doctor And Not A PA? (6 Reasons)

MDs run their own clinics and are in control of their own business, which has different advantages and disadvantages. PAs are employees rather than an owner of a practice. MDs have different responsibilities and business concerns that come with running their practice. 

While PAs lack autonomy, they do have more flexibility in specializations. It’s much easier for PAs to change their field of specialization or environment to avoid burnout. However, it’s difficult for MDs to change their environment since they are running their own clinic. 

Both can move between clinics and hospitals and meet with patients. MDs may perform surgeries and treat complex cases, therefore are required to be on-call.

What is the Difference in Roles and Duties? 

PAs are a critical part of the healthcare team. They see many patients daily and provide MDs with the flexibility to tend to more complex cases and surgeries. 

Their core function is to collect imaging and patient histories and perform diagnoses and physicals. 

Doctors do all of the tasks that PAs do, along with performing surgeries and prescribing medications. Since doctors are the lead medical professional, they also assume liability should anything go wrong. 

PA vs. MD: Which is More Stressful? 

Stress plays a huge role in whether you enjoy your work. Physician assistants are more likely to arrange for a typically 9-5 workday and 40-hour workweeks. Occasionally, they’ll be asked to be on call or work additional hours. 

Medical doctors usually work longer hours than PAs. Many MDs will work between 40 to 60 hours per week, while 22% will work over 60 hours per week. They commonly work on weekends, nights, and holidays along with being on call. 

Stress is perceived differently based on the individual. According to one national survey, most PAs were satisfied with their career choices. 

Job satisfaction for MDs depends on the specialty. Geriatric, dermatology, and pediatrics have higher job satisfaction than family medicine. 

Related: Medical Specialties With The Best Quality Of Life (Who Are The Happiest Doctors?)

While MDs work longer hours and may suffer in terms of work-life balance, they have much more autonomy. Many own clinics and receive more varied and dynamic work compared to PAs. 

Do PA vs. MD Earn More Money? 

There’s an incredibly high demand for both types of medical practitioners. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the market for physician assistants is expected to grow by 31% by 2030. In comparison, MDs only will grow by 3% in the same time frame. 

However, there is a large discrepancy in each profession’s earnings. PAs make about $121,520, while MDs make $208,000. Salaries will vary depending on your location, experience, specialty, and setting. 

While MDs can be perceived as more stressful due to longer work hours, they certainly are well compensated for it. 

Which Profession Has More Job Flexibility? 

Most physicians will move to where their career takes them. This includes moving to wherever you match for a residency program. 

Since there are fewer job openings, physicians search for positions hope an opening matches somewhere they hope to live. Physicians usually have to be open to different cities and states as options. 

That being said, a physician could start their own clinic in the location of their choice. However, there still at the whims of market demands. For example, they may want to choose an area close to hospitals and other medical offices to attract patients. A crowded area may be too expensive, affecting their ability to open up their practice. 

PAs can decide where they want to live first, then look for a job within their desired area. The flexibility of selecting where you want to work is a significant advantage of being a PA. This means you have the ability to stay close to your family or choose where you want to live. 

Which Should You Choose: PA Vs. MD

There are many questions you’ll want to ask yourself when deciding, such as: 

• Do you want a simple job that pays well, or do you crave a more lucrative job with more responsibility? 

• Do you want autonomy?

• How many hours do you want to work? 

• How much time do you want to spend on your education and training? 

• Do you want flexibility in your career? 

• Are you someone that prioritizes work-life balance? 

Whether you become a PA or an MD, both are fulfilling professions that perform valuable medical work that impacts many people’s lives. Ensure that it fits your personal interests, career aspirations, and preferred lifestyle.

Related Articles

• Pros And Cons Of Nurse Practitioner Vs. Physician Assistant

Colin Ngai

Colin is a healthcare writer who focuses on generating impactful content for young med
students. Particularly, he specializes in the finances and money-making opportunities that a
career in the medical field can provide.

As a once-struggling college student, he now has built a career from freelance writing and other
side hustles. Hailing from Chicago, he loves writing, reading, and weight lifting.

His goal is to become a world-class copywriter, using his creativity and words to inspire others
to improve their lives.