Aiming to become a GP, I spent the last six months using PassMedicine and many of its features.

This is my attempt to give as objective a review as possible about the platform.

I hope it might help other med students or junior doctors decide what’s best to use when it comes to their medical education!

Is PassMedicine Worth It? Key Points

What Are The Best Resources For Med School (And Beyond)?

I’m on a mission to review all the top resources students can use during their medical education. My goal is to be transparent, honest and say with clarity what’s worth spending money on or not. You can find all my reviews and current scores on my recommendations page.

What Is PassMedicine?

PassMedicine is a learning platform designed to help both qualified doctors and medical students pass “high stakes medical exams.”

Offering multiple choice question (MCQ) banks with its unique “knowledge tutor” feature (more on this later), it’s best known among UK-based medical students and doctors working in the UK’s National Health Service (NHS).

Here’s how the main website looks…

Other functionality offered by PassMedicine includes:

• Real-time exam performance histogram: to evaluate your performance alongside other candidates and help predict when you’re ready for the final exam
• Timed test: allowing you to take a “mock-style exam” under timed conditions
• Revision mode: showing you how many questions you’ve attempted from the entire question bank etc.
• Question review function: allowing you to view the extensive answer notes and/or add your own

Who Are PassMedicine? 

PassMedicine was founded by Dr Jon Arnold in 2009.

Dr Jon Arnold is a GP, according to B2B data specialists Endole.

They are based in Covent Garden, London, UK.

PassMedicine’s About page states that “questions are written by practising doctors.”

Their ethos is to provide “quality, relevant questions and teaching notes.”

Who Is PassMedicine For?

PassMedicine is useful at various stages of educational development for both qualified physicians and medical students.

Their content covers the following disciplines:

PassMedicine also supports (but doesn’t offer content for):

• FRCEM Primary – via FRCEMtutor
• MRCOG – via PassMRCOG
• MRCS – via eMRCS
• MRCPsych – via MRCPsychmentor
• Paediatrics – via PassPaeds
• Geriatric Medicine – PassGeriMed
• Anaesthetics and ITU – IntensiveAnaesthesia

Prices vary depending on each of these packages (more on this later).

Although much of the content is designed to prepare UK-based doctors, some of it is relevant to international doctors.

Some of the tools on the platform are also under development and subject to improvement via user feedback. You’ll get free access to these while in development phase.

How Does PassMedicine Work?

My use of PassMedicine is limited to their MSRA program but the functionality is broadly the same across the platform. Everything is browser based.

PassMedicine works in 3 ways:

1. Go through the questions specific to a topic or in mixed format
2. Use the knowledge tutor
3. Do timed mock exams

Each exam’s section has a dashboard with these three options in the top left corner.

The right side of the screen will show nearest exam dates, your average score from questions and information from the knowledge tutor.

Let’s go deeper into each option.

Questions

This option enables you to run through multiple choice questions relevant to an exam and get immediate feedback with an explanation.

You’ll see there’s a filter allowing you to select topic-specific questions.

You can select specific areas to test or hit “All” to get a mix. The fact you can choose between new questions or repeat questions marked incorrect is great for helping customize your study sessions and save valuable time.

These are the categories available in the question bank for medical students years 1-3….

Setting up a new question session will start a new “round”. The number of questions you’ll be shown in each round differs depending on the exams you’re preparing for.

You can skip questions you don’t feel are relevant to you with the blue right-pointed arrow. This can really speed up the process.

Questions typically have five answer options.

Attempting a question and hitting submit will show you the percentage of users selecting each of the different answer options.

Underneath you’ll get a super extensive answer highlighting high yield facts about the tested concept. On the right you have links to additional resources.

This question example has a link to an Osmosis (see our review) video for example. Nice touch!

There’s also the option to add your own answer notes to each question.

Once your round is done you’ll be given a neat summary of your results. Again with the chance to review answers, add notes etc

The summary gives you three options to view your results:

• Question summary (graphically represented by a histogram showing you what percentile you score in)
  

• Performance by category
  
  

• Performance over time

Knowledge Tutor

PassMedicine described their knowledge tutor as a “powerful system that drills key, high-yield, exam-relevant facts into you.”

Sounds pretty intimidating!

Simplified, it’s based on the following things:

• Spaced repetition: facts turned into mini-questions prioritized by you
• These facts are rated by relevance to each exam by both users and the editorial team
• The facts you don’t know (but need to know) will be shown to you repeatedly until you retain them
• Speed: the system stops to show relevant revision notes only

Here’s exactly how PassMedicine explains the knowledge tutor for the MRSA exam…

You can adjust the what you see in the knowledge tutor by:

• High-yield rating: facts scored from A++ to C by your, other users and editors’ responses
• Difficulty range: 0-100% easy to hard selection
• Fact selection: spaced repetition of individual, grouped or new facts

Here’s an example of the knowledge tutor interface, it’s similar to the question feature…

Get one of these “mini-questions” wrong and you’ll get quick, relevant feedback. You’ll also see it’s high-yield rating on the right hand side.

Selecting “how relevant” it is to your revision or not will enable the algorithm to determine when you next see the question again.

Correct questions will automatically move you on.

Likewise, every knowledge tutor session ends with a neat summary.

Knowledge tutor also shows you a general summary across all sessions as well as performance by category.

This is broken down into how many facts you’ve been tested on and your level of recall…

Timed Mock Exams

This section enables you take a timed exam and closely mimic test conditions on the big day.

You can choose the number of questions and length of test you want to simulate.

You’ll also be able to see all your previous mock tests and even review all the questions you answered on each.

The mock questions follow the same format as the question section feature. Except you won’t get the same feedback for each answer until you complete the exam and the timer runs down.

Frustratingly, the review section doesn’t tell you how long you took answering each question.

Also, when simulating MSRA mocks, I found the actual exam moved me on faster for situational judgement (SJT) type questions than PassMedicine did.

Can You Repeat Questions On PassMedicine?

You can definitely repeat questions on PassMedicine. Just hit the back button (left pointed arrow) to see your previous question.

Questions you get wrong will appear in the knowledge tutor for you to revisit later.

You can also find missed, unanswered or flagged questions via the filter.

My opinion is that you shouldn’t repeat questions you’ve recently done though. That’s because they’ll be too easy to recall and you’ll only waste your time repeating. Try and leave them for at least a few weeks.

How Is The PassMedicine App?

There is no dedicated PassMedicine app.

The platforms works, fully responsively, across all mobile devices via browser access.

How Do You Sign Up For PassMedicine?

You can sign up for PassMedicine via their main website.

Browse to the section you want and hit the sign up button.

You’ll then be taken to a landing page with more information on the product and subscription options.

Here’s how it looks for medical student finals revision…

Hit the subscribe button and you’ll be taken to a registration form asking you for basic details.

For some sections (like the Medical students finals package), PassMedicine will request your University details. All the international University options are available here.

This isn’t relevant to all the exam products.

Is PassMedicine Free?

The following sections (plus access time) are free to use on PassMedicine:

• USMLE Step 1 (6 months)
• UCAT (6 months)
• Medical Student Years 1-3 (12 months)
• Pharmacy Registration Assessment

These include all the features outlined above.

The Anesthetics and Geriatric specialist diploma content is also for free while its under development (subject to change).

All other exam content has a free demo version.

This includes:

• Question feature
• Timed test (restricted to 10 questions and shortest time length)

The demo does not include performance data, question selection or the knowledge tutor.

How Much Does PassMedicine Cost?

Prices are reflected in pounds sterline as PassMedicine is a UK-based country. If you are paying from a non-UK pound sterling account your card provider will calculate the exchange rate of your transaction.

Is PassMedicine Legit Or A Scam?

I’d say PassMedicine is definitely legit.

According to TrustPilot, they have a good 4.0 rating (but from just 3 reviews)…

There’s nothing in my research that suggest they’re a scam.

They’re also very transparent about what they offer, even stating they don’t “pretend PassMedicine offers a one stop shop to passing your exam.”

Is PassMedicine Safe?

PassMedicine is definitely safe to use.

They are very clear on their terms and conditions and their privacy policy is directly accessible from the main website.

They also have a support system users can contact directly should they run into any problems.

Does PassMedicine Offer Refunds?

According to their Terms and Conditions, PassMedicine does not allow cancellations or refunds of your subscription once the service has started.

Here’s their exact policy…

Does PassMedicine Have Student Discount?

PassMedicine does not offer student discount.

Does PassMedicine Offer Institutional Access?

PassMedicine does not offer any official line on institutional access.

Some of their products are available via specific NHS Trust’s study budget. Enquire with your employer in regards to availability.

Is PassMedicine Good For PLAB?

PassMedicine is definitely good for PLAB. With over 3000 PLAB 1 exam questions it is a big resource.

Many students say positive things about PassMedicine’s PLAB program.

Here is quote from Dr Mylene Lim, who took PLAB in 2017…

Passmedicine was a great study resource for me, because I had no time to study from scratch, so I was simply doing as many questions as I can, and if I got the question incorrect, there was a nice, concise note and explanation given, which allowed me to study the concept that I got wrong…Passmedicine is also quite updated in terms of their management guidelines

Source

And here is a similarly positive recommendation from Dr. Siddhartha Barnawal, who took PLAB in 2019…

Passmedicine is an excellent resource, with good explanations of the question and also a fantastic collection of notes. An added advantage is that it has updated NICE guidelines compiled as a note. Adding this to your list of resources makes your preparation an ideal one

Source

Is PassMedicine Good For USMLE?

At this point in time, probably not.

The question bank is small (10 questions) and still under development.

Check back in the future.

What Are Other People Saying About PassMedicine?

Both medical students and junior doctors are positive about PassMedicine as a learning resource.

Students in the Reddit community r/medicalschooluk are particularly complimentary about it. But they do say it’s not a one-stop resource for UK med school.

Here’s a few select comments….

Got over 70% in my written finals at Nottingam using pretty much just passmedicine. The cover is pretty comprehensive I would say. I don’t think any single source is going to cover all the learning objectives since there are so many but this comes pretty damn close. If

Scored 70+ in final year using passmedicine alone. I did however, use my lecture notes for things like fluid prescriptions. So you need to be tactful. As the other comment says you will need to make effort to cover any gaps if you are striving to achieve an A otherwise this will get you at least an average grade.

Similarly, there are also good reviews of PassMedicine in r/JuniorDoctorsUK, specifically in terms of passing the MRCP exams (both parts 1 and 2).

I went through the question bank on PassMedicine twice. Once in the 2 months leading up to the exam, and then again in the final week. I read the notes on PassMedicine about whatever I got wrong, and I used the Knowledge Tutor on PassMedicine briefly. I passed the exam first time in FY2, with a decent mark, and the exact same strategy worked for part 2 for me.

Source

As for my opinion…

Criticism of PassMedicine

• Too many words in question stems: I get that is trying to teach you to read the question first, but my experience (at least in sitting for the MSRA exam) was that the exam’s actual questions have far shorter stems. Bottom line? You can’t count on any of the questions being similar to the actual exam’s!
• Several deliberately misleading questions: A good example would be instead of asking “name which medication is useful in the given diagnosis”, it asks “which modality/drug you would not recommend using” instead. Confusing!
• The SJT questions are far too easy: They are much tougher in the actual MSRA exam! (Editor Note – Will): This could also be true of the med school specific materials!
• Timer: The mock exam feature lacks a general breakdown of how long it took to answer each question. It also weighs the time unevenly for question types (having longer for SJT questions than you do in reality etc).

Praise of PassMedicine

• Great interface: The in-browser experience is a pleasure to use. No bugs, easy and very well designed.
• Utility becomes apparent the more you use it: At first I was dismayed to see myself getting questions wrong that the majority were getting right but over time (the more I did questions) the more benefit I could see. I quickly learned that pushing through that pain process could be a good teacher and slowly I improved.
• Timed mocks are exceptionally useful: Once I started doing them, I quickly got into the rhythm of how the actual exam might be. The feature primed me to read the question first and ignore the stem. Suddenly I was able to do between 100-300 questions per day (up from 10-15 originally).
• Knowledge tutor is an A+ feature: 10 minutes focused revision on specific knowledge gaps works wonders for your progress. Sometimes even better than the mocks!

Alternatives to PassMedicine

• Pastest
• Plabable
• Emedica
• Amboss
• Onexamination
• OnlineMedEd

Pastest vs PassMedicine

Pastest is a similar platform to PassMedicine, offering similar functionality and content.

According to some junior doctors, Pastest edges PassMedicine in terms of its mobile app and extra content (podcasts and videos). It’s mock exams are also said to be closest to (or even actual) previous MRCP 1 exams.

PassMedicine definitely edges Pastest in price though (being £100 cheaper).

Emedica vs PassMedicine

Emedica subscriptions are substantially more than PassMedicine (a one month subscription for the MSRA SJT question bank is £50 compared to PassMedicine’s £20 for 4 months).

According to some UK doctors on r/JuniorDoctorsUK, it’s not considered worth the price.

How Best To Use PassMedicine? Tips For Using PassMedicine:

Here are several tips on how to get the best out of PassMedicine based on my own experiences and that of my research:

• Read up on the latest guidelines: Don’t expect all PassMedicine’s questions to be up to date (although they are good)
• Do as many questions as possible: Copy and paste all the information about each question you get wrong into a text document (make electronic flashcards (Anki) out of these to revise from later – use the cloze format!)
• Take your time to really analyze why you’re answering questions the way you are: Make full use of the data reports, knowledge tutor etc. to uncover bad habits and patterns
• Consider investing in another question bank to work through alongside PassMedicine: This will expose you to seeing questions in different formats etc.
• Push through the pain: Forget about what questions you’re failing at (while the majority is getting right), just keep going and keep practicing. You’ll improve the more question exposure you get.
• Start as early as you can: I started about six months out from my MSRA exam, that gave me a lot of time to cover all the questions.
• Knowledge Tutor vs Flashcards: I’m not an Anki person, nor comfortable making flashcards. But I do believe, based on what other people have told me, that it could be better to make digital flashcards from PassMedicine’s notes (and not lean so heavily on knowledge tutor). The questions can get repetitive.

Final Thoughts On PassMedicine

While I’m yet to recieve my results from the MSRA I can at least say using PassMedicine definitely helped give me a (small) level on confidence going into the exam.

I believe it’s an honest resource and that it does all the things promised. That said, it’s questions are quite different from those I experienced on the actual day.

On reflection, the clinical questions were too long and obscure. Some were also worded very differently (mainly the stems) to those on the real exam.

As for the SJT section, PassMedicine’s questions were much easier than those I encountered during my exam. 

This is why I’d definitely advise using (or investing) in another platform to use alongside PassMedicine.

Still, I admire the attention to detail in the interface and its ease of use. The ongoing editing provided by the developers is also a nice touch.

For that reason, I’ll give it 3.5/5.

If you liked this review, you might find the following articles useful:

• Coffee Before Exams? (Everything You Need To Know About Studying With Caffeine)
• Ali Abdaal Guide – Medicine’s YouTube Star Making $1M+ Annually

Alexandra Goncharova

Hi, I’m Alexandra. I’m an International Medical Graduate working as a Clinical Fellow at Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust. I’m originally from Russia but have family in Dubai. I moved to the UK in 2020. LinkedIn.

willpeach85@gmail.com

Still, I wanted to dive a little deeper into the platform, try and put aside my bias and weigh up its pros and cons.

Is Osmosis Medical worth it? Let’s find out!

DISCLAIMER: We are not paid by Osmosis Medical, neither is their any affiliate link used in this article. The following is result of personal research and use only.

Is Osmosis Medical Worth It? Key Points

What Are The Best Resources For Med School?

We’re on a mission to review all the top resources students can use during their medical education. Our goal is to be transparent, honest and say with clarity what’s really worth spending your money on. You can find all our reviews and current scores on the recommendations page.

What Is Osmosis?

Osmosis Medical (Osmosis) is a medical education platform that offers high quality animated videos on medical school subjects and clinical content.

They have over 1,800 videos covering the following topics:

• Basic sciences (Anatomy, Biochemistry, Pharmacology etc.)
• Organ systems (Heme/Onc, MSK, Psychiatry etc.)
• High yield path review (Respiratory, Cardiovascular, Nephrology etc.)
• Clinical reasoning (Internal Medicine, Neurology, Biostatistics etc.)
  
  The full list of their comprehensive medical video library is visible here…

Here’s how the main website looks…

Beyond videos, Osmosis also offers the following:

• 16,000+ USMLE Step 1 flashcards
• 7200+ USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 case questions
• High yield notes with 2000+ full color images and tables
• Workspaces to organize and analyze your course documents
• Personalized study schedules

The full list of features is available on their Study Tools page.

The paid product, “Osmosis Prime”, gives full access to these features.

The popular Osmosis YouTube channel (1.9M subcribers) provides shorter, free content. They upload every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

Who Are Osmosis?

Osmosis was started by Ryan Haynes and Shiv Gaglani, two medical students at John Hopkins.

Their mission is to “to empower the world’s clinicians and caregivers with the best learning experience possible.”

This video, from their YouTube channel, explains more…

Since starting, Osmosis has grown into a 250+ team of illustrators, educators, editors, contributors, support assistants and more, based across the entirety of North America and parts of Europe.

The company has won several awards in the small companies category, including:

• Best Company For Women 2020
• Best CEO 2020
• Best Company Culture 2020
• Best Company Work-Life Balance 2020

You can find more information about who they are on the Osmosis About Us page.

Who Is Osmosis For?

Osmosis is intended for the following specialties:

• Medicine (MO)
• Medicine (DO)
• Physician Assistant (PA)
• Nurse Practicioner (NP)
• Registered Nursing (RN)
• Dentistry
• Pharmacy
• Other Healthcare Professionals

Despite it being primarily U.S. focused, it is suitable for international students studying the above specialties abroad.

Why Is It Called Osmosis?

The name is a play on “learning by omosis” (knowledge diffusing into your brain) and “social diffusion” (peer-to-peer learning).

The founders give more information about the origins of the name in this interview at the Harvard Macy Institute.

How Is The Osmosis App?

Osmosis has an app on both iOS and Android.

Full functionality is available to Prime members.

The app has a good 4.4 score on the Appstore…

And scores 4.3 on Google Play…

How Does Osmosis Work?

Sign in to Osmosis and answer a few questions related to your studies, and you’ll land on the platforms’ Dashboard.

From here you can do the following:

• Start watching videos based on your field of study

• Build and customize playlists

• Create and complete your own study decks

• Create your own study schedule

• Build your own flashcard quizzes from Osmosis’ pre-made cards

• Build your own question quizzes from Osmosis’ pre-made case questions

• Create and build your own personal workspace (dragging and dropping your own school’s materials etc.)

Osmosis’ flashcard system is built on evidence-based learning principles. It uses spaced repetition.

You can adjust the settings with your own preferences…

Your progress completing all these activities is tracked by the Dashboard.

The menu bar shows any notifications and your question and flashcard progress.

How Is Osmosis Video Content?

Each video offers clear explanations from native U.S. English speakers with lots of useful diagrams and images.

Here is an example of the Osmosis video style.

What Is Osmosis Prime?

Osmosis Prime is the paid option that gives full access to all the features described above.

In addition to these, Osmosis Prime also offers:

• Pathology Review
• The ability to timestamp videos with your own notes
• How to Learn in Med School course
• Clinician’s Corner (playlist to help you transition from student to professional)
• Full customer support
• Personalized daily reminder emails

More information is provided in the image below…

Is Osmosis Legit?

Osmosis is definitely legit, I’ve been using it for two years and have found their videos especially helpful.

According to Reviews.io, the platform as a solid 4.44 rating and 88% recommendation score.

Is Osmosis A Scam?

Osmosis is not a scam. Nothing in my research or personal use suggests as much.

Their LinkedIn profile shoes them to be reputable.

How Much Does Osmosis Cost?

The pricing of Osmosis Prime is based on a subscription model.

• $270 for 6 months access
• $334 for 1 year access
• $478 for 2 years access

You can pay using all major credit cards and PayPal.

Is Osmosis Free?

Osmosis offers a 7 day free trial of its Prime features upon sign up.

You can later upgrade if you like the platform.

Sometimes, if you get lucky, you can find videos on your topic for free on the Osmosis website, but this will only be video.

In order to get access to the full notes, question quizzes and flashcards you’ll need to have Prime (paid) membership.

There is no exact number or list available detailing the free videos but you can always search via YouTube and the main website.

Does Osmosis Offer Refunds?

Osmosis offers a full 100% money-back refund for yearly subscriptions made within 7 days of purchase.

All sales of Prime memberships shorter than one year are final.

To request a refunds Osmosis asks you email them via your account.

More details are available on their help section here.

Does Osmosis Have Student Discount?

Osmosis sometimes offers student discounts periodically throughout the year.

In 2019, to celebrate World Student’s Day, they had a 50% off sale for Osmosis Prime.

I’d recommend following them on social media (Facebook, Twitter etc.) and watch out for future discount opportunities.

Does Osmosis Offer Institutional Access?

Osmosis provides an option to purchase Institutional Access.

They ask you to complete a form to request a demo and explore options.

Support will offer a response to any enquiries within 48 hours.

You can make enquiries here.

How Do You Sign Up For Osmosis?

Signing up is easy. Just head to osmosis.org and click the Sign In button in the top right corner.

You can sign up via Facebook, Google or an email account.

Once you enter your details you’ll be sent a verification link by email. You’ll need to click the link there to get started.

From there you’ll get to customize your experience by student or professional.

You’ll then be asked your field of study and what insitution you attend.

There is an option to select Other if you’re a self-learner.

Medical students will also be asked what stage of study they’re in.

Once all that’s done, you can start “osmosing” (searching and watching videos, doing flashcards etc.)

What Are Other Students Saying About Osmosis?

Most reviews I’ve seen from other students using Osmosis are generally positive.

This video from Pevan Mehat gives a good review, he highlights the visual aspect of the videos being a useful feature.

He also says the mnemonics are memorable and that having the ability to instantaneously test yourself after the information is a nice feature.

His one criticism is that they don’t have enough clinical cases.

Reviews in the Reddit community are similarly positive. Several users here say it’s been a highly effective tool in their studying but that you “should split the price” of the Prime option with colleagues in order to save money.

Pharmacology seems to be the subject that most users recommend using Osmosis to learn.

As for my opinion…

Criticism For Osmosis

• Videos are sometimes lengthy and not available on every topic
• Videos lack the “character” or “charisma” of mnemonic-based resources like Sketchy Medicine or Picmonic
• Very expensive compared to similar platforms

Praise For Osmosis

• Huge number of free videos on YouTube
• Videos images are well-crafted and mostly high yield
• Massive high-quality question bank with excellent explanations
• Integrates with Brosencephalon’s popular Anki deck (although a little outdated)
• Option to make personalized flashcards from videos
• Useful workspace option to upload your own documents and chart your progress

Alternatives To Osmosis

• Lecturio (see review)
• Dr Najeeb (see review)
• Picmonic (see review)
• Boards and Beyond
• OnlineMedEd
• Amboss

Osmosis Vs Lecturio

Osmosis and Lecturio are often compared and share similar features .

Osmosis beats Lecturio on two fronts:

• Greater functionalist
• Customization

While Lecturio beats Osmosis on:

• Price
• In-person style lectures (delivered by University professors)

Osmosis (3.8/5) marginally beats Lecturio (3.5/5) in our points rating.

Is Osmosis Good For USMLE?

Is Osmosis is great for helping students prepare for USMLE.

Most of the content is targeted directly at passing the Step exams, while the quiz and case study questions closely resemble those on the actual exam.

There are reports of students scoring as high as 262 on the USMLE Step 1 detailed on the Osmosis website.

How Best To Use Osmosis? Tips For Using Osmosis:

• Try and find a colleague who’s willing to split the cost of Osmosis Prime
• Download the relevant videos on your phone using the mobile app and listen to them on drives/walks to clinic or school
• Don’t rely on the videos alone always being enough (sometimes you’ll still have to do supplementary reading)

Final Thoughts On Osmosis

I’m a big fan of Osmosis and have a got a lot out of their videos during my medical studies.

Compared to other educational platforms though, they do seem exceptionally expensive.

For that reason, they’re not the best value resource out there for students who are on a tight budget (despite having excellent functionality).

I’ll give Osmosis Medical a final score of 3.8/5.

If you liked this review, you might find the following articles useful:

• Pathoma Vs Boards And Beyond: What’s Best To Use In Med School?
• How To Study In Medical School: Reddit’s 26 Best Tips

Shaharyar Majid

I’m Shaharyar and I’m studying medicine in Bulgaria. I was born and raised in the green mountains of Azad Kashmir, experiencing, first hand, the day to day difficulties of living at the line of control between India and Pakistan. I moved to the UK in 2015 and began my medicine degree in 2017. I’m into cricket and interested in politics.

Although I didn’t hear much about it in the beginning of starting my medical degree, I’m certainly hearing a ton about it now!

So, what’s the deal? Is Picmonic any good?

Let’s find out!

DISCLAIMER: I am not paid by Picmonic for this review but do offer a discount for which I will receive a small commission. If you do decide to purchase using that link I thank you for your support.

Is Picmonic Worth It? Key Points

Will

Born and raised in the UK, Will went into medicine late (31) after a career in journalism. He’s into football (soccer), learned Spanish after 5 years in Spain, and has had his work published all over the web. Read more.

willpeachmd.com

What Are The Best Resources For Med School?

I’m on a mission to review all the top resources students can use during their medical education. My goal is to be transparent, honest and say with clarity what’s worth spending money on or not. You can find all my reviews and current scores on my recommendations page.

What Is Picmonic?

Picmonic is an audiovisual learning platform, designed mainly for healthcare students, that’s centered on an evidence-based “learn-review-quiz” format

It uses picture mnemonics, with memorable characters and stories, to teach “hard-to-learn facts and topics”.

According to the platform, it’s methodology can increase retention by 331% and exam scores by 50%. Making studying less stressful as a result.

Here’s how the main website looks…

The website claims 990,000+ students are actively using the platform.

There are currently over 1,650 high-yield med school topics covered.

Subjects include Pharmacology, Pathology, Biochemistry, Physiology, Genetics and more.

This video from their YouTube channel gives a good primer on exactly what Picmonic is…

Who Is Picmonic For?

Picmonic is designed specifically for healthcare students. Fields of study it’s focused on include:

• Physicians (Medical students)
• Physician Assistants
• Nurse Practicioners
• Pharmacy Students
• Paramedics
• Occupational Therapists
• Physical Therapists

It’s also got content relevant for:

• Law
• College
• Graduate Record Examination (GRE)
• K-12

Who Are Picmonic?

Picmonic was started by two former med students, Ronnie Robertson and Adeel Yang, in 2011.

Starting as a way for both students to “survive the overwhelming pressure and study load of tough exams”, it began as a series of pictures and funny stories to help them better remember.

It developed further after their friend Jonny, a tattoo artist, and his creative friend Ozzie, came on board to start creating awesome picture mnemonics.

Their first sketch and story was about Niemann-Pick disease.

From there it’s grown into a nationally recognized company that’s based out of Tempe, Arizona, U.S.

You can read the whole story on their About page.

Why The Name “Picmonic”?

The name is a portmanteau (combination) of “picture” and “mnemonic”.

How Does Picmonic Work?

Picmonic works as a central library for thousands of healthcare-related topics and facts.

It’s organized into playlists based on:

• Specific exams (USMLE Steps 1 and 2, FNP, NAPLEX etc.)
• Courses (Biochem, Pharma etc.)
• Body systems (Cardiovascular, GI etc.)
• Textbooks (First Aid for USMLE, Pathoma, Master The Boards etc.)

Playlists can be fully customizable to your learning needs. You can drag and drop topic-specific videos as and when you like too.

Here’s how that looks when I search “enzyme deficiencies” for example…

When you sign up for Picmonic you’ll be asked to complete your profile and choose your field of study.

From there you can dive into the videos, begin learning and take the MCQ quizzes.

The video player is really smart. Each video is “chaptered” by its specific mnemonic. You can skip to each through the menu bar on the left.

Here’s a cool example from the video on Aerobic Respiration. It uses “pies” as a memorable mnemonic for pyruvate.

Videos are simple, short (1-3 minutes) and clearly narrated by U.S. native-English speakers.

Below each video you have a short summary, a link to additional resources and an educational and story audio transcript.

Videos links out to resources like Lecturio (see my review) and Online MedEd.

After watching a video you can then quiz your knowledge. You’ll get character hints and multiple choice options.

Here’s how that looks…

Your Picmonic dashboard is where all your learning progress is stored.

Here you’ll see several things:

• How many questions you have due for each day
• Your quiz accuracy
• Your xp goal (more on this later)

You can also see any recommendations, your recent views, your weaknesses and what’s trending via the “Quick Start List”.

Stats track everything you do on the platform.

You’ll see your daily, overall progress, quiz accuracy and all the content you’ve covered.

The quizzes are built on a unique spaced repetition algorithm designed to help your long term recall.

This Picmonic video explains how this works…

What Is Picmonic XP?

Picmonic xp “gamify’s” the platform making it more fun and motivating to use.

Your progress using the platform unlocks achievements, while also increasing your standing in league tables pitted against other users.

How Is The Picmonic App?

Picmonic has a mobile app available both on iOS and Android.

It has the same functionality as the main website, with access to mnemonics, quiz questions and everything else.

It has an excellent 4.9 rating on the Appstore.

And a 4.8 on Google Play…

There are also separate Picmonic apps available for nursing school (RN, NCLEX, LPN, AANP etc.) and college (pre-med, MCAT, biology and anatomy etc).

Is There A Picmonic Anki Add On?

There is a free Picmonic Anki add-on that you can add to your Anki desktop app.

Using it gives you access to Picmonic topics directly from your flashcards.

A pop-up window will show highlighting a high yield fact list, thumbnail image and related topics. Clicking through will take you to the full Picmonic mnemonic video, quizzes and resources.

You can find out more about this here.

Note that you’ll need paid access to make use of these features.

Is Picmonic Legit?

I’d say Picmonic is definitely legit.

It’s used by several educators including professors and teachers at Northeast Texas Community College and University of Arizona College of Medicine.

According to the r/medicalschool community it has a very solid reputation with most students reporting it being worth it.

Likewise on The Student Doctor Network, with students there claiming they “love it” and that it’s “really useful.”

Is Picmonic A Scam?

Picmonic is definitely not a scam. I couldn’t find anything from my research that suggested as much.

It’s privacy policy and terms of use are very transparent and open.

It’s FAQ section is super comprehensive and is built on the popular Intercom software.

It offers free presentations and demos on request. As well as live and pre-recorded webinars explaining the platform and sharing study tips.

Does Picmonic Offer Refunds?

Picmonic offers a full 100% refund for subscriptions purchased within 7 days through Picmonic.com. No reason for a refund request is needed.

All subscriptions are nonrefundable after 7 days.

You can request a refund via help chat, using this request form (requires you to be logged in) or via email at feedback@picmonic.com.

Note you cannot get a refund for mobile app purchases.

Is Picmonic Free?

Picmonic offers all users a free access trial (Picmonic Free) with the option of later upgrading.

You’ll get:

• 2 free picmonic video plays
• 20 free multiple choice quiz questions
• 1 daily quiz with spaced repetition rounds

More information about this is available here.

You can login and start using it for free via Google, Facebook or email registration.

What Is Picmonic Premium?

Picmonic Premium gives unlimited access to 100% of the content and all the features at any time.

That includes all the major features outline and discussed in this review.

How Much Does Picmonic Cost?

Picmonic Premium works on a subscription-based model. Prices vary depending on the length of subscription.

Pricing is as follows:

• $7.99 per month for life (10 years plus) access
• $9.99 per month for 48 months
• $11.99 per month for 24 months
• $14.99 per month annually
• $19.99 per month per semester (6 months)
• $24.99 per month
  

You can pay via all major credit cards, Amazon pay or Google pay.

Does Picmonic Have Student Discount?

Educators can get students a 20% discount by getting them to sign up via a referral link from an Educator account.

As a reviewer and an account holder I offer this.

You can sign up to get a 20% discount as a student here (my referral link).

There is more information about this on the Referral Program page.

Does Picmonic Offer Institutional Access?

Picmonic mentions that they do give educators 1-year access codes at significant discount (lower than Student annual prices, 50 block minimum).

They also state the following:

If your school would like to make Picmonic a required student purchase for 25 students or more, we can set up a purchasing portal for your school that gives all of your students a 40% discount. We will also provide scholarships for up to 5% of the class for you to use at your discretion.

You can find more information about getting premium access for your students here.

Picmonic also offers scholarships to institutions with students of financial need. You can find more information about this here.

How Can I Use Picmonic With My Existing Learning Management System?

Picmonic can integrate with the following learning systems:

• Canvas
• Moodle
• Blackboard

Here is an example of how you can use it directly in Canvas…

More information on how to do this is available here.

How Do You Sign Up For Picmonic?

Signing up for Picmonic (both free and premium versions) is easy. Just head to picmonic.com and click “Join For Free” in the top right corner.

What Are Other Students Saying About Picmonic?

Picmonic is widely praised among students from medicine, nursing, physiotherapy and occupational therapy fields.

This review from Shannen Marieot, an occupational therapy student, gives it a 9/10 score based on its “pleasant addictiveness” and gamification elements.

She does also say it’s more “medical-based” than OT and other fields though, so it may not be for everyone.

Personally speaking, I know Picmonic has a great reputation when it comes to studying for biochem (one of the more difficult med school subjects). Hanging out on the r/medicalschoolanki community regularly, I’ve seen rave reviews of its effectiveness for tackling the subject.

One edge Picmonic also gets over Sketchy Medicine (another very similar product that’s considered a core part of “ufaps” – key prep resources for the USMLE Step 1), is that videos are way shorter. That’s something that’s also agreed upon by several students here.

For the most part though, the only criticism most students tend to say about it is that it’s maybe too long or too comprehensive a resource to use if you don’t have time before specific exams.

As for my opinion…

Criticism Of Picmonic

• Mainly for medical students: the platform, at this time, is great for med students but maybe too detail-orientated for students of other healthcare fields
• Awkward pricing strategy: personally, I’m not a fan of the “lifetime access” pricing. It’s unclear exactly how long this lasts for. I also think there should be fewer pricing options.
• Characters and stories: although I do enjoy the mnemonic themes and choices, I have to admit they may not be to everyone’s taste. They’re also very culturally specific to the U.S. That might appear an “unorthodox approach” to others…

Praise Of Picmonic

• Unique, fully customizable experience: you can add facts, videos or images to existing picmonics (or even create your own) to strengthen memory anchors
• Excellent gamification component: makes it seriously fun and motivating to use
• Mnemonics are fantastic: short (1-3 mins) and help make difficult concepts easier to remember and recall
• Quizzes: built on evidence-based learning principles with spaced repetition
• Continued updates and new features added on the regular
• Strong community: users are constantly modifying and creating content along with Picmonic’s own “education scholars”
• Anki add-on: sync’s amazingly across the app

Is Picmonic Good For USMLE?

Picmonic is definitely great for the USMLE. It’s content covers most (if not all) of the topics needed to ace the exam.

The customizable quiz option can also help you get in the “exam mood” and help you keep track of areas you need to improve on before the big day.

Most of the feedback I’ve given in this review from other students, especially on Reddit, is based on using it as a resource for the USMLE.

How To Best Use Picmonic?

Based on my research the following tips could help:

• Use it as early in the process as possible: giving you plenty of time to make use of all of its features before specific exams
• Use the Anki plugin: that way you can bring in cards from other decks covering information you may feel is missing or not detailed enough
• Add your own images, references and mnemonics: make use of the fully customizable experience. Adding your own memory hooks will reinforce the concepts even deeper.

Alternatives to Picmonic

• Pathoma
• Boards and Beyond
• Dr Najeeb (see my review)
• Lecturio (see my review)
• Marrow
• Kaplan

Final Thoughts On Picmonic

Having played around with Picmonic and spent several hours researching it, I have to say I’m very impressed.

Already a fan of Sketchy and mnemonic-based learning, I love the fact they take evidence-based study seriously and have incorporated it into a fully functioning platform that works great across all devices.

My only real nitpick is the pricing. Picmonic is not cheap.

Compared to similarly priced alternatives though, especially those I’ve reviewed like Lecturio and Dr Najeeb, it sets a very high benchmark.

Every healthcare student could benefit from access to this.

I’ll give it an exceptional 4.5/5 for that reason.

If you liked this review, you might find the following articles useful:

• 20 Funny Medical Mnemonics: Where To Find Them & How To Use Them
• 3 Best Biochemistry Anki Decks: Learn Biochemistry Fast (2021)
• How To Study For Biochemistry (2021 Ultimate Guide)

Will

Born and raised in the UK, Will went into medicine late (31) after a career in journalism. He’s into football (soccer), learned Spanish after 5 years in Spain, and has had his work published all over the web. Read more.

willpeachmd.com

It’s seriously dense and takes a lot of time to master.

Thanks to innovative platforms like Kenhub, suddenly all that could get a whole lot easier.

But is Kenhub worth the hype? Can it really help, as it suggests, “learn anatomy faster?”

DISCLAIMER: I am not paid by Kenhub neither is their any affiliate link used in this article. The following is result of personal research only.

Is Kenhub Worth It? Key Points

What Are The Best Resources For Med School?

I’m on a mission to review all the top resources students can use during their medical education. My goal is to be transparent, honest and say with clarity what’s worth spending money on or not. You can find all my reviews and current scores on my recommendations page.

What Is Kenhub?

Kenhub is an all-in-one online learning platform designed for teaching nursing, physiotherapy and medical students anatomy, histology and medical imaging.

The platform describes itself as a combination of “visual, audio and interactive materials.”

Here’s how the main website looks…

The platform is in English, German and Portuguese languages.

According to the website, Kenhub has almost 1.8 million medical students actively using their service.

Kenhub’s mission is to provide a single integrated online platform with multiple learning tools.

Users have access to the following:

• 500+ video tutorials
• 500+ personally adaptable quizzes
• Articles with high quality atlas images

Here’s how Kenhub’s promo video describes it on their YouTube channel (650K subscribers).

Why Is It Called Kenhub?

Kenhub’s name comes from the noun “ken”, taken to mean one’s knowledge, and the word “hub” (center of activity).

It was founded in 2012.

How Does Kenhub Work?

It works by tailoring a unique experience to each user. A dashboard tracks your progress, telling you what areas of anatomy you need to review.

You login, choose your topic and follow a “recommended learning path” shown on screen.

Each path involves watching videos, taking quizzes and looking over an atlas.

Here’s how each learner’s journey is customized…

You pick your study field, your institution (you can skip this option if you’re a self-learner) and then have a choice of subjects.

Each subject page has the following:

• Learning objectives
• Video tutorial
• Quiz
• Atlas gallery
• Summary of key points
• Related articles

After you complete each activity you can then continue your learning and move on to the next subject.

Your progress is tracked as you do quizzes.

The dashboard shows your weak spots, points earned, hours trained and terms learned.

Here’s how it’s all displayed…

How Is The Kenhub App?

There is no dedicated Kenhub app.

The platform’s mobile experience is designed to work “fully responsively”. This means users won’t experience scrolling or zooming problems when using the main website.

The content adapts to whatever screen you access it on.

It doesn’t matter whether you use iOS or Android.

What Is The Daily Anatomy App?

The Daily Anatomy app is a partner company of Kenhub.

It offers the ability to learn anatomy offline and on the go. There are five different packages available focused on different parts of the body.

It uses questions combined with spaced repetition to help teach the basics.

It’s basically Kenhub in flashcard form.

Both the iOS and Android versions have a strong 4.5+ rating.

Is Kenhub Legit?

I’d say Kenhub is definitely legit. It has a quality commitment that is “grounded in academic literature and research, validated by experts.”

It uses multiple academic resources as a reference point. These include:

• Gray’s Anatomy For Students
• Clinically Oriented Anatomy
• Junqueira’s Basic Histology
• Histology: A Text and Atlas
• Human Microscopic Anatomy

It also works with some of the world’s top medical illustrators, including Netter award winner Paul Kim.

Kenhub is also being used by professors at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and the University of Colorado.

Is Kenhub A Scam?

Kenhub isn’t a scam. The website is very clear on its terms and conditions and privacy policy, stating that it does collect some personal data from users.

I coudn’t find any indication that it’s a scam based on my research. Users generally report it being transparent and honest.

Kenhub’s help section is very useful and provides answers to most complaints.

Does Kenhub Offer Refunds?

Kenhub offers a full money-back guarantee during the first 7 days of a Premium subscription.

They do ask that you give them a reason for requesting a refund.

There is more information about this in the library section of the website.

What Is Kenhub Premium?

Kenhub Premium is the paid subscription version of the platform that provides full access to all existing and future content.

Premium includes:

• Exam preparation and quizzes
• Access to “anatomy geeks”: 24/7 support that’ll put study plans together for you
• Over 565 beginner to advanced quizzes
• Over 121+ hours of video

Is Kenhub Free?

Kenhub’s free model is referred to as their “Basic” plan.

This includes:

• Anatomy atlas and articles
• Latin and English terminologies

You’ll need to register at the site first to use this.

There is also a free trial of the Premium content that lasts for 60 minutes. You can get this when you first sign up.

How Much Does Kenhub Cost?

Kenhub works on a subscription based model.

The pricing tier:

• £24 ($33) monthly
• £16 ($22) every 3 months
• £160 ($220) lifetime access

There is a 100% money-back-guarantee if you cancel in the first 7 days.

Payments can be made via all major credit cards and Paypal.

Clicking the “Get access now” button will show you the payment options available in your country.

Does Kenhub Have Student Discount?

There is no student discount for Kenhub Premium.

Students can use the Basic membership to get access to the atlas, articles, sample videos and quizzes.

Does Kenhub Offer Institutional Access?

Kenhub does not currently offer institutional access.

How Do You Sign Up For Kenhub?

You can sign up for Basic membership anytime by going to Kenhub’s login page.

Signing up for the first time allows you enjoy the 60 minute Premium free trial.

This will show you all the features available to paying users.

There are options for one-click-logins using Facebook or Google.

What Are Other Students Saying About Kenhub?

Many of Kenhub’s reviews, especially those on Youtube, are paid promotions.

Here’s a useful (paid) review from Institute of Human Anatomy (who feature in my article; How To Prepare For Cadaver Lab (A Med Student’s Guide)). It runs through the main features and gives you a good idea of what to expect.

Over on Kenhub’s main website there’s no shortage of positive user reviews.

Here’s two of them, one from an actual med student and another from a professor.

Besides from these reviews though reports are a bit more neutral.

One Reddit user in this post claims Kenhub is “good on learning the basics or light supplement…but wouldn’t heavily rely on them.”

While other users are generally positive, saying “Kenhub really comes in handy for when you need someone to tell you stuff (auditory learning)”, as well as it having “very good videos and helpful custom quizzes.”

As for my opinion….

Criticism Of Kenhub

• Videos can sometimes feel long and repetitive (average length is 15-20 minutes)
• Not a huge fan of the monthly-subscription based model
• Struggle to see it’s utility (or value) once you pass anatomy and histology

Praise Of Kenhub

• Great user experience: everything is one place helping you stay focused
• Dashboard tracking is a nice touch: useful to see weak spots and the areas you need to improve
• High quality atlas images and diagrams
• Very comprehensive coverage of topics
• Quiz software is excellent; very intuitive and fun to use
  
  More on that last point; although it looks simple, the quiz feature is where Kenhub stands out. Your progress here tracks excellently with the dashboard and you’ll know exactly what to work at the start of each new study session.

Is Kenhub Good For USMLE?

Kenhub is good for anatomy and histology only. It’s not comprehensive enough to cover all the major subjects that make up the USMLE.

Anatomy isn’t representative enough on the exam to justify the purchase.

The Basic (unpaid) membership could be worth a look though. Specifically as a supplement to your classes and lectures.

How To Best Use Kenhub?

I’d recommend most students use the Basic membership to read articles and take sample quizzes.

Tips for Premium members include:

• Work through content from the beginning and at your own pace
• Start every new study session with a review, head to your dashboard first so you know what to work on
• Stay in the Kenhub environment (easy to do) to avoid getting distracted by other resources
• Skim over the articles to help save time (focus more on the video and quiz content first)

Alternatives To Kenhub

• TeachMeAnatomy
• Essential Anatomy 5
• Complete Anatomy
• Gray’s Anatomy For Students (Book)
• Dr Najeeb Lectures (see review)
• Lecturio (see review)

Final Thoughts On Kenhub

Kenhub is great for what it is; a software platform focused very specifically on learning anatomy and histology.

And due to it being all-in-one, it will make you learn anatomy faster.

But it is also expensive. It’s monthly and lifetime subscription models aren’t exactly budget friendly.

Personally, I struggle to see the value it offers beyond a solid flashcard deck and a reliable anatomy textbook or atlas.

If you have the discipline and commitment (and know you won’t get distracted using them), the above can be a cheaper alternative.

But Kenhub is a superb option for students who don’t like that approach. It’s got everything you need; videos, quizzes, text etc. to help you do well in the subject.

For that reason, I’ll give Kenhub a decent 3.2/5.

If you liked this review, you might find the following articles useful:

• Learn Anatomy With Board Games: 5 Off-The-Wall Options
• How To Memorize Anatomy Quickly (The Ultimate 4 Step Strategy)
• 6 Best YouTube Channels For Anatomy Beginners

Will

Born and raised in the UK, Will went into medicine late (31) after a career in journalism. He’s into football (soccer), learned Spanish after 5 years in Spain, and has had his work published all over the web. Read more.

willpeachmd.com

Curious to finally find out more – and with a bit of time on my hands now hospital-based study has gone into lockdown – I thought I’d check it out.

Hopefully this research can help other med students, nurses, pharmacists and whoever else interested in Lecturio, to see if it’s worth the hype.

DISCLAIMER: I am not paid by Lecturio neither is their any affiliate link used in this article. The following is result of personal research only.

Is Lecturio Worth It? Key Points

Will

Born and raised in the UK, Will went into medicine late (31) after a career in journalism. He’s into football (soccer), learned Spanish after 5 years in Spain, and has had his work published all over the web. Read more.

willpeachmd.com

What Are The Best Resources For Med School?

I’m on a mission to review all the top resources students can use during their medical education. My goal is to be transparent, honest and say with clarity what’s worth spending money on or not. You can find all my reviews and current scores on my recommendations page.

What Is Lecturio?

Lecturio is a medical education resource used by students of medicine and nursing. It is also aimed at students training to become physician assistants, pre-med students and anyone interested in learning more about the core medical sciences.

Here’s how the main site looks…

The platform is designed to closely mirror the nursing or medical school curriculums of traditional universities and prepare students for USMLE, COMLEX, GAMSAT, MCAT and NEET exams. They do this by delivering online lectures and classes and integrate videos with question banks and spaced repetition-based learning.

Med students like myself may have heard of the platform through their YouTube marketing efforts. Specifically on channels like DocOssareh, MedKinza and Antonio J. Webb.

Here’s an example of YouTuber White Coat Chronicles exploring Lecturio’s features (note they are paid to endorse it)…

Although the site markets itself as focused on US-based exam boards, it’s comprehensive enough to be used by med students in any country.

Lecturio also has an app downloadable for iOS and Android.

How Does Lecturio Work?

The premise of Lecturio is pretty simple. You use the platform to watch videos related to a particular subject of study. After each video ends you then answer multiple choice-style questions, read some extra information or continue on that particular learning ‘track’. Information you learn can be re-tested automatically the next time you use the platform.

The lectures are delivered by professors from a variety of top medical schools including Harvard, John Hopkins, University College London and more…

A full list of educators (and their profiles) can be seen on Lecturio’s Educators page.

Videos cover all the major core pre-medical, medical and nursing subjects; anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, microbiology etc.

Here’s the course preview for anatomy. This gives you a good idea of Lecturio’s style and delivery…

Aside from lectures are here are Lecturio’s other key features…

• Advanced question bank (400+ questions): to apply concepts by practicing clinical case questions
• Integrated spaced repetition: to aid retention and recall
• Bookmatcher: match relevant video topics with pages in your medical textbooks (First Aid, Robbins Basic Pathology etc)

Is Lecturio Legit?

Lecturio is definitely legit. The company was founded in 2008 by Leipzig Graduate School of Management alumni, originally as a resource for recorded University lectures.

According to the site itself, they have over half a million users.

Online software review service Capterra gives the platform a solid 4.5.

Reviews among med students seem pretty mixed. Many say they feel it’s inferior compared to other teaching materials like Pathoma and First Aid. Others say it’s a comprehensive and good supplementary resource with a strong question bank.

Either way, research confirms Lecturio to be a legit and safe platform to use and definitely not a scam.

Is Lecturio Good For Studying Medicine?

I’d say Lecturio is good for studying medicine. It’s a comprehensive platform and has useful features that make it a useful supplementary resource.

Other pros:

• High-quality professional lectures (better than alot of those at European med schools for example)
• 3D anatomy models (serve as a great visual reference)
• Integrated quiz questions (fits in learn with my active recall methodology)

Personally I don’t find the downloadable slides all that useful – I just don’t take notes or highlight things in general. Compared to medical lecture-based platforms like Dr Najeeb however (see my review), it’s a lot better organised.

It’s so much easier to follow topics and find complementary videos for quick reading in First Aid and other books. Way more so than most other medical education platforms.

Is Lecturio Good for USMLE Step 1?

I’d say Lecturio is useful for USMLE Step 1 but perhaps not the best “core material” to study from (there are much better free flashcard deck approaches in my opinion).

Where most med students seem to agree it could be worth it is in the length and depth of its videos – both short and succint. For that reason it serves as a good review aid to help solidify key concepts in addition to books, lectures etc.

Another commonly mentioned pro is how the question bank links directly videos and First Aid for USMLE.

Is Lecturio Good For Studying Nursing?

Unfortunately I couldn’t find many reviews or testimonials from nurses having used the platform. I don’t feel confident to say how good it is for students here.

One thing that’s worth mentioning is that Lecturio’s nursing modules are just as comprehensive as their medical ones (and use the same features). At a surface glance, it looks to be a useful resource…

What Are Other Students Saying About Lecturio?

Lecturio promotes itself heavily across the YouTube medical student community. Many of these testimonials are incentivized or given free access.

Here’s what some of these students (and teachers/professors) say…

In the Reddit community it has a mixed reputation.

Some students say it’s “unnecessary, long and boring” (especially for USMLE Step 1) while others praise the premade study schedule and question bank.

It’s generally agreed that it’s well focused on high yield content however (the absolute essentials you need to know).

How Do You Sign Up For Lecturio?

You sign up for lecturio on their main site or via the app. Signing up is free to begin with.

Starting the process, you’ll first be asked if you’re studying to be a nurse or a doctor. Then by what exam you’re preparing for (or ‘none’ if you’re using it for general purposes)…

You’ll then be asked to sign up for a free account via an email and password. You can also login on the main site via your Google, Facebook or Apple account. Click the link on the email confirmation to finish the process.

The whole thing takes a couple of minutes.

What is Lecturio’s Free Trial?

Lecturio offers a free 24-hour trial for all their courses as soon as you sign up. In this time you’ll have full access to videos, all features and the question bank.

Outside of the free trial there is a lot of free to access content too – more than 250 lectures and 1000 quiz questions.

There is also a free version of the question bank for members that sign up too.

What Are Lecturio Coupon Codes?

Lecturio coupon codes can sometimes be found on coupon and software discount sites around the web. These can often reduce sign up costs by 50% or more.

At the time of writing I couldn’t actually find any viable codes. Regular Googling could work if you’re desperate though.

How Much Does Lecturio Cost?

Lecturio works on a subscription-based model. Full access to its features is available on a number of plans dependent on the length of sign-up.

Here’s how the pricing breakdown usually works…

You also got a 10-day money-back guarantee. My research hasn’t shown there to be any reported problems with this.

Maybe a good option is to go with the 3-month plan and time your use of Lecturio around exam sessions. Personally, I can’t see the 4-year plan being that much value for money.

But maybe that’s just me – especially as I enjoy flashcard-based learning with a variety of resources.

Criticism of Lecturio

The main complaints based on my research:

• Lack of engagement: some lecturers can be a bit boring or dull
• Not enough unique content or features to justify the pricing
• Subscription-based pricing costs more long-term than one-off purchases (of books, video courses etc)

Praise of Lecturio

But there are certainly pros. These are the main ones:

• Good free question bank that fits well with Pathoma
• Great organisation of topics and modules
• Bookmatcher feature: superb for cross-referencing and clarifying first-pass material
• Lecturio potentially being more “up to date” than other resources (Boards and Beyond etc)

Alternatives to Lecturio

The following resources are commonly recommended and used by med students as good alternatives to Lecturio.

• Pathoma
• Boards and Beyond
• Dr Najeeb (see my review)
• Marrow
• Kaplan

Final Thoughts: Is Lecturio Worth It?

Lecturio is a good resource and definitely has its uses if you have the budget and it fits your learning style. Personally though I don’t see myself using it that much.

Given the pricing model and what it offers, I still feel there’s better value for money out there.

I’ll give it a respectable 3.5/5.

If you like this review, you might like these articles:

• How To Study In Medical School: Reddit’s 26 Best Tips
• How Do Medical Students Pay For Living Expenses? (Crucial Money Saving Tips)

Will

Born and raised in the UK, Will went into medicine late (31) after a career in journalism. He’s into football (soccer), learned Spanish after 5 years in Spain, and has had his work published all over the web. Read more.

willpeachmd.com

But not everybody likes it and it does have something of a questionable reputation.

This article takes a deeper dive into the resource. Is it worth the hype?

DISCLAIMER: I am not paid by Dr Najeeb neither is their any affiliate link used in this article. The following is result of personal research only.

Is Dr Najeeb Lectures Worth It? Key Points

What Are The Best Resources For Med School?

I’m on a mission to review all the top resources students can use during their medical education. My goal is to be transparent, honest and say with clarity what’s worth spending money on or not. You can find all my reviews and current scores on my recommendations page.

What Is Dr Najeeb Lectures?

Dr Najeeb Lectures is a video lecture series focused on teaching medical sciences to dental, nursing, pharmacology and medical students.

It is owned and operated by Dr Najeeb.

It has a mobile app available in both Google play and Apple appstores. Both require in-app purchases to get access to 100% of the content.

Lectures cover:

• Basic medical sciences and clinical medicine
• 800+ videos on Gross Anatomy, Neuroanatomy, Embryology, Histology, Physiology, Biochemistry, Genetics, Pharmacology, Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology

Here’s how the main website looks…

The paid product is an extension of his YouTube channel which has over 1m subscribers.

This was the first video ever released there in June, 2009.

The channel continues to release new uploads on a monthly basis. These videos are usually shorter uploads and not full content.

The YouTube channel has over 300 uploads.

Who is Dr Najeeb?

According to his LinkedIn profile, Dr Syed Najeeb is an Internal Medicine specialist who was born and brought up in Lahore, Pakistan.

He completed his undergraduate studies at King Edward Medical College in 1984. He later relocated to the US to complete his post-graduate training. It’s there he began teaching medical students core science subjects and Dr Najeeb Lectures began.

He later moved back to Pakistan.

How Does Dr Najeeb Lectures Work?

Users of the paid product can login and begin viewing content via the main website or app.

The content is divided into courses:

• Medical school
• Biology
• USMLE Step 1

Additionally you can browse for specific content via the video library. Use the search function there to find topic-related videos.

Each lecture is taught by Dr Najeeb himself.

Subjects are broken down into a series of lectures. Because some tend to run long, they are titled into “parts” (part 1/7 etc)

The average run-time of a single lecture video is between 30-40 minutes.

Is Dr Najeeb Legit?

I’d say Dr Najeeb Lectures is legit. I’ve been using it myself since the second year of med school and haven’t experienced any major problems.

According to his sales material, his lectures are trusted by “80% of students.”

It’s unclear where this data actually comes from. Or how the data was measured and collected.

According to review aggregator TrustPilot, his product has a strong 4.9 rating.

While Google Play users give Dr Najeeb Lectures a 4.75 average score on mobile.

Is Dr Najeeb Lectures A Scam?

There have been reports that Dr Najeeb is “misleading” or a “scam”.

This Reddit user details paying $5 for unlimited access only to then be charged $49 on a credit card statement.

When requesting a refund they were then told they had to complete certain “milestones”. This included watching 8 hours of videos within 24 hours of purchase (more on this later).

Another Reddit user, intending to use Dr Najeeb Lectures for USMLE Step 1, had similar complaints about being overcharged.

In both cases someone from the “Dr Najeeb Lecture team” responded.

Here’s what they had to say….

Yes, we do offer lifetime access at $5 but that is in accordance with our terms and conditions clearly mentioned on our sign up page and terms and conditions page. Even on the checkout page we clearly mention that you get charged the standard amount which is $299 however you can pay just $5 and get the remaining as refund “IF” you complete our milestones as mentioned on our terms and conditions page.

This is no different then any other customer loyalty program offered by thousands of other companies in form of reward points or cash backs.

To keep it short and simple we are not here to take your payment if you don’t wish to be our customer. Kindly share with us your email and we will issue you a 100% no question asked refund right away even though we will still keep your account active free of charge just as a courtesy for the mental agony and frustration this may have caused you.

My best advice here is to read the terms and conditions of Dr Najeeb Lectures carefully.

What Is Dr Najeeb Lectures Milestone Policy?

Dr Najeeb Lectures’ refund policy is based on something called “milestones”.

To get a 95% money back refund there are several steps you have to take.

These include:

• Completing your entire profile
• Subscribing to YouTube and liking them on Facebook
• Watching 8 hours of videos within 24 hours of sign up

Does Dr Najeeb Lectures Offer Full Refunds?

Yes, but only if you meet the “milestones” described above.

Here’s what the website itself says under its terms and conditions page…

Personally, I feel this makes the $5 “lifetime access” sound a little misleading.

No other medical student resource seems to operate with this kind of policy.

What Is Dr Najeeb Lectures Lifetime Access?

Dr Najeeb Lectures lifetime access is a pay one-time option that gives you access to all existing and future content.

This gives access to:

• New videos every week (HD quality)
• Fast video playback (0.5 to 2.0X speed)
• Download options on videos
• Responsive customer support

And there’s a couple of more features, described by the site itself…

How Much Do Dr Najeeb Lectures Cost?

Dr Najeeb Lectures standard price is $299 for lifetime access.

At the moment it is promoting a 95% discount. This means you get access for $5 (provided you meet the “milestones”).

Here’s how the site itself describes it…

The “only for today” promise is questionable. I’ve seen this discount (and similar) offered for several months.

If you do plan on using Dr Najeeb Lectures however, and are confident you’ll meet the “milestones”, this price does provide exceptional value.

Does Dr Najeeb Lectures Offer Institutional Access?

Yes, there is an option to purchase institutional access for your school, college, library or organization.

Here’s what the website itself says…

To get an idea of pricing you’ll have to enquire and recieve a quote. You can do that here.

One institution that has institutional access to Dr Najeeb Lectures and has left a review is Qatar University.

Here’s what they say…

How Do You Sign Up For Dr Najeeb Lectures?

You can gain full access to the Dr Najeeb Lectures video library by signing up here.

Once you add your payment details you’ll be given a unique login ID and password.

Is Dr Najeeb Lectures Free?

The site is home to over forty accessible free lectures for students undecided on buying. They can be accessed at the Free Medical Video section here.

Here’s what you’ll have access to…

You also can access free videos at Dr Najeeb Lectures YouTube channel.

What Are Other Students Saying About Dr Najeeb Lectures?

Most students appear to like Dr Najeeb Lectures and are happy to recommend it as a resource.

Here’s UK-based Dr. Sarah Clifford (who gets a mention in this article; 10 Business Ideas For Medical Students) reviewing the product…

While the students on Dr Najeeb Lectures’ own review page say a lot of positive things also:

There are more student reviews available on this page.

As for what I think about Dr Najeeb Lectures…

Criticism of Dr Najeeb Lectures

• Time: Dr Najeeb can sometimes labor on points or take a long time to explain things
• Lecture format: some concepts/syllabus points run across multiple lectures which makes it difficult finding specific content
• Accent: non-native English speakers may have trouble understanding lectures (especially on double-speed)
• Lack of extra features: community forums, written materials, practice questions etc
• Questionable marketing and pricing strategy: turns out if you don’t like the platform and don’t intend on using it you will be charged a lot more than $5!

Praise of Dr Najeeb Lectures

• Unique explanations: helps make ‘difficult’ concepts easy to understand
• Passion: the teaching is infectious, it’s hard not to enjoy his teaching style
• Comprehensive: 800+ videos: lectures covering biochemistry, pathology, physiology, anatomy, histology and more
• Price: lifetime access is very inexpensive with the discount (but be careful to meet the “milestones”)

Are Dr Najeeb Lectures Good for USMLE?

Dr Najeeb Lectures claims its suitable for USMLE Step 1, COMLEX, NBDE, NCLEX and PANCE exams.

I feel it’s true that it has some use as the lectures do cover all pre-clinical subjects needed in preparation for USMLE Step 1.

According to the site’s USMLE page, Dr Najeeb Lectures boasts a “98% pass rate at the first attempt” for USMLE Step 1 students….

But it’s not clear how that’s measured.

How To Best Use Dr Najeeb Lectures?

These tips are taken from my use of the resource throughout medical school.

Here’s how I’d best recommend using the video library:

• Identify the areas you need clarification in first before heading to the lectures
• Watch the videos on 1.5X or 2X speed to save time
• Draw the visual representations alongside Dr Najeeb while he explains
• Note down key questions you can use to answer later on review

Alternatives to Dr Najeeb Lectures

• Picmonic (see my review)
• Boards and Beyond
• Lecturio (see my review)
• Kenhub (see my review)
• Marrow
• Kaplan

Final Thoughts On Dr Najeeb Lectures

Overall Dr Najeeb Lectures scores 2/5 on my personal recommendations on the best materials for med students to use.

It would score higher if it wasn’t for the marketing and refund policy. Or the many reports of students upset after not recieving a full refund.

Still, if you do plan on using it – or are a fan of the free content on YouTube – $5 lifetime access is an exceptional deal.

If you like this review, you might like these articles:

• Pathoma Vs Boards And Beyond: What’s Best To Use In Med School?
• Should You Make Med School Notes? 5 Big Things To Consider

Will

Born and raised in the UK, Will went into medicine late (31) after a career in journalism. He’s into football (soccer), learned Spanish after 5 years in Spain, and has had his work published all over the web. Read more.

willpeachmd.com