7 ESSENTIAL Online Resources for Medical Students

These are the best online resources for medical students.

I am a big fan of using different all kinds of resources to help your studying. Sometimes you need something explained a different way or even just presented in a different format to understand it. Lots of the resources on this list I’ve learned about through word of mouth so I wanted to share them with you. There can be an overwhelming amount of resources on the internet but these have become my go-to.

1. TeachMe Series

The TeachMe series of websites is probably my number one favourite resource. When I’m doing any kind of anatomy I have it open on my computer. The websites are split into different categories such as TeachMeAnatomy, TeachMePhysiology, TeachMeSurgery and More.

TeachMeAntomy and TeachMePhysiology are great for pre-clinical years. What I love about them is that they give really succinct straightforward explanations. It’s not like opening up an online textbook but instead gives you just what you need to know. Each topic page also usually has a mini quiz on it so you can test what you’ve learned.

2. YouTube

So this is a pretty obvious one but I wanted to include it because it’s sometimes easy to forget about. I also find that using YouTube can be a little overwhelming, so I wanted to mention some channels that I like.

One that I used quite a bit last year was Armando Hasudungan. They do great videos for physiology and I highly recommend if you are a visual learner.

BMJ Learning

Osmosis . I know that I already have Osmosis on the list but I wanted to mention it here because they do have a good number of videos that you can access for free on YouTube.

Related: GoodNotes vs Notability – What is the best note taking app for university?

3. GeekyMedics

GeeyMedics is a good clinical resource. It’s not something I use a lot at the moment but they provide resources for that are helpful for preparing for OSCEs. This includes things like clinical examination summaries, communication skills, procedures, and data interpretation. They also offer some anatomy resources (I haven’t used these before), and practice quizzes.

5. BNF Online

BNF stands for the British National Formulary, and is a great pharmaceutical resource. On the BNF you can search for different drugs and they will provide you with treatment summaries, indications, dosage guidelines as well as side effects.

I will note that the BNF is only available if you are in the UK.

6. Anki

Although not exactly a resource, if you haven’t heard of it before Anki is a flashcard platform that uses a spaced repetition algorithm to improve your learning. It does take some time and effort to set up and understand Anki but I think it’s super worth it once you do. Spaced repetition is a learning technique where you revise a topic at spaced intervals in order to optimize your learning / ability to remember what you learned. Spaced repetition can be applied to any kind of learning and doesn’t require Anki to do.

However, I find that Anki is a great way to track your progress and it automates what you need to review when, so that you can spend more time actually studying. My recommendation when you start you with Anki is to set a aside a day to figure out how you want to set it up and how to use it (there are lots of great resources on YouTube).

4. Complete Anatomy

Complete anatomy is a paid app, I believe it costs about $35 USD per year for (They do offer a free trial period if you want to try it before spending the money on a subscription). I’m lucky enough to have my subscription paid for by my university so I would suggest checking with your university if they do the same. If they don’t I would consider asking you them if they would consider getting an institutional account.

Complete Anatomy is a great app that shows 3D models you can interact with. It also has lots of built in tutorials as well as a radiology feature where you can compare scans with a 3D model side by side, which I find really helps understand how to read them.

7. Osmosis

Osmosis is another paid resource. Although I try to use as many free resources as possible I think Osmosis is definitely worth the money. Also they are almost always running a 50% off discount. I’ve been using Osmosis so much this year. They have videos and high yield notes on so many topics. They’re videos are so easy to understand and I love the little illustrations they use in them! The high yield notes also give really great straight forward explanations that you can understand quickly. They also have a bunch of other features that I haven’t started using yet (like flash cards that you can link to your Anki).

Additionally they also offer regular webinars for members on a range of different topics that are also really great!

I hope this post helped you find some new resources for studying! Let me know your favourite resources for medical students down in the comments!