Tools for your med school journey

general med school resources

I’ve had many new/incoming medical students ask me about various resources to help them with a particular subject, ways to prepare for board exams, general study material to supplement a lecture topic, and tools to make their studies more efficient. So I created this page to provide a one stop list of what my fellow classmates and I found helpful. I hope you find the similar value in these resources on your journey through medical school!

advice

Start your BlackBook early!

  • Start creating your “black book” your first year and continue to populate throughout your clinical and non-clinical training and then into your career.

  • What is a “Black Book”?

    • A black book in medical school is a personalized, pocket-sized notebook or digital file where students record their most high-yield, practical notes. It’s not an official textbook—it’s your own self-created database of condensed pearls, clinical tips, and must-remember details gathered from lectures, textbooks, patients, and exams.

  • Why It’s Important

    • Efficiency: Cuts through the noise and highlights what you find high-yield.

    • Memory reinforcement: Writing down information in your own words cements it better than passive reading.

    • Quick reference: Serves as a trusted “go-to” during rotations, study sessions, or exam review.

    • Personalization: Reflects your learning style, clinical experiences, and evolving knowledge base.

  • Key Tips for Your Black Book

    • Keep it concise: Bullet points, mnemonics, and diagrams > long paragraphs.

    • Organize by system or theme: Easy navigation saves time later.

    • Update dynamically: Treat it as a living document that grows and changes with your training.

    • Prioritize clinical pearls: Focus on things that help with decision-making and exams, not just raw facts.

    • Make it accessible: Use a small notebook, index cards, or a digital app—whichever you’ll actually carry and use.

    • Don’t worry too much about the platform (Notion, Google Docs, EverNote, etc.) and focus more on getting started; this is a dynamic living database that you will modify and adapt as you progress through your studies and career.

Youtube channels

  • Ninja Nerd YouTube videos for deeper dive on topics

    • Videos are free, option to purchase notes through their website

    • My #1 channel for a memorable, high yield deep dive into topics.

  • Dr. Matt and Dr. Mike: another channel that provides great explanations of concepts

  • Memorize Medical: Anatomy taught by a PT, yes please!

    • Funny, short videos that help you quickly learn anatomy.

  • Another helpful anatomy channel: Sam Webster

  • Osmosis: shorter videos with higher yield topics

    • Many videos are free, option to purchase notes through their website

  • Dr. Glaucomflecken: comic relief for those I’m-still-sort-of-studying-while-taking-a-break, breaks

  • Stanford Medicine 25: physical exams essentials

Books

  • Symptom-Based Approach: Trains you to start with a chief complain

Board exams prep

  • Bootcamp

    • Super high yield videos with accompanying pdfs

    • Paid subscription, but 1000% worth it and most schools offer discounts. I consider this a MUST for boards prep.

  • Boards & Beyond

    • Imho, not as HY or extensive as Bootcamp, but offers Osteopathic Resources

  • MedPreptoGo Podcast (USMLE Step 1 style questions)

  • NPLEX on the Go Podcast (NPLEX 1 style questions, yup a shameless plug)

DIY Note cards

  • Anki deck + Skitch for creating your own digital note cards

    • Anki is a free (desktop) app that you can use to create digital flashcards to help with active memory/learning

      • Great for anatomy!

    • Skitch is an Evernote-owned software that facilitates capturing, annotating, and sharing images, screenshots, maps, and PDFs

  • Often there are premade notecards on sites like Quizlet, but be sure to double check for correctness

  • Several note taking tools (below) can generate case based quizzes and note cards for studying based on provided files and or lecture recordings

other memory tools

Visual memory palace aids:

  • Sketchy (pricey, but the microbiology & pharmacology are the best video sets - imho)

  • Picmonic

Note taking tools

  • Notebook LM: Free, but less functionality than TurboLearn AI

  • TurboLearn AI: free with limited uploads and paid for unlimited. Very useful for generating study aids, summaries, notecards, quizzes, etc. from recorded lectures

Additional Certifications

I found the following supplemental certifications and trainings have been very helpful in expanding on my education and specialize