Medical school has left me with a stack of textbooks approximately the height of my ceiling. These textbooks are specialized per subject, general review, and board prep books all with the same purpose – medical training. This medical training will be tested next summer when I take my USMLE Step 1. As the time approaches, it became clear that textbooks are too cumbersome, too lengthy, and simply not enough for me. This has made me turn to video based e-learning platforms.

I have tried numerous video-based board prep courses. Many of them are incredibly expensive. As a med student living off student loans, deciding between a board prep course and paying rent shouldn’t be the choice I’m faced with. Recently, I received free access to Lecturio and decided to give it a try.

Lecturio breaks their lectures down into clear categories (systems and subjects) that focus on high yield concepts. It is easy to skip around to different lectures or follow the curriculum and track my progress. Tracking my progress is important because the sheer volume of information can be quite overwhelming. Lecturio’s lectures also come with interactive quiz questions that are tracked with regular email updates on my progress. As of now, not all of the lectures come with questions. However, there is a board-style question bank with more questions to test my knowledge. Other video learning platforms I have tried are, I felt, not as concise or subject based. The shorter lectures help me stay focused and allow me to spend more time on subjects that I need to work on. The lectures provide a good basis in biochemistry/microbiology, while also addressing pharmacology, pathology, and clinical significance.

Lecturio is a newer platform, so there are still some growing pains. However, any issue or question I’ve encountered about lecture content is addressed quickly and clearly. After working with it for some time now, I must say, of the many options, Lecturio stands out to me. Affordable yet comprehensive, Lecturio offers clear, concise instruction from talented professors. You can test Lecturio yourself at http://lectur.io/medical. Up to date, 83 hours of video material is available for free after creating an account. In addition to the video lectures, they are also running a free, high-quality magazine which includes more than 650 text-based topic reviews.