The AMSS is pleased to offer you this updated and expanded guide to assist in your learning. It's well worth your time, so be sure to check it out in full. Below you'll find online textbook banks, go-to resources for different specialities, gold-mines for most things medicine, MCQ banks, online lecture resources, podcasts frequented by medical students and more!

We're always looking to optimise this guide. So if you know of an awesome medical resource that's not listed below which you would like to recommend for the guide, please get in touch by emailing our Vice President (Education) via vpe@amss.org.au.

Textbooks #

Textbook Talk

Textbook Talk is an AMSS publication that aims to help you decide which are the best textbooks to buy. It is packed with information about the more commonly used textbooks, as well as recommendations from older students.

Textbook Talk 2020 (Pre Clinical)

Textbook Talk 2017 (Clinical)

Search clinical eBooks, eJournals, practice guidelines, patient handouts, and cases on a wide area of clinical medicine in a single unified search engine. Also provides access to the Australian Medicines Handbook via the "Drugs" tab.

Free ophthal textbook with a mixture of succinct content on eye topics, along with MCQs (on brief look probably above med student level), as well as some video content.

Guidelines #

Check the eTG! Ever reliable, the Electronic Therapeutic Guidelines (eTG) comprehensively covers the up-to-date management of common disorders seen in clinical practise. The guidelines are independent, unbiased and are quotable in CBL and on the wards.

The AMH is an independent (not supported by drug companies), evidence-based Australian website/textbook containing information on just about every drug an Australian doctor is likely to see. Access is available via CANVAS, on the Exam Course for year level.

The South Australian Perinatal Practice Guidelines are clinical guidelines established by the Department of Health for the care of obstetric patients in South Australia. These guidelines are used and quoted extensively by clinicians at the Women's and Children's Hospital and are hence a definitive reference for diagnostic and management criteria.

A great go-to-source for all things kids in medicine. The RCH Clinical Practice Guidelines contain reliable assessment and management algorithms for all the common paediatrics conditions. Content is also accessible offline via the RCH phone app.

Sti.guidelines.org contains the official guidelines for the management of sexually transmitted infections in Australia. The guidelines are somehow both concise and comprehensive, covering important specific details such as requirements for notification and tests of cure.

This manual, from the Royal College of Pathologists of Australia, aims to provide useful guidelines for the use and selection of pathology tests. It describes how to select pathology tests and how to interpret the results. The Manual consists of several sections including: Clinical Problems, Pathology Tests and Pathology Decision Support Tools.

Clinical Reference #

A great resource for pre-clinical and clinical students alike, Medscape contains thousands of free articles, ranging from diseases to investigations to drug profiles, written by experts, usually from the United States. Pre-clinical students have been known to get through entire CBL sessions with only a Medscape article, printed moments before the session is to begin, in their hands. Clinical students have been known to utilise the Medscape app to pass the time during long ward rounds. You'll need to create a free Medscape account to access. To use the Medscape app offline, click the dropdown menu in the top-left-hand corner of the screen >> data updates >> download clinical reference.

Once students start using it, many find that UpToDate is something that they can't live without. UpToDate is quite possibly a clinical student's best friend. It is widely available in the hospitals and it has a knack for containing just the right information you need, when you're desperately searching minutes before a ward round. There's also PLENTY in it for pre-clinical students too, particularly when specific clinical details cannot be found elsewhere.

BMJ Best Practice combines the latest evidence and expert opinion and presents it in a concise fashion. Useful for CBL and in the clinical years, this resource provides excellent detail regarding disease risk factors and differential diagnoses. There is also a drug database that contains hundreds of drugs alphabetically and is especially useful for understanding drugs and their adverse effects.

These useful resources are directed at General Practitioners but can be of great use to medical students as well. They contain articles focused on the clinical details of both disease profiles and investigations. A great place to start for third year CBL, due to its clinical focus.

These useful resources are directed at General Practitioners but can be of great use to medical students as well. They contain articles focused on the clinical details of both disease profiles and investigations. A great place to start for third year CBL, due to its clinical focus. You'll need to create a free medical student account to access.

Known for being the go-to ECG resource, Life in the Fast Lane (LITFL) is actually much more. It is the brainchild of an Dr Mike Cadogan, an emergency physician and passionate advocate of FOAM (Free Open Access 'Meducation'), and contains concise summaries of everything critical care and practise cases surrounding CXRs, ABGs, trauma, ECGs (of course) and more!

National COVID guidelines, these act as a "living guideline," meaning they are regularly updated.

Mechanisms / Pathology #

A one stop shop for succinct mechanisms underlying a wide variety of conditions with reliability generally ensured by the review of all materials undertaken by the University of Calgary. Mechanisms are generally of sufficient detail for examinations though can be insufficiently detailed for CBL. Make sure to check out the cardiology section, a gold-mine of useful mechanisms for CBL. Quick tip: if you can't find what you are looking for with the search engine (it can be very specific), try the contents menu.

The place to go when Calgary guide lacks the detail you need. McMaster's (often called pathophys.org) provides well referenced pathophysiology in a well explained easy to read format. They have particularly good sections for: ischaemic heart disease, heart failure, breast cancer, lung cancer and PCOS.

Anatomy & Histology #

A great free resource to learn basic anatomy in a simple easy to read way. Relied on by first years for their excellent upper and lower limb sections, the detailed full colour images are a great place to go when starting studying anatomy for a CBL case. The level of detail can often be limited so make sure to supplement your knowledge with another source.

Needing a quick fix of H&E staining, look no further. The Shotgun Histology channel on Youtube contains plenty of short, concise videos covering histology from head-to-toe.

Radiology #

A true encyclopaedia of knowledge and practise questions for all things radiology. Here you will find the radiological features of all, if not most, diseases, explanations of radiological signs and plenty of opportunity to test your radiology knowledge.

That webpage widely known for highlighting the radiological abnormalities when you move your cursor over X-rays. While not the most comprehensive source, it makes up for what it lacks in quantity with quality. This website is absolute gold for understanding approaches to CXRs/AXRs etc, the radiological manifestations of disease and for testing your radiology knowledge.

Clinical Specialities #

Ever wished there was a concise, reliable, doctor vetted resource for revising high yield content? The AMSA MedEd Factsheets provide just that with an expanding source of factsheets on a variety of topics from stroke to thyroid function tests. To access, create a free account on the website using your student email.

A resource filled with notes designed for the Adelaide curriculum in mind! Well structured, easy-to-follow summaries (they can be a bit on the brief side though). AIMTED also runs an annual online exam in October/November for clinical students, so keep checking their website!

Born from the ongoing war of words between orthopaedic surgeons and paragraphs of text, Orthobullets is the resource of choice to learn all you need to know about any fracture or musculoskeletal pathology. Physician-types may yearn for further detail, but that's why physicians made UpToDate. Also contains practise MCQs on musculoskeletal topics.

A great free resource to learn common surgical topics in a simple easy to read way. Provides a great overview to get you started on unfamiliar topics. The level of detail can often be limited so make sure to supplement your knowledge with another source.

A great go-to resource for dermatology. Here you'll find concise reputable information on a wide variety of dermatological diseases and manifestations of systemic disease along with many many pictures.

A not-so-well-known gem amidst the many resources of the Cancer Council. Here you'll find a list of concise reputable notes on oncological principles and common cancers.

Living rheum guidelines for rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis and other inflammatory arthritis.

Rheumatology diseases, rheumatology drugs, how to interpret MSK X-rays, etc.

American clinical practice guidelines but are similar/same to those followed by many endocrinologists in South Australia.

OSCE resources #

An ideal OSCE resource with step-by-step guidelines on key things not to miss in histories and how to perform physical examinations. There's also strategies to interpret results and clinical cases to practice with. Well structured and organised, just be wary of UK vs Australia management guidelines.

An ideal OSCE resource with great comparison tables for histories (organised by presenting complaint) and guidelines advising the most slick way to perform physical examinations. Well structured and thorough, just be wary of UK vs Australia management guidelines.

Question Banks #

This medical question bank provides MCQs with extremely detailed answers. The MCQs can be quite long and niche, but are a great way to extend your knowledge. Additionally, this resource provides alternate MCQ options including timed and topic-focused tests. AMBOSS also has great "learning cards" summarising key knowledge. Requires payment but the AMSS organises group discounts on an as-needed basis! Note: AMBOSS subscription is only available for clinical year students, but you can still look over some articles for free!

And we thought case-based learning ended in pre-clin! eMedici utilises case-based learning in the teaching of surgery (known as an excellent guide to the Year 4 Surgical Home Unit curriculum), as well as general medicine, psychiatry, MSK, Obstetrics and more! Being the brain-child of the highly-regarded retired Adelaide surgeon, A/Prof Peter Devitt, eMedici provides cases and MCQs in a style much like what we are used to seeing in our own course.. In fact, many of the cases are written by our own medical students, under the supervision of clinicians. If you wish to add to their ever expanding library, just get in touch with the eMedici Team via their website.

BMJ OnExamination

The medical question bank provided free of charge by the Medical School. A great deal of customisation makes BMJ a highly utilised resource. Available on the web and as an app, with questions that can be customised based on type and speciality area, and useful for all of personal study, study on-the-go and study group practise.

Access is via CANVAS, year level exam course part 1 >> quick links >> BMJ OnExamination
Modules >> student academic resources >> BMJ OnExamination >> download PDF >> follow instructions of PDF to subscribe freely to BMJ OnExamination

This ingenious Facebook chat bot, provided free-of-charge by our Monash neighbours, contains a bank of Australian clinical student-directed MCQs, written by students, in a customised fashion. Simply respond to the cues in the message thread that automatically appears when opening the Facebook page and you will have the choice of practising MCQs varying from cardiology to ophthalmology to psychiatry. Also check out their website for podcasts from varying specialists about their career choice and other educational resources.

This store of MCQs, though currently small, provides FREE access to highly clinically oriented MCQs similar in style to our clinical MCQs. Stay tuned for further additions to this expanding bank. To access, create a free account on the website using your student email.

This medical question bank provides not only MCQs but also EMQs and a knowledge tutor (aimed at covering MCQs in flash-card style). Additionally, this resource provides alternate MCQ options including timed and topic-focused tests. FREE year-long subscription for Years 1-3 (Click sign up --> Medical student years 1-3 - Subscribe). Requires pay for Years 4-6 but is on the cheaper-side.

>1500 FREE MCQs! Great explanations tailored to both pre-clinical and clinical students level and divided by topic. As with all online MCQ banks, be wary of UK vs Australia management guidelines. You have to sign up for a free account but they don't send spam emails.

This medical question bank provides MCQs at roughly a Year 5 level. Additionally, this resource provides alternate MCQ options including timed and topic-focused tests. Canada QBank also make some great videos summarising high yield exam topics. Requires payment.

Free app found on both the iTunes app store and in Google Play. Play through clinical cases allowing you to practice clinical decisions. At the end of each case, you are given a thorough explanation for the reasoning and comprehensive key learning points for you to take home. Not the most useful app for direct exam study, however can be fun and very beneficial to use in your spare time to build medical knowledge.

Lectures #

The AMSS Teaching Series lectures have been written to supplement student learning and act as a form of self-assessment. 'Core Content' lectures cover topics that students should be very familiar with by the end of the rotation. 'End of Rotation' lectures cover some more peripheral, or challenging, content. A pre-clinical organ system-based lecture series is in development.

The DAROGA YouTube channel is an Obstetrics & Gynaecology online lecture series delivered by the much loved, Dr Alphonse Roux, and targeted to the Year 5 Human Reproductive Health program. Particular highlights of DAROGA include its OSCE Pearls of Wisdom videos and the cameos from "Zen Master Jimmy."

You may have heard of Khan Academy. Their extensive collection of educational videos spans almost every field of study. Khan Academy's biology videos can be a great place to get an understanding of FBS or MMI concepts and their medicine videos can help you to gain a basic understanding of complex concepts. Very useful for simplifying those hard to grasp areas including renal and respiratory physiology.

Possibly the most knowledgeable human being when it comes to the RAAS (Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System, in case you are yet to watch the Dr Najeeb video) Dr Najeeb's Youtube channel contains 100s of videos explaining key anatomical, physiological and pathological concepts.

Study's boring? Short attention span? Check out the Osmosis Youtube channel for a series of 10 minute videos containing colourful diagrams that cover a wide array of diseases, from heart failure to tuberculosis to Brown-Sequard Syndrome.

Podcasts #

Learn by osmosis. This podcast series, conducted by medical students and junior doctors, covers everything medicine in a fashion targeted for a medical student audience. A particularly useful resource for pre-clinical students

Surgery in the 21st surgery. This podcast series, conducted by medical students in consultation with surgical supervisors, covers everything surgery in a fashion targeted for a medical student audience. A particularly useful resource for pre-clinical students and clinical students on surgical rotations.

This podcast series, conducted by junior doctors in consultation with consultants/registrars, focuses on common clinical dilemmas faced by junior doctors on the wards. A particularly useful resource for final year medical students and junior doctors alike.

An audio series dedicated to Australian general practitioners, presenting a broad spectrum of healthcare topics to keep GPs abreast of current issues.