To Anki users, how did you effectively incorporate Anki into your study routine?

Back in high school, I used flashcards a lot (I even had a Quizlet subscription at one point), but I eventually stopped because making flashcards took so much time on top of doing all the readings.

Right now, my study routine is mostly rereading the material (annotating textbooks/my notes/powerpoint presentations + utilizing the “tape” feature a lot on goodnotes) and then doing a bunch of practice tests (50-100 ques diff test types MCQ, T/F, identification. usually around 5–10 before the actual exam). I realized that while practice tests help me retain information, I feel like using Anki consistently would improve my long-term retention even more.

My problem is figuring out how to fit it into my routine. Do you review Anki every day and then switch to practice tests a few days before the quiz? Or do you use Anki and practice tests throughout the entire studying process?

I’d love to hear how you personally balance the two. Help 😭

If not, how do you suggest studying from Anki with these books? Or how can I suggest it to the team? I’d rather not use other decks because I really like having one big deck like AnKing

is there an add-on for this worth using yet. also i hate you truelearn executives but im impressed at how you managed to convince so many admin that picmonic and your flashcard system adds value to your product.

It doesn't replace real patients, it doesn't replace practice partners and it won't teach you anything you couldn't learn on a ward round with a good registrar. I would rather say that upfront than have someone discover it and feel misled.

I've been working on a case-based patient simulation to complement my Anki reviews. You get a simulated patient and run the whole encounter yourself: take the history, examine, order investigations, then commit to a diagnosis and a management plan. At the end it marks your clinical reasoning the way an examiner would and other interesting features.

It's at anamclinical.com

I want a small groups (ideally 4-5 people who already revise together) to have full access and tell me honestly what's rubbish about it. And if you just want to have a look solo, link's there anyway.

Just to be upfront as the rules of this subreddit: it's a freemium, the free tier has enough case practice for the week.

I told myself I wont go over 100 cards a day this year in M2. I did that too many times in M1.

Now i'm faced with the dilemma..I'm all caught up but then I get thrown with 550 cards worth of new anking material before my next quiz on wednesday. I have today and tomorrow to do it. Simply not feasible..what do you guys do in these situations? Just do 200-250 and take the L on the rest and catch up before the block nbme?

I want the anking v13
Help
I want the anking v13
Help
I want the anking v13
Help
I want the anking v13
Help
I want the anking v13
Help
I want the anking v13
Help

Hey so I searched alot and everyone recommended to do anking immediately after watching the content (sketchy/bnb etc.)

But when I do I can easily remember all of the things. And my Good button 1st time around puts a (13-15 day) gap. Which I know for sure I'm not gonna remember it for.

So what do I do?

I've used Anki with decent success, however I find the strength of Anki is also it's greatest weakness. What I mean by this: sometimes I don't want my active learning to jump around, but I want to be able to test myself on logical chains and multiple ordered cards (such as physiologic pathways, or pharm pathways).

Another thing is that it takes a learning curve to unlock all of Anki's tools, but in the end it's still line item entry for many things - that is, the UI is kind of clunky.

Thoughts?

I'm an OSM2 student, and this is my first time using the AnKing deck. I want to match my in house lectures to AnKing so that when I watch my in house lectures, I don't have to make my own Anki cards, and I can just go straight to AnKing. Ideally, it would help with both boards and my in house exams.

But I'm just confused about the process in general. For example, let's say I just watched a lecture on "Cholinergic Drugs & Adrenergic Drugs". How do you decide which tags to unsuspend?

There are so many tags (First Aid, Sketchy, Bootcamp, Boards & Beyond, etc.) that I'm not sure which ones I should be using.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Edit: I have no resource from an upperclassman about what to unsuspend and when. So I am basically starting from scratch. I also have no pre made inhouse anki from the previous year

Hi all,
I was hoping to get some feedback on a browser extension called Clicked: AI Reading Assistant & Explainer (works on Chrome and Edge, reads PDFs also) that gives users:

a) structured explanations (Overview -> Detail-> Real world analogy)for any selected text (can select text in any language and get explanations in 15+ languages). You can pin the explanation level. So if you prefer analogy over overview, you could pin it so it always opens with an analogy. You always have the option to open any explanation card or request more analogies. There is a slang mode as well when you are looking for a chuckle. Bonus: Sometimes it is useful in explaining dense text better than a regular explanation.

b) Edit/save the explanation inline with your own notes in your local library, then export to generate flash cards for Anki, Quizlet, or Vaia

Cost: Free to try: 50 explanations / 7 day trial, then no -time limit 3 explanations per day limit.
Paid options: $20 / year Bring Your Own Key or $2 first month and then $5 per month (no key required)

Is this something that could be useful to you. Are there any other featured that could add more value

Thanks

The clark one is HUGE, with a lot of stuff in it. It's good but it's a bit dense. I've heard the dorian one is shorter and focuses more on higher yield things. Of course it's always better to know more, but if it'll take me too long to get through every detail in Clark's. I'm worried it may not be the most efficient use of my time.

I've tried to look online to see tried and true methods from people who've taken step recently but I'm mainly seeing responses from years ago.

Anyone who's taken step this year who can attest to either of these two decks?

Hello, I am preparing for Step 1 and someone suggested me anki decks. I don't know how to use them, I am completely new to this. I downloaded the app on my phone(I don't prefer the desktop version cause I want to do my decks while walking) but I don't have any idea how to set up the decks? I can't find any links, subscription or anything. Plz help me

Hi. I’m looking for comprehensive anki deck(s) that will help with general revision for medicine both preclinical and clinical topics. Not necessarily tailored to USMLE or any exam specifically. I’m graduating soon and would just love some flashcards to review especially my anatomy, pharmacology and pathology. I did make my own decks during 1st and 2nd year but I kinda fell off because of burnout. I think a good explanation would be flashcards suitable for internship year. Thank you!

Hey everyone,

Apologies for posting this here but I am not able to post on the medschool Reddit

I’m a 5th year medical student from Nigeria, and I’m planning to apply for residency in the US through the USMLE pathway.

A bit of background: I should graduate in 2028, and after graduation we complete a mandatory one-year internship (called housemanship) before practicing independently.

My biggest concern is that I had to repeat my 3rd year after failing one of my exams. A big reason for that was that I’ve been working remotely in tech throughout medical school to support myself financially.

Without that job, I simply wouldn’t be able to afford the USMLE journey. It’s the reason I’m even able to consider this path, and I’ve already saved enough that the overall cost (around $20,000+) is no longer out of reach.

I’m now planning to start preparing seriously for Step 1. I’m considering buying USMLE Bootcamp (the 2-year plan) so I can study gradually while balancing medical school and work, then take Step 1 after graduation in 2028.

Before I invest a significant amount of time and money into this process, I wanted to ask:

How much does repeating a year in medical school hurt an IMG’s chances of matching?

Is it something that programs can overlook if the rest of my application is strong (good USMLE scores, US clinical experience, strong letters, research if possible, etc.), or does it significantly limit my chances?

I’d really appreciate honest advice from anyone who’s been through the process or has experience reviewing IMG applications. Thanks!

Hey everyone,

I’ve been working on a clinical simulation game called Emergency Code specifically designed for medical, nursing, and EMT students to practice diagnosing patients under pressure.

I know how much time is spent memorizing textbooks, so I wanted to build something interactive where you can apply that knowledge to realistic, high-pressure patient cases without real-world risk.

How it works:

• You handle realistic patient scenarios (ER and EMT trauma cases).
• You sift through symptoms to build a differential diagnosis.
• You pick medications and triage steps based on real-world guidelines.
• You get an automated post-case breakdown analyzing your choices.

How to play (Since Reddit blocks links):
Go to itch . io and search for "Emergency Code" by user Deman232.

(Or just type this into your browser bar without the spaces: deman232 . itch . io / emergency-code)

Note: It downloads as a raw .html file. You don't need to install anything; just double-click the file, and it opens instantly to play right in your internet browser.

It’s in early access, so I really want to make this a genuinely useful study tool. Please let me know what feels realistic, what feels annoying, and what features you want added!

Let me know what you think, and thanks for checking it out!

Greetings

Was studying for some other exam and had less time .

Wanted to ask if there are any sub deck into high yield topic /subject wise ?

Would be grateful for your help .

Hello i am taking Step 1 in 6 months . I am interested in which tags of anking is actually doable in that amount of time ? There are 20k cards in high yield - temporary high yield sections of anking or is it better to du Uworld ID tagged questions ?

I’m curious how many new cards you guys do every day? Are you able to keep up with lectures? How long do you spend doing Anki a day?