Clerkship year comes on strong for medical students, and this presents multiple challenges to preparing for the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 2 exam. Besides information overload, learners have to contend with limited time to study, and then the blocks they do get are often measured in minutes, not hours. So bouncing back and forth between discrete study aids is not only inefficient—it’s frustrating and ineffective.
The AMA has partnered with AMBOSS, a medical education reference tool used by 2 million medical professionals in more than 170 countries, to give medical students and residents access to a better way to prepare for licensing exams.
“By addressing these three pressure points, AMBOSS helps students turn clerkship year from a fragmented scramble into a cohesive system where clinical learning and exam prep reinforce each other,” said AMBOSS physician editor and consultant Dr. Ryan Colaço and Dr. Niklas Büscher, editor-in-chief and product lead at the company, in a written statement in response to the AMA’s questions.
AMBOSS offers a Knowledge Library that includes more than 2,000 clinical and pre-clinical articles across a range of topics peer-reviewed by some 100 physicians, as well as a Qbank with more than 11,000 questions. And through integrations with Anki, Chat GPT and the Chrome web browser extension, “AMBOSS connects seamlessly with the resources students are already using,” Drs. Colaço and Büscher said. “This reduces switching costs and turns fragmented workflows into one coherent system.”
AMA members get a 10% discount on the AMBOSS Library subscription and the optional Qbank upgrade. With AMBOSS you get:
- Unlimited access to the Knowledge Library, with hundreds of high-yield articles, as well as interactive content, covering the entire USMLE curriculum.
- 50 Qbank questions per month, with the option to upgrade your subscription to full Qbank access.
- Anki add-on and smart study tools.
- Histology images with overlays, captions and Smart Zoom.
- Performance analytics to keep your study efforts focused.
- Free Chrome extension and a free mobile app with offline access.
The Qbank upgrade is a one-time purchase on top of your AMBOSS Library membership. By upgrading, you get all 11,000-plus available questions, including those for the USMLE Step 1, Step 2, Step 3 exams and the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) “shelf” exam.
Ready to access your AMA-member AMBOSS discount? Learn more now.
Identify weak areas, track progress
The first of four keys to streamlining Step 2 test prep is to make use of AMBOSS’s Step Self-Assessments, which are included in the Student Life membership.
“These give students a detailed breakdown of their strengths and weaknesses and identify high-yield resources to fill the gaps,” Drs. Colaço and Büscher said. “This gives students a clear picture of what they’ll need to focus on and helps them prioritize their time as they move through rotations.”
Maximize day-to-day board yield
Whether in their preclinical years or their clinical ones, many students spend most of their energy just trying to keep up, the doctors noted.
“For preclinical students, it’s balancing lectures, in-house quizzes, Anki and constant new material,” they said. “For clerkship students with eight- or even 16-hour hospital days, it’s presentations and learning how to be a doctor. With that workload, many rely heavily on dedicated time to polish their exam prep.”
With AMBOSS, though, medical students have a system that aligns what they’re already doing—class prep, in-house tests, or real patients on the wards—with their board prep. “They can retain more, connect knowledge across contexts, and reduce the pressure to do a massive final push,” they said.
Prize consistency, not intensity
The schedules and demands of medical school—especially during clerkships—are intense. Instead of relying on bursts of high-volume cramming, students should focus on steady, sustainable habits, Drs. Colaço and Büscher noted.
“Short daily study blocks are more effective, and streamlining the number of resources is key to making that possible,” they said.
Look for focused repetition
Covering a full Qbank in a structured way is paramount, the doctors said.
"Using study plans tied to course blocks or Shelf exams ensures students don’t miss exam-relevant material, including topics they may not encounter directly in class or on the wards,” they said. “Timed practice closer to the exam then reinforces knowledge and builds stamina for test day.”
AMBOSS’s USMLE Step 2 study prep resources include more than 3,300 questions and corresponding articles encompassing neurology, surgery, internal medicine and other high-yield topics.
Learn more with the AMA about how AMBOSS helps medical students maximize exam performance.
