The Best YouTube Channels For Medical Students

‘You know, when I was your age…’ these are the opening remarks to stories we have heard every so often about struggle, resilience and hard work. They all date back to a time before technology, a time before the internet. If these stories are anything to go by, life was not all butter and milk but trust man to make change of any unpleasant situation. With telephones and computers being invented, smoke signals have been reduced to mentions and footnotes in our history books. Then came the internet and suddenly the world was one global village. Thanks to google and other search engines, information is just a few taps away and the student in me smiles at that.

Pre-internet, how was studying really like? Say your professor assigned you some work or you needed further reading on some topic, you had to walk into a library, decipher the arrangement system used and pray you end up in the right aisle lest you spent the next hour searching the shelves for the textbook you really need. You would then proceed to index, find what you want to study for and scribble short notes before proceeding to the next book. Most times, you would need to bring the books homes with you for further reading and boy, are they heavy! 

Though the internet in all its might and glory is still lacking in terms of credibility and depth, studying has been a turd easier since its wake. Some textbooks are available online as downloadable softcopies and so are medical journals and publications. To break the monotony of page flipping, brilliant YouTube content creators offer crash courses and video tutorials that help grasp challenging topics and improve memory. These videos are accessible from your smartphone or laptop anywhere you are provided you have internet connection; you can pause, rewind and replay however much you would like and they are so many to choose from.  

True, nothing is as comprehensive as a textbook study but we know how draining that can be. If you can learn the same concept in 10 min on YouTube instead of 2 hours on your own, then why not. On this article I will share with you some of the YouTube channels that have seen me through the past 3 years of pharmacy school

1. Med Made Sirius-ly Easy!

This channel is meant to make pharmacology and forensic toxicology easy and fast to understand and cover in less time with details so you don’t miss anything even when studying last minute.  

I cannot stress how life saving this channel is.  Pharmacology entails memorizing names of drugs, their mode of action, their indications, contraindications, possible drug interactions and expected side effects. All this information is volatile and hard retain, the names alone can be a handful. 

This youtuber in organized, summarized and colorful flowcharts makes this learning process a turd easier. She provides fun and easy to remember mnemonics  

She also has a website where you can access all the pharmacology lecture pdf she teaches on the YouTube channel. Click here 

2. Khan Academy

We have all sat through a lecture with no clue on what is going on but everyone is nodding when the professor makes the occasional pauses making it a little hard for you to raise your hand. I do not stress much over not grasping a concept in class because I can always hit the library afterwards, a friend can explain it to me over lunch or more importantly, channels like Khan Academy exist.

Khan academy is a nonprofit organization with the mission of providing a free world class education for anyone, anywhere. They have interactive practice problems, articles and high-quality videos tackling different topics from basic biology, organic chemistry, physics concepts among others. They use great illustrations that make somewhat complex topics simple. Are ketones and aldehydes keeping you up at night, this channel could be the solution to getting your sleep back. I can promise you, glycolysis, the Krebs cycle and everything metabolism won’t appear as complex afterwards.

3.  Osmosis

Osmosis.org is a leading medical and health education platform that provides in depth videos for health professionals and students, lots of practice questions and flashcards to help you ace that exam. Their vision; everyone who cares for someone will learn by osmosis!

In their YouTube channel, they tackle medical topics like hematology, pathophysiology of diseases providing vast knowledge about each. Their videos are fun, short but detailed and comprehensive, perfect for revision. This is usually my first stop before diving into the pharmacology of a class of medication because it gives a detailed recap on the pathophysiology of disease or condition 

4. MrPharmacistderek 

This channel has a 5-part mini-series showing how a pharmacist might perform a medication assessment in a community-based setting. They bring out the role of a pharmacist during dispensing of drugs in a commendable way.

In their pharmacy skills lab, student’s communication or patient counselling is assessed. They provide different scenarios e.g. pharmacist counselling on a new prescription, on a prescription refill or regarding patient self-care request. What is done right is applauded at the end of the video, and pointers given on what could have been better during the patient counselling. 

There is a lot to pick up and learn from the skits posted on this channel that can improve how we interact with our patients.

5. Speed Pharmacology

Speed pharmacology is an absolute favorite YouTube channel for most medical students. Their videos are short, simple and entertaining. They have well organized playlist that makes revision all the more fun and easier. With so much content to cover barely enough time to do so, the last thing you want is to sit through long boring videos, this channel understands that. It is amazing how they compress hours’ worth of content into a 10 or so minute exciting video.

6. Ninja Nerd Lecturers

This is a one stop shop for all your preclinical and clinical study needs! They offer an all rounded learning experience through high quality video. They cover all bases, tackle all units from basic chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry, human physiology to pharmacology, infectious medicine etc. Their videos are a bit lengthy (about 10- 40 min) and very detailed, perfect for that class you might have skipped or that concept you have trouble grasping. If you feel you are lagging behind in a certain class, this is the YouTube channel that will get you at per with your mates.

7. Professor Dave Explains

According to his about, this youtuber has a BA in chemistry, a MA in science education and about a decade worth of experience teaching organic chemistry, general chemistry, physics and biology in high school undergraduate setting. His videos reflect just that- knowledge and experience. He videos are organized into 9 playlists e.g.;

• Mathematics – all of it. Yes, from the basic addition and subtraction, to solving quadratic equations, calculus and trigonometry. 
• Chemistry – he builds from the base up, from the types of matter, the atomic theory, balancing chemical equations, gas laws to more complex concepts like Hess’s Law, Bohr model of the hydrogen atom, thermodynamics, redox reactions among others.

Through his lectures, it clear that this youtuber has a mastery of content and he owns his craft. This channel is an excellent supplement to your Math, organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry and physical chemistry classes.

8. Kenhub- Learn Human Anatomy

This article wouldn’t be complete without an Anatomy YouTube channel and to that, I present Kenhub. Kenhub has video tutorials that cover most topics in our anatomy and histology class. We all know anatomy is a tough dense subject, this channel makes it easier for medical students use of high-quality visual illustrations and easy to follow audios. 

If you like this, you might want to check AnatomyZone and Dr Najeeb Lectures too.

Kindly check out our previous blog post on What To Do When a Bee Swarm Attacks  if you haven’t already. What are your thoughts on todays topic? Are there any YouTube channels apart from the ones mentioned that you find helpful? Leave a like, share and comment down below.