skip to main content
study systems

Study With BMJ Best Practice: From Point-of-Care to Exam Recall

A non-clinical workflow to use point-of-care resources for revision: extract decision rules, create prompts, and stress-test with questions.

Review date
Jan 2026
Reading time
8 min read
Author
Dr. Kola Tytler MBBS CertHE MBA MSt MRCGP
On this page
Point-of-care tools are designed for speed, not memory. BMJ Best Practice is structured around the consultation and provides step-by-step guidance that is updated frequently. That structure is exactly what you need to build exam recall — if you convert it into prompts and decision rules.

The ‘rule extraction’ mindset

You are not memorising a page. You are extracting a small set of stable rules that recur across questions. The smallest useful unit is a rule you can apply in 10 seconds.
1

Step 1 — Identify 5 recurring decision points

Examples of decision points (non-clinical): when to escalate, when to reassess, what changes risk category, what triggers urgent action. Your job is to name them clearly.
2

Step 2 — Convert them into prompts

Write prompts like: “What feature forces escalation?” “What is the single best discriminator?” “What is the common trap?” These are portable across exams and settings.
3

Step 3 — Immediate stress test with mixed questions

Do 10–20 mixed questions that should trigger those prompts. If your prompts do not trigger, they are too vague.
4

Step 4 — Build a short spaced loop

Re-answer the prompts (from memory) at 48 hours, 7 days, and 14 days. Treat this as maintenance, not ‘new study’.
5

Step 5 — Track what actually improves

If a prompt repeatedly fails, rewrite it. Your prompt quality determines your retrieval quality.
SourceBMJ Best Practice: Clinical decision support tool overview
Open Link
SourceBMJ Best Practice: Product information
Open Link
SourceDunlosky et al. (2013): High-utility techniques emphasise practice testing + spacing (PubMed)
Open Link
Your learning path

Save your place and choose what comes next

sign in to save your learning
Work through this guide (5 steps)

Use the actions from this article to track what you have worked through.

Sign in using the reading controls above to save your steps.

  • Examples of decision points (non-clinical): when to escalate, when to reassess, what changes risk category, what triggers urgent action. Your job is to name them clearly.

    Return to this section

  • Write prompts like: “What feature forces escalation?” “What is the single best discriminator?” “What is the common trap?” These are portable across exams and settings.

    Return to this section

  • Do 10–20 mixed questions that should trigger those prompts. If your prompts do not trigger, they are too vague.

    Return to this section

  • Re-answer the prompts (from memory) at 48 hours, 7 days, and 14 days. Treat this as maintenance, not ‘new study’.

    Return to this section

  • If a prompt repeatedly fails, rewrite it. Your prompt quality determines your retrieval quality.

    Return to this section

Study methods · Article 16 of 48