Most revision platforms do one thing. A question bank. A set of notes. A flashcard system. The problem with doing one thing is that learning medicine requires several things happening in the right sequence: understanding a condition, testing that understanding, verifying the specific guideline behind a management decision, and practising the clinical reasoning that connects all of it.
iatroX now has all four. And all four are free.
This article explains each tool and — more importantly — shows how they work together as a single learning loop. Because four disconnected tools on four different platforms is fragmentation. Four integrated tools on the same platform, anchored to the same 430-condition MLA content map, is an ecosystem.
No other UKMLA platform has all four working in concert. Quesmed has questions and flashcards. Geeky Medics has notes and OSCEs. Passmedicine has questions and teaching notes. Nobody has a live guideline-answering AI, a clinical reasoning engine, a structured condition library, and an adaptive Q-bank all anchored to the same blueprint. That is the differentiator — and this article is the onboarding guide.
Tool 1 — The Academy (iatrox.com/academy/ukmla)
The iatroX UKMLA Academy provides 402 structured condition pages covering every condition in the 2026 MLA Content Map that the GMC has mapped as examinable.
Each condition page follows the same clinical structure. A TL;DR section distils the condition to 5-8 key points — the facts that, if you knew nothing else, would be enough to answer most SBA questions about the condition. Clinical features are organised with red flags highlighted — the findings that should trigger urgent action or escalation. Investigations are tiered: first-line, confirmatory, and specialist, reflecting the diagnostic pathway rather than listing every possible test. Management follows the current NICE guideline (named specifically, e.g., "NICE NG185" for ACS, "NICE NG136" for hypertension), with the treatment pathway structured as the guideline structures it — not paraphrased into generic advice. Exam tips flag how the condition is most commonly tested in the UKMLA and where candidates consistently lose marks. Related conditions link to differential diagnoses. Sources cite every guideline referenced.
This is not a set of revision cards. It is not bullet-point notes hastily assembled from a textbook. It is a clinical reference built around how the UKMLA actually examines each condition — written by a practising NHS GP with MRCGP, designed to be read in 3-5 minutes per condition, and structured so that every sentence either teaches you a fact the exam tests or tells you where to find the guideline behind it.
Cost: Free. No login required. Open access.
Tool 2 — The UKMLA Q-Bank (iatrox.com/boards)
The iatroX UKMLA Q-Bank is a free adaptive question bank for all UKMLA candidates — no subscription, no trial period, no credit card.
What "adaptive" means here is specific. It does not mean a daily feed of questions served on a schedule. It does not mean a rotation through a fixed bank in a predetermined order. It means the engine reads your performance across every condition in the MLA content map in real time — every question you answer updates your proficiency profile — and it selects the next question to close your specific gap. If you are consistently strong in cardiovascular but weak in psychiatry, the engine serves more psychiatry questions. If your endocrine knowledge is solid but your neurology is failing, the engine concentrates on neurology. The algorithm does not know what the average candidate needs. It knows what you need.
The performance dashboard translates this into a visual proficiency map by MLA content map area. You can see at a glance whether your risk is in neurology, paediatrics, ethics and law, or data interpretation — and target accordingly. This is the metacognitive awareness that learning science says is a predictor of exam success: knowing what you do not know before exam day, not after.
How the Q-Bank connects to the Academy: getting a question wrong triggers a direct link to the Academy condition page for that topic. Read the condition page. Understand the guideline. Then test again. The loop closes.
Cost: Free for all UKMLA candidates.
Tool 3 — AskiatroX
AskiatroX is iatroX's clinical AI. It answers medical questions by searching current NICE CKS, SIGN, BNF, and NICE guideline databases and returning a cited, source-linked response — typically within seconds.
The UKMLA use case is precise. The exam tests UK-specific management: NICE thresholds, stepped care models, specific drug protocols, referral criteria. When a condition page or Q-Bank explanation raises a "but exactly what does NICE say?" question — the specific blood pressure threshold for starting antihypertensives, the exact timing recommendation for angiography in high-risk NSTEMI, the first-line antidepressant in stepped care for moderate depression — AskiatroX answers it with the guideline citation and a direct link to the source document.
This matters because competitors' explanations are authored once by a clinician, reviewed periodically, and may not reflect the latest guideline revision. AskiatroX queries current guideline text. When NICE updates NG136 (hypertension), NG185 (ACS), or NG222 (depression), the answer updates — because it is drawn from the live source, not from a static explanation written months or years ago.
For UKMLA candidates specifically: the exam tests the NICE answer, not the generally correct answer. A management pathway that is clinically reasonable but does not match the specific NICE recommendation is the wrong answer on the UKMLA. AskiatroX ensures that when you want to verify a management decision during revision, you are verifying it against the actual source the exam tests against.
Example: "What is the NICE recommendation for timing of angiography in high-risk NSTEMI?" AskiatroX returns the NICE NG185 recommendation — angiography within 72 hours for intermediate-risk, within 24 hours for high-risk — with a direct link to the guideline section. Eight seconds. Cited. Done.
Cost: Free.
Tool 4 — Brainstorm
Brainstorm is iatroX's clinical reasoning tool. You input a clinical scenario — a presenting complaint, a history, examination findings, initial investigations — and Brainstorm works through the differential diagnosis with you step by step, explaining what each finding supports or refutes and why.
Reading about a condition and being able to reason through a patient presenting with that condition are different skills. The Academy teaches the first. Brainstorm trains the second. The UKMLA AKT's hardest questions are not about knowing a fact — they are about applying reasoning to an ambiguous or atypical presentation where multiple diagnoses are plausible and the question asks you to commit to the most appropriate next step. This is the skill that separates candidates who know the facts from candidates who can apply them under exam pressure.
How to use it for revision: After reading the Academy page on heart failure, give Brainstorm a scenario — "65-year-old man, 3-week history of worsening dyspnoea and ankle swelling, BNP 1,200, CXR shows cardiomegaly and bilateral pleural effusions" — and work through the differential and management plan together. Is this heart failure? Could it be PE with right heart strain? What about nephrotic syndrome? What investigations would differentiate? What is the immediate management? Brainstorm walks through each branch of reasoning, explaining why certain findings point toward or away from each diagnosis.
What you are training is the ability to allocate clinical findings to a diagnosis and prioritise management — exactly what the SBA format tests. One question, five options, sixty seconds. The candidate who has practised this reasoning process is faster and more accurate than the candidate who has only read about it.
Cost: Free.
The Loop in Practice — A Worked Example
Here is what this actually looks like when all four tools work together. You are revising Acute Coronary Syndromes.
Step 1 — Academy. Open the ACS condition page. Read the TL;DR: five key points including the GRACE score for NSTEMI risk stratification, PCI vs thrombolysis timing for STEMI, dual antiplatelet therapy duration, and the role of fondaparinux. Skim the red flags: haemodynamic instability, ongoing chest pain at rest, new murmur suggesting mechanical complication. Read the management section — NICE NG185 is clearly named, the pathway is structured as the guideline structures it. Three to five minutes.
Step 2 — Q-Bank. Open the UKMLA Q-Bank. Do 5 adaptive ACS questions. You get the NSTEMI risk stratification question wrong — the GRACE score threshold for angiography within 72 hours versus within 24 hours.
Step 3 — AskiatroX. Tap AskiatroX: "What does NICE say about timing of angiography in NSTEMI?" It returns the NICE NG185 text — intermediate-risk within 72 hours, high-risk within 24 hours — cited, with a direct link to the guideline. Eight seconds. You lock it in.
Step 4 — Brainstorm. The following morning, open Brainstorm. Input: "58-year-old woman, atypical chest tightness for 4 hours, troponin borderline at 3 hours, ECG shows T-wave inversion V4-V6." Work through the differential: ACS vs PE vs myocarditis vs aortic dissection. What additional tests would you order? How does the troponin trajectory at 6 hours change the management? What if the D-dimer is also elevated? Brainstorm walks through each branch, explaining the reasoning.
Step 5 — Q-Bank again. Do 5 more ACS questions the next day. Get the angiography timing right. The adaptive engine moves on to your next weakest topic.
That is not revision. That is how clinical knowledge actually forms — through a cycle of reading, testing, verifying, reasoning, and retesting. And every step happens on the same platform, anchored to the same 430-condition blueprint, grounded in the same UK guidelines.
What No Other Platform Has
The combination is the moat. Each tool individually has parallels elsewhere — Quesmed has a Q-bank. Geeky Medics has condition notes. Some platforms have AI chatbots. But no other UKMLA platform has all four working as an integrated ecosystem:
A structured condition library (Academy) that feeds into an adaptive Q-bank that connects to a live guideline AI (AskiatroX) that supports a clinical reasoning engine (Brainstorm) — all mapped to the same 430-condition MLA content map, all grounded in NICE/CKS/BNF/SIGN, all free, and all MHRA-registered.
Quesmed has questions and flashcards — but no live guideline AI and no clinical reasoning tool. Passmedicine has questions and teaching notes — but no adaptive engine, no guideline AI, and no reasoning tool. Geeky Medics has OSCE preparation and clinical skills — but no adaptive Q-bank, no guideline AI, and no condition-level reference library mapped to the 2026 MLA content map. BMJ OnExamination has branded questions — but no adaptivity, no guideline integration, and no reasoning tool.
iatroX has all four. Connected. Free. And built specifically for the exam you are sitting.
The Honest Limitations
Brainstorm and AskiatroX are reasoning and reference tools — they are not replacements for clinical experience. A clinical placement teaches pattern recognition, communication, and procedural skills that no digital tool can replicate. Use iatroX alongside clinical training, not instead of it.
The Academy covers AKT content — clinical knowledge and management decisions. It does not cover OSCE/CPSA preparation. For clinical skills, communication stations, and examination technique, Geeky Medics remains the standard. The two platforms are complementary, not competitive.
The Q-Bank is adaptive but not infinite. If you want 3,000+ questions across every possible format variation, supplement with Passmedicine or Quesmed for additional volume. iatroX's adaptive targeting ensures every question you do addresses a real gap — but some candidates prefer the reassurance of maximum question exposure alongside adaptive precision.
Start Anywhere
- Academy: iatrox.com/academy/ukmla — 402 condition pages, free, no login required.
- Q-Bank: iatrox.com/boards — free adaptive UKMLA bank.
- AskiatroX: iatrox.com/ask-iatrox — instant NICE-grounded clinical answers.
- Brainstorm: iatrox.com/brainstorm — clinical reasoning practice.
All free. All connected. The loop starts wherever you start.