PassMedicine has earned its place as one of the default UK medical revision tools. For many candidates, it is the first Q-bank they hear about as foundation doctors, and it remains a familiar fixture through MRCP, MRCGP and beyond. But the question in 2026 is not whether PassMedicine has enough questions. The better question is whether a traditional question-bank model is still the most efficient way to learn medicine.
This article compares PassMedicine and iatroX on the dimensions that actually matter: what each platform does after you get a question wrong, how each helps you identify weakness without burning through hours of self-directed revision, and how each fits around the realities of working in the NHS.
PassMedicine is still a strong traditional question bank
The honest starting point is that PassMedicine remains one of the most efficient ways to do a lot of medical questions quickly. It covers the full UK exam pipeline — MRCP, MRCGP AKT, UKMLA and medical finals, MSRA, DRCOG, PLAB 1 and the Pharmacy Registration Assessment — with bank sizes that few competitors match. PassMedicine's public materials reference over 5,100 MRCP Part 1 SBAs, over 4,500 MRCGP AKT questions, and over 11,000 medical finals and UKMLA SBAs across its resources.
The model is easy to understand. You answer questions in revision or timed mode, read the explanation, optionally consult a textbook-style note, and move on. The interface is familiar, fast, and avoids the friction of more complex platforms. For candidates who already know how to self-direct their revision — who know which specialty they are weakest in, when to switch from learning mode to mock papers, and how to convert mistakes into retained knowledge — PassMedicine works.
It also has the network effect that comes from being the default. Most UK trainees have at least seen the interface, which makes shared revision plans, study groups and second-hand recommendations easy.
The limitation of "just do more questions"
The weak point of traditional Q-banks is not that they lack content. It is that they often assume the learner can turn content into a personalised learning system unaided.
Volume is valuable, but volume is not the same as efficient learning. A candidate can answer thousands of questions and still fail to identify the patterns in their weaknesses — particularly across overlapping topics like cardiology and respiratory medicine, where the same patient presentation might map to two reasonable answers depending on a single discriminating feature. Static banks often depend heavily on user discipline: the platform shows performance, but the learner still has to decide how to remediate.
This becomes more pronounced for working doctors. Most candidates are not revising in protected study time. They are doing questions in 20-minute windows between admissions, on commutes, after night shifts. In that environment, having to decide what to revise next on every session is itself an obstacle. The friction is not the question count. The friction is the decision-making the platform offloads back onto the user.
There is a second issue: question banks tend to over-reward pattern recognition of textbook cases. Candidates can score well on practice questions and still struggle on the actual exam, because real exam questions test discriminating reasoning between near-miss diagnoses rather than recognition of classic presentations. If your revision tool does not actively force you to confront the cases you find difficult, you will spend disproportionate time on what you already know.
What iatroX adds beyond PassMedicine
iatroX is built differently. The core principle is that revision should function as a learning system, not just a content library. The adaptive engine targets weak areas automatically, the spaced repetition layer resurfaces topics before you forget them, and the active recall format forces reconstruction from memory rather than recognition.
Beyond the Q-bank, the platform integrates clinical AI. Ask iatroX answers follow-up clinical questions — "why is this not pulmonary embolism?", "what does NICE recommend in pregnancy?", "how does management differ in renal impairment?" — with explanations grounded in NICE, CKS, BNF, SIGN and NHS sources. This matters during revision, because the most valuable moment for clarification is immediately after getting a question wrong, when the gap in understanding is fresh.
The platform also includes over 80 clinical calculators, CPD logging with FourteenFish integration, and brainstorm and differential diagnosis tools. Crucially, core UK exam banks — PLAB 1, UKMLA, MRCGP AKT, MRCP Part 1, MRCEM, PSA, MSRA, PANE — are free. That removes the access barrier that pushes candidates to choose between platforms based on cost rather than fit.
The fundamental difference is what happens after you get a question wrong. On a traditional Q-bank, you read the explanation and move on. On iatroX, the system tracks that weakness, schedules a return, lets you ask a clarifying clinical question, and connects the answer to the underlying guideline. The next time you encounter a question on that topic, you have either consolidated the learning or it surfaces again until you do.
PassMedicine vs iatroX: direct comparison
| Feature | PassMedicine | iatroX |
|---|---|---|
| Core model | Traditional high-volume Q-bank | AI-adaptive clinical learning platform |
| Best for | Candidates wanting familiar, high-volume practice | Candidates wanting adaptive revision and clinical AI |
| Learning approach | Question practice with explanations | Active recall, spaced repetition and adaptive targeting |
| Clinical AI | Not the main product proposition | Integrated Ask iatroX clinical Q&A |
| Guideline grounding | Exam explanations | UK guideline-grounded explanations citing NICE, CKS, BNF, SIGN |
| Cost | Subscription model | Core UK banks free; paid specialist banks |
| Use after exam | Primarily revision | Revision plus clinical reference, calculators and CPD |
| Best user | Self-directed candidate | Candidate who wants the system to identify weakness and guide next steps |
Who should choose PassMedicine?
PassMedicine remains the right choice for several profiles. Budget-conscious candidates who want a single, predictable subscription with a familiar interface. Candidates who are already succeeding with high-volume practice and just want more repetitions before exam day. Candidates who know the exam well, know their own weak areas, and want a no-frills tool to grind through. Users who explicitly prefer a simple, established product without the complexity of an adaptive engine or integrated AI.
If your revision strategy is "do as many questions as possible and review the explanations", PassMedicine does this efficiently and at scale.
Who should choose iatroX?
iatroX fits a different set of profiles. Working doctors revising around clinical shifts, where adaptive targeting saves the decision-making cost of every session. GP trainees who want NICE and CKS reasoning embedded in the explanations rather than separate. IMGs entering the NHS who need UK clinical context, not just exam questions. Students who struggle with disorganised revision and benefit from the platform deciding what to surface next. Neurodivergent learners who benefit from reduced cognitive load and clearer next steps.
It is also the right choice for candidates who want one platform across exams, clinical questions, calculators and CPD — rather than maintaining separate subscriptions and tools for each function.
Verdict
PassMedicine remains a strong traditional Q-bank. If question volume and familiarity are your priorities, it does what it does well. iatroX is the better fit for candidates who want a modern clinical-learning platform: adaptive, guideline-grounded, AI-enabled and useful beyond the exam.
The deeper question is not which platform has more questions. It is which platform changes what you do after you get a question wrong. Traditional Q-banks help you practise. iatroX helps you learn, verify, retain and apply.
You can try the free iatroX UK Q-bank — including PLAB 1, UKMLA, MRCGP AKT, MRCP Part 1, MRCEM, PSA, MSRA and PANE — without a subscription.