PassMed is a question bank platform built specifically for US medical board and shelf exams. We serve two audiences:

• Residents & Doctors sitting specialty board exams (ABA Basic, ABA Advanced, ABIM, ABFM, CREOG, ABOG, USMLE Step 2 CK)
• Medical Students preparing for NBME shelf exams across all core clerkships

Every question is reviewed by a qualified doctor and matched to the official exam blueprint. PassMed started in the UK, where it's helped thousands of doctors pass their exams — now we've brought that same proven methodology to US boards.

Yes — you can access PassMed free for 7 days with no credit card required. You'll get limited access to the question bank for your chosen exam during the trial. After 7 days, choose a plan or let the trial expire with no charge. We recommend signing up for the free trial before purchasing so you can see whether the platform suits your learning style.

Click "Free Trial" and create your account. You'll select your exam — either a board exam (residents/doctors) or a shelf exam (medical students). From there, you can start answering questions immediately. No setup or downloads required.

PassMed is fully web-based and works on any modern device — desktop, laptop, tablet, or smartphone. Your progress syncs automatically across all your devices. We recommend Chrome, Firefox, Edge, or Safari, updated within the last 12 months.

Enter your email address and password at www.passmed.com. The password field is case sensitive. Click "Log in" and you'll be taken straight into your learning portal.

Click the "Forgotten password?" link on the login page to reset your password via email.

Common reasons for failed logins include:

• Browser issues — try a different browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge)
• Incorrect email or password — the password is case-sensitive; check for extra spaces if you're copy-pasting
• Account not yet activated — make sure you've verified your email after signing up

If you're still unable to log in after trying the above, contact us at [email protected].

We recommend starting at least 3 months before your board exam date, and at least 4–6 weeks before a shelf exam. Begin with a practice session to baseline your current knowledge, then build a topic-by-topic plan around the official content blueprint. Consistent daily sessions produce far better results than last-minute cramming — spaced repetition requires time to work.

We don't publish a single pass rate figure because it would be misleading. Pass rates vary significantly by exam, by how much of the bank a user completed, and by how long they studied — a headline number risks creating false expectations. What we can tell you: users who complete at least 70% of their question bank consistently outperform national averages — and we back that with our pass guarantee.

We offer 1-month, 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month subscription plans for each exam bank. Longer plans offer better value per month. Visit our Pricing page for current rates. Institutional pricing is also available.

Each subscription gives you access to one exam question bank. If you're preparing for multiple exams, you'll need a separate subscription for each. You can hold multiple subscriptions under the same account, and progress for each bank is tracked independently.

Yes — you can subscribe to more than one exam bank with a single account.

Your subscription begins within minutes after you submit payment.

Yes. You can extend your subscription at any time without losing your progress. A renewal discount is automatically applied at checkout. You'll be prompted before your subscription expires with an option to purchase additional time.

Not at all — your account data is retained even after your subscription expires. If you renew with the same subscription, all of your statistics will still be available. You also have the option to reset if you prefer a fresh start.

Unfortunately, subscriptions cannot be temporarily paused or suspended at this time.

Yes. If you complete 80% of the questions in your package and don't pass your exam, we will refund the full amount of your subscription costs. To claim, email your score report to [email protected] within 30 days of the score report being published.

We offer a free trial so you can try PassMed before making a purchase. Once you've purchased a subscription, we do not offer refunds unless you fail your exam — in which case, see the pass guarantee above.

During checkout, click the "Have a promo code?" box, enter your code, and click "Apply." The discount will be applied to all eligible products and your cart total will update automatically. Only one coupon code can be used per purchase.

We accept Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. Institutional accounts can also pay by ACH bank transfer or via purchase order and invoice.

Absolutely — your security is our priority. We do not store any credit card information. All payment data is sent over an encrypted TLS connection. Payments are processed by Stripe, a global leader in secure payment processing. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

Declines are usually caused by your card-issuing bank — this can happen due to unusual transaction patterns, purchase limits, or incorrect card details. Contact your bank to resolve the issue and try again, or use a different card. If problems persist, email [email protected].

Yes. We offer institutional licensing for residency programs, fellowship programs, medical schools, and hospital systems. Group discounts are available for 5+ users. Visit our Institutions page or email [email protected] for a custom quote.

No. Subscriptions are single-user only. Sharing accounts means your performance analytics become inaccurate and your personalised recommendations won't work properly. Account sharing violates our Terms of Service and may result in suspension. For multi-user access, see our Institutional plans.

We currently cover:

• Board exams (Residents & Doctors): ABA Basic, ABA Advanced, ABIM, ABFM, CREOG, ABOG, USMLE Step 2 CK
• Shelf exams (Medical Students): Emergency Medicine, Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Neurology, OB/GYN, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Surgery

More exams are in development. See our Exams page for the full list and question counts.

Every question on PassMed is reviewed by a qualified physician and our authors are specialty-matched.

We map every question to the official content blueprint published by the relevant board (ABA, ABIM, ABFM, NBME, etc.). Question weighting across topics mirrors the actual exam distribution, so your revision time is spent where the marks are. Blueprints are reviewed quarterly and questions updated whenever official distributions change.

Content is updated on a regular basis according to feedback from our PassMed community and exam changes. We don't set a fixed schedule — if a question becomes outdated, we update it. New questions are added regularly.

Each question includes the correct answer and a detailed explanation. These explanations are derived from quality resources and publications and written by qualified doctors. We also explain why each incorrect answer option is wrong — understanding the distractors is one of the most effective ways to avoid similar traps on the real exam.

Question counts vary by exam. See our Exams page for the specific count for each bank. All banks grow continuously as our physician author teams add new questions.

Yes. Your dashboard automatically tracks performance by topic and subtopic, showing where you're strongest and where to focus. We provide a Weighted Performance Average (WPA) for each topic, which takes into account both the number of attempts and your percentage correct — giving you a more accurate picture of your true mastery than a simple score alone.

Printing, saving, copying, screen capture, or any other reproduction of PassMed materials is strictly prohibited and constitutes copyright infringement and a breach of our Terms and Conditions. We monitor all user activity and any violation may result in account suspension, termination without refund, and/or legal action.

We are continually expanding our content and always looking for contributors and editors. If you're a keen academic with attention to detail who would love to contribute, please send your information via our contact page or email [email protected] and we'll be in touch.

Use the "Submit Feedback" button within the question interface to share your thoughts. Every piece of feedback is reviewed by our editorial team and used to drive continuous improvement.

Yes, you can switch freely between them from your dashboard — your progress in each bank is tracked independently.

Yes, you can reset your question bank once from your account settings. Please note this will permanently erase all your progress and statistics and cannot be undone. Use it wisely — once it's gone, it's gone.

Yes — you can access your subscription from any device (phone, laptop, tablet) and from any location. Please note that sharing accounts is not permitted, and simultaneous logins are prohibited. Violations of our Terms & Conditions may result in account cancellation.

Every question has a "Submit Feedback" button. Use it to flag the issue and add a note. Our content team reviews all reports. If you're correct, we'll update the question.

Yes. We offer institutional licensing for residency programs, fellowship programs, and medical schools. Institutional accounts include a program director dashboard, cohort benchmarking, assigned question sets, and flexible billing. Visit our Institutions page or email [email protected] for a custom quote.

Yes. Program directors can create and assign custom question sets, quizzes, and mock assessments. You can set due dates and track completion.

Yes. Institutional accounts include a program director dashboard with aggregate and individual-level performance data — topic-level scores, session activity, progress over time, and cohort benchmarking. Note: data from personal (retail) subscriptions is not shared with the institution.

Institutional billing is flexible. We can invoice annually per program or per seat, and we work with GME offices and can accommodate purchase orders. Contact [email protected] and we'll walk you through the options.