Ora beats UWorld by 3x in biggest MedEd RCT ever
Research paper coming soon!
UWorld
- Traditional QBank
- 8,000 available questions
- Manual study plan
- Spaced Repetition QBank ™
- 30,000+ available questions
- AI-optimized study plan
Ora AI
Med school can be simpler
The only evidence-based study platform that guides you from M1 to MD.
Designed by top doctors & educators
"I love Ora, I tell all my classmates to use it. It's difficult to know what you don't know, but with Ora, you don't have to think about what to study - AI does it for you, so you can just sit down and start doing questions."
Ariel Kogan Zajdman, 2nd-Year MD/PhD Student
University of Connecticut School of Medicine
"This is a smarter UWorld. It has UWorld-equivalent questions, and it quickly identifies your weaknesses and builds a regimented plan to help you attack them. It's basically a blend between UWorld and Anki."
Aditya Shah, MS2
Central Michigan University College of Medicine
"Ora considers the learning science behind every detail..."
Patrick Lawson, PhD
Doctorate in Applied Cognition
Students always ask:
How is Ora different from UWorld?
Backed by leading investors
Ora has you covered.
From M1 to MD
Ora can help you prepare for any exam in med school.
Everything you need in one place
Ora has the tools to get you ready for any exam.
QBank
Mimics the real exam experience
Flashcards
Spaced-Repetition using FSRS
Videos
Fundamentals for over 300 topics
AI Copilot
Ask Ora AI about any medical topic
Articles
In-depth explanations of concepts
The Only Spaced-Repetition QBank™
Focus on your weaknesses—not your strengths.
Spaced-Repetition Flashcards.
Remember everything
Flashcards backed by FSRS, the most advanced spaced-repetition algorithm available.
Videos on 300+ topics
Ora has over 300 videos to help you learn the fundamentals of medicine.
AI Copilot at your fingertips
AI chat is integrated right into the QBank and flashcard experience,
making it easier than ever to get your questions answered.
In-depth reference library
Explore a meticulously curated repository offering an extensive collection of medical education content, designed to support your learning journey.
Explore the LibraryTraumatic Brain Injury
Pathophysiology
Disruption of brain function due to external mechanical force, involving:
- Primary injury: occurs at the time of trauma; includescerebral contusions,diffuse axonal injury, andintracranial hemorrhages
- Secondary injury: evolves over hours to days; includesexcitotoxicity → neuronal death andcerebral edema → increased intracranial pressure
These processes lead to neuronal damage, cerebral swelling, and compromised cerebral perfusion.
Clinical Presentation
- Mild TBI (concussion): transient loss of consciousness, headache, dizziness
- Moderate to severe TBI: prolonged loss of consciousness, focal neurological deficits, signs of increased intracranial pressure
Other features may include seizures, vomiting, altered mental status, and signs of skull fractures (e.g., CSF rhinorrhea).
Diagnosis
- First-line imaging: non-contrast head CT scan to detect fractures, hemorrhages, edema
- Glasgow Coma Scale: assess level of consciousness and injury severity
Additional workup may include MRI for diffuse axonal injury, laboratory tests, and intracranial pressure monitoring.
Management
- Initial stabilization: ensure airway, breathing, circulation (ABCs), cervical spine immobilization if needed
- Intracranial pressure management: elevate head of bed, osmotic agents (e.g., mannitol), sedation
- Surgical intervention: evacuation of hematomas, decompressive craniectomy for refractory increased ICP
Preventing secondary injury involves maintaining adequate blood pressure, seizure prophylaxis, and temperature management.
Atrial Fibrillation
Pathophysiology
Uncoordinated atrial activation leads to ineffective atrial contraction and an irregularly irregular ventricular response. Key mechanisms include:
- Multiple reentrant circuits → disorganized atrial depolarization
- Ectopic foci in pulmonary veins → trigger and maintain AF episodes
Electrical and structural remodeling of the atria promote AF persistence ("AF begets AF").
Clinical Presentation
- Palpitations: sensations of rapid or irregular heartbeat
- Fatigue and dyspnea due to decreased cardiac output
Patients may also experience dizziness, chest discomfort, or be asymptomatic. AF increases the risk of thromboembolic events, such as stroke.
Diagnosis
- Electrocardiogram (ECG): shows absent P waves and irregularly irregular rhythm
- Echocardiography to assess atrial size and underlying heart disease
Additional tests include thyroid function tests and evaluation of stroke risk using the CHA2DS2-VASc score.
Management
- Rate control: beta-blockers, calcium channel blockers, or digoxin to control ventricular rate
- Anticoagulation to prevent thromboembolism based on CHA2DS2-VASc score
Rhythm control with antiarrhythmic drugs, electrical cardioversion, or catheter ablation may be considered in symptomatic patients or those with heart failure.
Amyloidosis
Pathophysiology
Extracellular deposition of misfolded proteins forming insoluble amyloid fibrils (β-pleated sheets) disrupts organ function. Main types include:
- AL (Primary) Amyloidosis: Clonal plasma cells produce excess light chains → misfolding → amyloid fibrils.
- AA (Secondary) Amyloidosis: Chronic inflammation → elevated serum amyloid A (SAA) → misfolding → amyloid fibrils.
- ATTR Amyloidosis: Misfolded transthyretin (TTR) protein deposits; includes hereditary (mutations in TTR gene) and wild-type forms.
Other types include Aβ2M amyloidosis in long-term dialysis patients and localized amyloidosis (e.g., Alzheimer's disease).
Clinical Presentation
- Renal involvement: Nephrotic-range proteinuria, hypoalbuminemia → edema, progressive renal failure.
- Cardiac involvement: Restrictive cardiomyopathy, arrhythmias, heart failure.
- Peripheral neuropathy: Sensory and motor deficits; autonomic dysfunction (orthostatic hypotension, GI symptoms).
Other features may include macroglossia, hepatomegaly, carpal tunnel syndrome, and easy bruising (e.g., periorbital purpura).
Diagnosis
- First-line test: Tissue biopsy with Congo red staining showing apple-green birefringence under polarized light.
- Serum and urine protein electrophoresis (SPEP/UPEP) with immunofixation to detect monoclonal proteins (in AL amyloidosis).
Assessment of organ involvement includes echocardiography (cardiac dysfunction), urinalysis (proteinuria), and nerve conduction studies (neuropathy).
Management
- AL Amyloidosis: Chemotherapy (e.g., bortezomib-based regimens) to suppress plasma cell clone; possible autologous stem cell transplant.
- AA Amyloidosis: Treat underlying inflammatory disease to reduce SAA production.
- ATTR Amyloidosis: TTR stabilizers (e.g., tafamidis) to prevent TTR misfolding.
Supportive care for organ dysfunction includes diuretics for heart failure, ACE inhibitors for proteinuria, and medications for neuropathic pain.
Ora on the go
Download Ora on iOS or Android and learn wherever you are.
Frequently Asked Questions
What exams does Ora cover?
USMLE Step 1 & 2, and all eight NBME shelf exams. We cover all 1,400+ topics on the Official USMLE Content Outline.
We've also introduced dedicated resources for residency and Sub-I preparation, along with support for school-specific exams—including pre-built content tailored for select medical schools.
Is the content vetted by doctors?
Yes, Ora content is constantly reviewed by doctors.
Factual accuracy is our highest priority. Our content creation and validation pipeline includes:
- 22 physician-trained AI models
- 2.5 million PubMed articles and society guidelines
- 3 steps involving medical student feedback
- 10 steps involving manual quality-assurance by physicians
Is Ora better than UWorld? Any data?
In a recent RCT, Ora users improved three times more than UWorld users. Ora is currently working on a paper to publish the results.
Pros of UWorld
- More images
- 3 self-assessments
- Peer-comparison data
- Longer track record
Pros of Ora
- Higher exam scores and pass rate
- 50% more QBank questions
- Performance-based daily assignments
- Automatic flashcard assignment
- More comprehensive library
"I love the Qbank. It goes beyond the basics and makes me feel ready for whatever Step 1 throws at me."
- Ian Torchia, M1 at Central Michigan University
How are the flashcards different from AnKing?
Ora flashcards are more factually accurate than the AnKing deck, because they're physician-vetted with the latest literature. We think they're a bit easier on the eye, too.
In Ora, flashcards are automatically assigned based on your QBank performance. No need to manually unsuspend content.
Ora flashcards also have dynamic difficulty. This means that flashcards morph into harder or easier variants to meet you where you're at.
Why is there only one study session per day for NBME exams? How is it built?
The hardest part of step and shelf prep is knowing how and what to study. Ora handles that for you.
Based on your goal, exam date, and topic performance, Ora creates a personalized daily study session to make sure you know every topic by exam day.
How does Ora safeguard the copyright, privacy, and security of uploaded school files?
We fully respect the copyright and intellectual property of your school and your uploads. Uploaded documents are only used to match and suggest Ora-owned QBank questions, flashcards, and videos relevant to your materials. Here's how we protect your content:
- Access Controls: Uploaded school materials are securely stored with Amazon S3's server-side encryption (SSE-S3), and are never visible to anyone—not to other students, and not even to you after upload.
- Zero Data Retention (ZDR) Policy: Our document processor enforces a strict ZDR policy. They process your uploads in-memory and instantly delete them. Files are never stored, logged, or used for training or analytics.
- No AI Training: We never train Ora's AI models on any user-uploaded documents. Our AI is trained exclusively on content we own, content we have properly licensed, or open-source content.
Who is the team behind Ora?
Ora was founded by Ryan Phelps MD during neurosurgery residency at Stanford. In medical school at UCSF, he scored in the 100th percentile on the USMLE, but wanted to build a unified, data-driven platform to make studying less stressful for future med students.
He teamed up with his childhood best friends, Kevin Bastoul (an AI EdTech engineer) and Jacob Caccamo (a HealthTech UX designer) to build Ora.
Since founding, over 100 medical students and doctors have joined the team to help with content validation and product roadmap decisions.
