UpToDate is built for safe clinical decisions under time pressure. That makes it an exceptional revision scaffold — but only if you treat it as a *decision-point generator*, not a thing you “read”. Your exam score improves when you can *retrieve* first-line management, contraindications, red flags, and common traps under stress.
Do not copy content. Extract decisions.
UpToDate (and similar tools) is proprietary. The goal is not to reproduce text. The goal is to extract *clinical decision points* (what changes management) and convert them into prompts you can answer from memory.
The Bottom Line
- Pick one topic and time-box to 15 minutes to avoid rabbit holes.
- Extract 6–10 decision points (first-line, second-line, red flags, contraindications, monitoring).
- Convert each decision point into an exam-style question and re-test at Day 2 / Day 7 / Day 14.
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Step 1 — Choose one ‘exam-dense’ slice
Do not choose “diabetes”. Choose “T2DM: escalation after metformin”, “DKA fluids + insulin”, or “asthma acute exacerbation”. If it is too broad, you won’t get retrieval-ready outputs.
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Step 2 — The ‘Decision-Point Sweep’ (5 minutes)
Skim only to identify the points that change action: diagnostic criteria, severity grading, first-line/second-line, contraindications, drug interactions, monitoring intervals, and when to escalate or admit.
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Step 3 — Convert to prompts (6 minutes)
Create 6–10 prompts. Use formats like: “In X scenario, what is first-line and why?”, “What is the next step if Y fails?”, “Which contraindication changes the plan?”, “Which red flag mandates escalation?”
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Step 4 — ‘Closed-book’ retest immediately (2 minutes)
Close everything. Answer your prompts from memory. Mark each prompt as: Green (instant), Amber (slow/partial), Red (wrong). Only Reds and Ambers go into your spaced loop.
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Step 5 — Spaced micro-retests (2, 7, 14 days)
Re-answer the same prompts at Day 2, Day 7, Day 14. Your goal is speed + accuracy. If a prompt keeps failing, rewrite it narrower (one decision, one cue).
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Practice
Test your knowledge
Apply this concept immediately with a high-yield question block from the iatroX Q-Bank.
SourceUpToDate — About
Open Link SourceUpToDate Pro — Overview
Open Link SourceRoediger & Karpicke (2006): Testing effect (PubMed)
Open Link SourceKarpicke & Blunt (2011): Retrieval practice > elaborative study (PubMed)
Open Link SourceDunlosky et al. (2013): High-utility study techniques (PubMed)
Open Link