Doctors.net has launched two new educational quiz apps to test healthcare professionals’ medical knowledge on the go.

Doctors.net says its ‘Medical Quiz Lite’ app, which can be downloaded free of charge via iTunes for iPhone and iPad, provides “informal, light-hearted yet valuable learning tools”.

The app contains questions on general medical knowledge, while the second paid-for ‘Premium App’ quizzes cover specialist areas such as therapeutics, cardiology, general internal medicine and general practice.

The idea is that this can help keep doctors and other healthcare professionals up to date with their continued medical education (CME), an essential and obligatory part of a physician’s career in the UK.

CME has also taken on a new importance as doctors are being revalidated by the General Medical Council in the UK and must now prove, among other criteria, that they are up to date on medical information, in order to keep practising medicine. 

The free app comes with three sets of ten questions on general medical knowledge in a straight forward Yes/No format. Many questions revolve around drug uses for certain conditions and if you do not answer very well, you get a helpful note saying ‘Hope you’re not a doctor!’ with your final score. 

The medical quiz apps follow the launch by Doctors.net.uk of a medical news app, which is designed specifically for UK doctors.

Dr Tim Ringrose, chief executive of Doctors.net.uk, said: “Education is becoming increasingly important to doctors with the introduction of revalidation, and with heavy workloads, busy lifestyles and growing economic pressures, doctors need to find convenient and effective ways to fit CME around their schedule.

“Our new apps answer doctors’ need for bite-sized learning resources that are so quick and accessible they can be completed on an iPhone or iPad within minutes. We have presented these quizzes in a light-hearted way to make learning fun as well as informative.’