Helix

For doctors, for life

The medical exam
question bank that
teaches, not just tests.

  1. GMC · LicensingUKMLAUK medical licensingComing soon
  2. NHSE · Specialty recruitmentMSRAThe specialty-recruitment gatewayComing soon
  3. RCEM · Emergency medicineMRCEM PrimaryEmergency medicine basic sciencesLive
  4. RCoA · AnaestheticsPrimary FRCAAnaesthetics basic sciencesLive
  5. RCoA · AnaestheticsFinal FRCAThe anaesthetics fellowship finalLive
  6. RCR · Clinical radiologyFRCRClinical radiology fellowshipComing soon
01 · Why Helix

Medical exams are hard.
That's why we built Helix.

Cover a syllabus too wide to hold in your head, and understand all of it deeply enough to be tested on it.

Helix brings the whole thing into one place, leads you through the highest-yield material first, then keeps every topic coming back until it sticks.

02 · Helix SBAs

A question bank that teaches, not just tests.

The question

A real clinical vignette.

Exam-style stems written by doctors, pitched at the depth your exam asks. The decision you will actually face on the day.

The answer

Every option, explained.

Not just why the right answer is right. Why each wrong one is wrong, in a line, traced to a primary source.

Teaching, built in

Drug cards where they matter.

Colour-matched to the syringe label from theatre. Dose, onset, duration, and what to watch for.

Teaching, built in

Clinical pearls, visuals & more

Clinical pearls, diagrams and formulas ride with the question, so the reasoning sticks, not just the letter you picked.

Your turn

See it on a real question.

Open a question and read the teaching for yourself. No login required.

Single best answerQ 14 / 60

A 68-year-old is hypotensive twenty minutes after a spinal. Heart rate 44. What is the single best first drug?

  • APhenylephrine 100 mcg IV
  • BAtropine 600 mcg IV
  • CEphedrine 6 mg IV
  • DCrystalloid bolus alone
The question

A real clinical vignette.

Exam-style stems written by doctors, pitched at the depth your exam asks. The decision you will actually face on the day.

Single best answerQ 14 / 60

A 68-year-old is hypotensive twenty minutes after a spinal. Heart rate 44. What is the single best first drug?

  • APhenylephrine 100 mcg IV
  • BAtropine 600 mcg IV
  • CEphedrine 6 mg IV
  • DCrystalloid bolus alone
The answer

Every option, explained.

Not just why the right answer is right. Why each wrong one is wrong, in a line, traced to a primary source.

Single best answerQ 14 / 60

A 68-year-old is hypotensive twenty minutes after a spinal. Heart rate 44. What is the single best first drug?

  • APhenylephrine 100 mcg IVSlows the heartA pure alpha agonist. Reflex slowing drops the rate further.
  • BAtropine 600 mcg IVTreats rate onlyLifts the rate, but does little for the low pressure here.
  • CEphedrine 6 mg IVCorrect answerBeta activity raises both rate and pressure. First line here.
  • DCrystalloid bolus aloneToo slow aloneHelps preload, but slow to fix a symptomatic bradycardia.
Teaching, built in

Drug cards where they matter.

Colour-matched to the syringe label from theatre. Dose, onset, duration, and what to watch for.

Drug · Vasopressor

Ephedrine3 mg/mL

Key fact

Mixed alpha and beta agonist. The go-to when hypotension comes with a slow heart.

Dose
3 to 6 mg IV, repeat
Onset
1 to 2 min
Duration
10 to 15 min

Watch out for

  • Tachyphylaxis with repeat dosing.
  • Caution with MAOIs and in pre-eclampsia.
Teaching, built in

Clinical pearls, visuals & more

Clinical pearls, diagrams and formulas ride with the question, so the reasoning sticks, not just the letter you picked.

Clinical pearl

A slow, hypotensive patient needs beta support, not pure alpha.

Give ephedrine →
Heart rate44 → 72 bpm
MAP52 → 74 mmHg

Not phenylephrine. Pure alpha slows an already slow heart further.

Your turn

See it on a real question.

Open a question and read the teaching for yourself. No login required.

Your turn

Every question, taught like this.

Read the teaching on a real question and see for yourself.

Try Helix

No login required

03 · Ask Helix

Stuck on a question? Ask Helix.

Ask Helix for clarification and follow your curiosity to learn around the question. Helix can explain simply why each wrong option is wrong, and it answers in the voice of an examiner for your exam, not a generic chatbot.

SBA · Physiology · Respiratory
If pre-oxygenation is so important, why can 100% oxygen cause atelectasis?
04 · Interactive walkthroughs

Don't just read the diagram. Drive it.

Hand-built, clickable diagrams you reason through, instead of static textbook figures. Drag a slider or pick a condition and watch the physiology respond in real time.

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05 · AI-marked CRQs

Written answers, marked the moment you finish.

Write a real constructed-response answer and Helix marks it against the scheme in seconds, with the marks you missed and why. Practise the way you will actually be marked, long before exam day.

CRQ · Obstetric anaesthesia

A 32-year-old at 34 weeks presents with BP 172/114 and 3+ proteinuria. Outline your immediate anaesthetic management of severe pre-eclampsia. (8 marks)

Your answer

I would treat this as an obstetric emergency. For seizure prophylaxis I would start magnesium sulfate 4 g IV loading dose then 1 g/hr infusion. To control hypertension I would use labetalol 20 mg IV boluses titrated to effect, aiming for a target BP <160/110. I would involve a multidisciplinary team including obstetrics, senior anaesthetist, and neonatology.

6/8
marks
Two marks left on the table
+1Target is <150/100, not the <160/110 treatment threshold
+1Delivery is the only definitive treatment, not mentionedSafety
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