Why should all medical students be familiar with MedShr? Below, MedShr Editorial Assistant and fifth-year medical student Gianluca Pagano summarises his experience. I am a fifth-year medical student at Federico II University of Naples in Italy, and it has been almost a year since I have had the privilege of being a part of the MedShr family, as an Editorial Assistant. MedShr is used by over 500,000 medical professionals around the world, and is a powerful digital resource for teaching and studying. Here, I highlight five reasons all medical students should be familiar with MedShr.

1) Discover a global hospital

When I joined MedShr for the first time, I felt like I was walking along the corridors of a global hospital, which was fascinating. In a few clicks, I discovered its various departments and had the unbelievable opportunity to meet doctors from all nationalities discussing cases in every medical specialty. This is extremely important for a medical student, because it is like having a huge clinical database they would not have access to otherwise.

2) Experience live medicine

When I started medical school, I was the happiest student ever as I had accomplished my lifelong goal. Shortly after beginning, I became anxious to experience 'live medicine'. As you are aware, the first years of medical school are characterised by pre-clinical exams such as biology, biochemistry, statistics, and physiology, which might lead you to think "where is the live medicine?" Thanks to the MedShr community, junior medical students are able to discuss pre-clinical subjects and acquire some clinical knowledge with the input of both editors and doctors. For example, I created a quiz series named 'Pre-clinical, more clinical', allowing pre-clinical students to approach pre-clinical subjects from a clinical perspective. Curious? Just browse my published cases and check the series out!

3) Improve your studies through case discussion

In my opinion, joining a case discussion is both a challenge and a responsibility. As far as medical students are concerned, they can benefit from case discussions in two ways. Firstly, in order to provide the correct answer to a clinical case, they are forced to carefully revise its topic; and secondly, students are able to learn by reading experts' opinions about that clinical case or subject.

4) Master English clinical terminology

It is well known that English is the official language of science, as well as for medicine. Unfortunately, medical schools do not always provide classes in English. That's why discussing difficult topics using technical terms in a foreign language could be quite challenging. MedShr allows both students and medical professionals to improve, or master medical English. What about English native speakers? Oh, how lucky they are!

5) Connect with other medical students and doctors worldwide

And last, but not least... We all live in the social network era, where connecting with people you may not know in person is quite an everyday occurrence. However, meeting new people digitally is quite different when it is focused on a mutual passion for medicine. I have been in touch with several colleagues from every part of the world including the United Kingdom, India, Egypt, Bangladesh and more. Not only was I able to discover how medical schools and healthcare systems work in different countries, but also I made new friends. I would like to end this blog with an inspiring quote, which is MedShr's motto: "Share knowledge, save lives!" Join Gianluca on MedShr by downloading the app on the App Store, or Google Play, or signing up on the website. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9B4TpoAA2TQ Are you interested in joining the MedShr Editorial Team? Apply to become an Editor here.