Comparison

Picmonic Nursing School Study vs Medical Reference Guides

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Picmonic Nursing School Study

Master nursing school and board exams with engaging mnemonic videos and practice questions. This app uses research-proven techniques to boost memory retention, helping you learn more effectively and retain information longer. Prepare for NCLEX, NP exams, and various nursing courses with a comprehensive study tool.

Highlights
  • Mnemonic videos
  • Spaced repetition quizzing
  • Thousands of quiz questions
  • NCLEX RN/PN prep
  • Nurse Practitioner exam prep
  • Textbook mappings
  • Daily review quizzes
Features
Read full description

Prepare for nursing school and pass your nursing exams with Picmonic! For FREE you can access our most popular Videos, Multiple Choice Quiz Questions, and Daily Quiz with Spaced Repetition for 5 days. Get full unlimited access with an affordable subscription. Ridiculously efficient & effective. Make Studying Fun & Remember More in Less Time with Picmonic, the world’s best mnemonic video & spaced repetition quizzing study tool and app that’s research-proven to increase memory retention 331%! 14,000+ RN quiz & practice questions & 1,200+ entertaining mnemonic videos covering all major topics & subjects. Ditch boring textbook memorization, recall information faster & retain it longer to improve your grades to ace your nursing courses, clinicals & board certification exam with less study time using unforgettable images and stories. • Program Options: Nursing RN, Nursing LPN, Nurse Practitioner **MEDICAL/PA/PT/OT/RX & College students, click “Picmonic Developer” under this description for the Picmonic for Medicine App OR Picmonic for College (Paramedic, Medical Terms, MCAT, Biology, A&P, Psych). • Nursing Topics & Courses: Fundamentals of Nursing, Physiology, Pharmacology, Pathophysiology, Med-Surg, Microbiology, Biochemistry, Anatomy, Critical Care, Peds & more • Body System course organization & prep with the NCLEX Study Guide • Textbook mappings: Elsevier & Lippincott books like Saunders NCLEX, Lewis, Pottery & Perry, Lilley, Lehne, Jarvis, Adams, Taylor, Brunner & Suddarth, Ignatavicius, Wong, Lowdermilk & Ricci! **Nurse Practitioner Students 1,800 NP videos & 21,000 quiz questions for your FNP, ANP, GNP, or A-GNP courses & the AANP or ANCC board exam, you can even follow along with the Fitzgerald or Leik review books! “I am so excited and HAPPY that I passed the ANCC Board examination for FNP!! I definitely feel that using Picmonic was SO HELPFUL to remember many of the facts that I needed to know!” Mary B. @ Chamberlain Nursing **Nursing Students Start memorizing Lab Values. Stop confusing acids & bases. Pass the NCLEX® in 75 questions then go be a great nurse! All the critical info you need to know as a nursing student is turned into 1,000 videos & 10,000 quiz questions preparing you for nursing school, HESI ATI Kaplan exams, and the NCLEX RN or NCLEX PN. “I struggled in my Fundamentals class, then found Picmonic & made a 95 on my fluid and electrolytes exam! My first A ever in nursing school!” Rene S. @ Bevill State Nursing “Pure memorization can be hard, but Picmonic has helped me ACE my pharmacology class in nursing school. 1000x thanks!” Michael B. @ Valencia Nursing Use the tool starting day one to learn nursing smarter. Assigned reading, follow along by textbook chapter watching these cartoon mnemonics to show up to class prepared, then use the Daily Review Quiz that’s better than Quizlet or any pharm flashcards or Mosby flashcards to prep for that HESI or ATI Nursing exam. You’ll remember all the details and stop referencing Nursing Drug Handbooks / Scrub Cheats. Get an NCLEX Qbank quiz question wrong in NCLEX RN Mastery, UWORLD NCLEX, NRSNG, Osmosis or Kaplan NCLEX Qbank? Hop back to Picmonic so it sticks! Our characters become your very own ATI Mentor and bond together to act as your Saunders NCLEX RN review book choir, singing you the sweet answers. Premium Access: Upgrade for all features & content in your area of study. Monthly, semesterly & annual subscriptions are available, prices vary by product & location. Payment will be charged to your iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase & any unused portion of a free trial period will then be forfeited. Subscriptions automatically renew & your account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, at the original subscription price, unless auto-renew is turned off thru iTunes Account Settings prior to being charged. https://picmonic.com/pages/terms-of-use

About

Medical Reference Guides

Features
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Medical Reference Guides is an in-depth app that covers several medical fields with high quality detailed content and images. The medical fields included are Skeletons, Muscles, Organs, Nervous System, Lymphatic System, Diseases and Disorders and Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE). Features: High-Quality Images: View detailed images of muscles, organs, and anatomical structures to aid in your understanding. Offline Access: Access topics anytime, anywhere, even without an internet connection for content. Easy Navigation: Find information quickly with intuitive categorization and search functionality. Pinch-to-Zoom: Zoom in on images for a closer look at muscle structures and anatomical details. Bookmarking: Save topics for convenient access and study on-the-go. Medical fields: Skeletons: Vertebral Column, Skull, Arm and Leg. With details covering Spinal Vertebrae, Chest, Cranial Bones, Facial Bone, Middle Ears, Upper Arm, Lower Arm, Hand, Coxal Bone, Femur, Patella, Tibia, Fibula and Foot. Muscles: Head, Neck, Torso, Upper Limbs and Lower Limbs. With details covering Ear, Mouth, Nose, Larynx, Forehead, Clavicular, Infrahyoid, Suprahyoid, anterior, Lateral, Posterior neck muscles the Abdomen, Back, Chest and Pelvis, the Arms, Forearm, Hand, Shoulder, Thoracic Walls and Vertebral Column, the Foot, Gluteal, Iliac Region, Leg and Thigh. Nervous system: Central Nervous System, Peripheral Nervous System, Neurons and Nerve Fibers, Termination, Cranial Nerves, Spinal Nerves, Nerves of the Brachial Plexus, Cervical Plexus, Lumbrosacral Plexus and Anatomy of the Autonomic Nervous System. Organs: Digestion, Respiration, Excretion, Endocrine System, Circulation, Senses and Reproduction. With details covering the Large Intestine, Liver, Small Intestine and Stomach, the Bronchus, Lungs and Nose, the Kidneys, Urethra and Urinary Bladder, the Adrenal Gland, Pancreas, Parathyroid and Thyroid, the Heart and Spleen, the Ears, Eyes, Skin and Tongue. Diseases: Cancer Types, Cutaneous/Skin Conditions, Endocrine Diseases, Eye Diseases and Infectious Diseases. Disorders: Communication Disorders, Genetic Disorders, Neurological Disorders, Voice Disorders, Liver Disorders, Heart Disorders and Mental Illness. Lymphatic system: Head and Neck, Arm and Axilla, Chest, Abdomen and Leg. With details covering the Lymph Nodes and Vessels in the Head, Neck Cervical and the Jugular Trunk, the Arm and Axilla such as Pectoral, Apical, Subscapular, Apical and Delopacterol, the Paratracheal Nodes, Intercostal Nodes and Parasternal Nodes. Also Vessel information about the Thoracic Duct, Right Lymphatic Duct and Bronchomediastinal Lymph Trunk. The Paraaortic, Iliac and Sacral regions and Vessels include the Lumbar Lymph Trunk, Intestinal Trunk and Cisterna Chyli, the Cloquet's Node and Poplitea Lymph Nodes. Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE): Detailed reference material is included for 'History' preparation describing the type of questions students are expected to ask patients in order to evaluate a thorough diagnosis. Step by Step instructions of how to perform Physical Examinations is included in a simple structured manner making each topic easy to digest and follow. The top level categories included are: General, Alimentary, Cardiovascular, Endocrine, Hematological, Integumental, Nervous, Pulmonary, Rheumatoid, Urogenital, Obstetrics, Pediatrics. The source data used for all medical information information is Wikipedia.

Screenshots

Picmonic Nursing School Study4 screens
Medical Reference Guides4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Picmonic Nursing School Study at none against Medical Reference Guides's shown. Picmonic Nursing School Study also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 9 months). Medical Reference Guides's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.6). On price, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Picmonic Nursing School Study sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $11.99 per month and Medical Reference Guides sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Picmonic Nursing School Study ships an update monthly, Medical Reference Guides every 9 months. Both last shipped on November 4, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Picmonic Nursing School Study versus Medical Reference Guides: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPicmonic Nursing School StudyMedical Reference Guides
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (21K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews77.4% of reviews—
Number of ratings21K — better—
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 9 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.612.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size120 MB110 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperPicmonic - The Visual Learning CommunityFaisal Akhtar

Bugs and requests

Picmonic Nursing School Study

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Difficulty starting free trial due to app crashes
  • Incomplete quiz questions or missing content

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add more content for veterinary nursing/technician programs
  • Improve quiz question quality and accuracy
  • Offer a one-time purchase option instead of subscription
  • Provide more detailed content coverage for USMLE Step 1 preparation

Medical Reference Guides

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

8 purchases

Picmonic Nursing School Study

Subscriptions8
  • Monthly7 Days trial$11.991 Month
  • Monthly7 Days trial2 variants$14.991 Month
  • Premium7 Days trial2 variants$15.991 Month
Show 5 more
  • Monthly7 Days trial$28.991 Month
  • Premium7 Days trial$29.991 Month
  • Semesterly7 Days trial$49.996 Months
  • Yearly7 Days trial$79.991 Year
  • Premium7 Days trial$79.991 Year
1 purchases

Medical Reference Guides

One-time1
  • English$0.99

Questions

Is Picmonic Nursing School Study free?
Picmonic Nursing School Study is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Medical Reference Guides free?
Medical Reference Guides is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Picmonic Nursing School Study or Medical Reference Guides have ads?
Medical Reference Guides shows ads; Picmonic Nursing School Study does not.
Which is updated more often, Picmonic Nursing School Study or Medical Reference Guides?
Picmonic Nursing School Study ships an update monthly, and Medical Reference Guides every 9 months. Most recently, Picmonic Nursing School Study was updated on November 4, 2026 and Medical Reference Guides on November 4, 2026.

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