CorePendium vs Run the Board
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
CorePendium
This app provides a comprehensive, continuously updated, and peer-reviewed clinical reference for Emergency and Urgent Care Medicine. It features integrated multimedia, offline access, intuitive navigation, and medical calculators, making it an essential tool for medical professionals on the go.
- Expert-backed, continuously revised content
- Integrated media library (ECGs, X-rays, videos, audio)
- Offline access to all content
- Intuitive navigation with Rapid Access and Deep Dive sections
- Integrated medical calculators
- Links to EM:RAP knowledge base content
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The textbook is dead. Long live CorePendium! CorePendium is the first truly comprehensive, continuously updated, peer-reviewed, multimedia clinical reference for Emergency and Urgent Care Medicine. Download the CorePendium App and bring the best clinical reference text with you anywhere in the world, regardless of connectivity. With your EM:RAP account, the CorePendium App allows you to join over 65,000 members of the CorePendium community. The CorePendium App gives you… • EXPERT-BACKED CONTENT — Written, edited, and peer-reviewed by a team of over 800 leading academics and practitioners, every CorePendium chapter is continuously revised by leading experts in emergency medicine and beyond. • INTEGRATED MEDIA — Comprehensive learning requires more than just words. Dive into our constantly growing media library of ECG’s and X-rays, as well as expertly-produced videos and audio segments. Look, listen, and learn, all without leaving the CorePendium App. • OFFLINE MODE — With new chapters being added and updated frequently to reflect the latest literature and practice guidelines, the CorePendium App makes sure you always have the newest information at your fingertips, 24 hours a day. The app looks for updates to its offline database every time you’re active online, so that you have the answers you need, no matter what. Do you want access to our skillfully-shot procedure videos and expert commentary away from a wireless connection? You can choose to download our audio and video content to ensure access when you need it most. • INTUITIVE NAVIGATION — Designed to prioritize all of the crucial information and media needed for the critical patient, CorePendium’s ‹Rapid Access› section gives you the quick insights you’ll need at the bedside. If you are looking for more background, the ‹Deep Dive› section provides all the information you’ll need to know about a topic. Sleek chapter sidebars, internal searches, search filters, and curated tabs ensure you can find what you need when you need it. • MEDICAL CALCULATORS — Get all of the commonly used clinical scoring and decision tools you need, with important interpretation data compiled by some of medicine’s foremost experts just a thumb slide away. Our calculators are also integrated with the content that uses it most. • PART OF THE EM:RAP KNOWLEDGE BASE — CorePendium is just one piece of the EM:RAP universe. The CorePendium App takes full advantage of its special connection to the most listened to programs in Emergency and Urgent Care Medicine by integrating that content. With continuously updated links to video, conference content, and podcasts you’ll always get the most cutting-edge answers. • INTERNATIONAL — CorePendium is for the whole world. We have an international advisory board that aims to address emergency care for patients and practitioners in all of the various environments where it is practiced. • EDITORIAL INDEPENDENCE — CorePendium is written by clinicians for clinicians, without the support of advertising or industry. With the CorePendium App you just get the best information, current and expertly reviewed. • THE REFERENCE OF RECORD — Accessed millions of times, CorePendium is already the reference textbook used by residency training programs and frontline clinicians the world over.
Run the Board
This app simulates the American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM) Certifying Exam with AI-powered cases and realistic medical scenarios. Practice all 8 case types, interpret EKGs and ultrasound clips, and receive detailed performance scores based on ABEM criteria. Includes voice input for responses and a full-length mock exam.
- AI-powered realistic cases
- All 8 ABEM case types
- Real ultrasound and EKG interpretation
- Detailed ABEM scoring reports
- Full-length mock exam simulation
- Voice input for responses
- Quick action panels
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Run the Board simulates the ABEM Certifying Exam. An AI examiner runs you through realistic cases, adapts to your clinical decisions in real time, and scores you against ABEM's published criteria. ALL 8 CASE TYPES Every case type on the new Certifying Exam: - Clinical Decision-Making - Prioritization - Reassessment - Difficult Conversations - Managing Conflict - Patient-Centered Communications - Procedures - Ultrasound BUILT FOR THE NEW FORMAT Clinical Decision-Making runs as a structured discussion, not a resuscitation drill. Cases open undifferentiated. You commit to a differential before any result is released, say what each test rules in or out, and justify your management. The examiner asks why, not just what. AI EXAMINER Each case pairs you with an examiner that presents a new patient, responds to your workup, introduces complications, and probes your reasoning. It never confirms, corrects, or hints. Mistakes show up in the patient's course, the way they do on exam day. REAL ULTRASOUND CLIPS POCUS video across cardiac, FAST, aorta, biliary, renal, DVT, lung, IVC, soft tissue, OB/GYN, ocular, and procedural guidance. You explain the study to a standardized patient, choose your own views, and interpret real pathology on screen. At least one image comes back suboptimal and you have to name the fix. 12-LEAD EKGs STEMI, NSTEMI, arrhythmias, heart blocks, PE, hyperkalemia, and more. Tap for full screen, pinch to zoom, examine each lead. EKGs update dynamically after treatment. PROCEDURE CASES Perform the procedure step by step and hear what you encounter after each one. Indications, consent with the patient, technique, complications, and post-procedure care. ABEM SCORE REPORTS Every case is scored against criteria drawn from ABEM's published standards for that case type. Clinical Decision-Making scores 9 domains. Communication cases score 5 to 6. Ultrasound scores 3. Each rated Excellent, Competent, Developing, or Needs Improvement. MOCK EXAM Full-length simulation in the Certifying Exam format. 4 Clinical Care cases at 15 minutes, then 6 Communication and Procedure cases at 10 minutes. Hard timers, structured debriefs, full performance summary. VOICE INPUT Speak your responses instead of typing. On-device transcription via WhisperKit with medical terminology support. Audio never leaves your device. QUICK ACTIONS A categorized panel of common orders, labs, imaging, exam steps, and communication phrases. Chips adapt to each case type. FREE TO TRY Your first case is free. Unlock unlimited cases, Mock Exam, and every feature with a one-time purchase. IMPORTANT Run the Board is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or approved by the American Board of Emergency Medicine. Case content is AI-generated and may contain inaccuracies. For practice purposes only.
Screenshots
Verdict
CorePendium and Run the Board both sit at 4.9 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of Run the Board's written reviews are positive against 62% of CorePendium's. Run the Board also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs monthly). CorePendium's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ratings volume (1.5K vs 4). On price, rating, ads and monetization model 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
Both are free to download. Run the Board sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. CorePendium asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for CorePendium against 5.0 for Run the Board. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: CorePendium has 1.5K ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 62% of CorePendium's written reviews are positive against 100% of Run the Board's.
CorePendium ships an update monthly, Run the Board every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | CorePendium | Run the Board |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (1.5K ratings) | 5.0 (4 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 61.5% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1.5K — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 49 MB | 527 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | EM:RAP, Inc. | James Napolitano |
Customer experience
CorePendium
Run the Board
Bugs and requests
CorePendium
Reported bugs
2 issues- Crashes on launch
- Compatibility issues with older devices
Requested features
3 requests- iPad version
- Ability to track progress and bookmark content
- Video playback controls (speed, rewind)
Run the Board
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
CorePendium
No in-app purchases
Run the Board
- Run the Board Pro$49.99









