{
  "id": 12949195,
  "title": "I built a free 299-case USMLE Step 2 CK practice tool in a single HTML file",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/08/i-built-a-free-299-case-usmle-step-2-ck-practice-tool-in-a-single",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-08T20:42:28.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dev.to",
    "slug": "dev-to",
    "url": "https://dev.to/xairu/i-built-a-free-299-case-usmle-step-2-ck-practice-tool-in-a-single-html-file-1ebg"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A physician has created a free, comprehensive USMLE Step 2 CK practice tool consisting of 299 branching clinical cases. The tool, titled \"Critical,\" challenges users with patient presentations and requires them to make clinical decisions, such as ordering tests, diagnosing, or initiating treatments. Each choice leads to a different outcome, and the practice tool concludes with a debrief explaining the correctness of the chosen action and referencing relevant guidelines or trials.\n\nThe tool is built using the Twine software with the Harlowe story format, and the final product is a single static HTML file. It is hosted on GitHub Pages, which means there is no backend system, no login required, and no personal data collected, aside from anonymous page-visit statistics.\n\nHowever, the tool has its limitations. It is intended as a practice resource, not a source of medical advice. No physicians have formally reviewed the entire bank of cases yet. If users come across any errors, they can report them by opening an issue on the GitHub repository.\n\nThe creator invites feedback on how to improve the tool for those studying for the USMLE Step 2 CK exam. Users can try the tool for free at https://xairu23.github.io/Critical/.",
  "summary": "Most question banks are paywalled, so I built a free one: Critical , 299 branching clinical cases for USMLE Step 2 CK. How it works. You get a patient presentation and choose your next move: order a test, make a diagnosis, start a treatment. Each choice leads somewhere different, and every path ends with a debrief that explains why it was right or wrong and cites the guideline or trial behind it.…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}