Critical IQ is a peer-reviewed clinical education platform for intensive care clinicians — built by ICU doctors, for ICU doctors. Each module goes deep on the physiology, decision-making, and nuance that textbooks gloss over.
There is no shortage of guidelines. What's missing is a resource that teaches you to think — not just what to do, but why.
Critical care medicine demands a depth of understanding that most resources don't provide. Pocket guides tell you doses. Protocols tell you steps. But the 3am decision — the one where physiology, pharmacology, and clinical instinct all have to converge at once — that requires something different.
Critical IQ was built by drawing on the kind of teaching that happens on ward rounds and in post-take debriefs — the teaching that doesn't make it into journals.
Every module is written grounded in primary literature, and structured so that the pathophysiology comes first. Because if you understand the mechanism, the management follows logically.
This is a beta version — three modules live, interactive simulator, AI tutor, more in development.
Every clinical claim is anchored to a named trial, guideline, or landmark paper — with direct references so you can go deeper on anything that matters to you.
Each complex concept is explained simply first, then with full depth. If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it yet.
Not just diagrams — a real-time ventilator simulator where you adjust settings and see live waveforms, PV loops, and safety alerts respond instantly.
Every module ends with clinical scenario questions designed to stress-test your understanding, not just your memory.
Three modules live. More arriving as they're ready — not before.
Not slide decks. Not bullet-point summaries. A structured journey from mechanism to mastery.
Every module opens with the mechanism — the molecular and physiological chain of events that explains everything that follows.
Custom SVG illustrations make complex processes visual — kinetics curves, pathway diagrams, and anatomy drawings built for the module.
Adjust real ventilator settings and see live waveforms, PV loops, and safety alerts respond in real time. Learn by doing, not just reading.
Interactive quiz questions based on real ward and ICU situations — stress-test your reasoning, not your rote recall.
Whether you're preparing for a critical care attachment, a specialty exam, or just want to go deeper on a topic you manage every week.
Starting an ICU rotation and want to understand the physiology that makes ICU decision-making coherent — not just a set of protocols to follow. These modules give you the "why" behind the "what."
Preparing for FFICM, EDIC, or the Fellowship exam. Deep dives into topics that examiners care about — with primary literature references and the nuance that separates a good answer from a great one.
Medicine moves fast. These modules are a resource for keeping up with evidence — written by colleagues who understand what matters at the bedside, not just what's published.
We don't just tell you the King's College Criteria — we explain why lactate was added, what phosphate tells you about hepatocyte regeneration, and where the sensitivity gap comes from.
Every recommendation cites a specific trial, guideline, or author — SNAP protocol, FULMEN trial, NACSTOP — with direct references so you can verify the evidence yourself.
Each module contains advanced sections for those who want to go further — macro-micro haemodynamic decoupling, portopulmonary hypertension, cytopathic hypoxia. Optional, but there if you want it.
Written by doctors who look after these patients every week — not curriculum designers. The emphasis reflects what actually matters at the bedside, not what fits neatly into a learning objective.
Adjust knobs. Watch waveforms respond. See what happens to driving pressure, compliance, and P/F ratio in real time — across 6 ventilator modes and 6 lung pathologies including ARDS, COPD, and tension pneumothorax.
The simulator teaches through doing. Set a tidal volume that causes volutrauma and the safety alert fires. Set T-Low too long in APRV and watch what happens to derecruitment. Understanding comes from seeing the consequence of your choices.
Not a chatbot. A clinical reasoning partner that challenges your thinking, pushes back on wrong answers, and teaches you to reason from mechanisms — the way a good consultant would on a ward round.
Ask anything about ICU physiology, present a clinical case, or let it quiz you with real scenarios. It knows the full Critical IQ knowledge base — and can search live medical literature when you go beyond the modules.
This is a peer-preview release. If you're a colleague reviewing this, your feedback directly determines what gets built next — which topics, what depth, what format. Use the modules, share them with your team, and tell us what's missing.
⚠ Clinical Disclaimer: For educational purposes only. Always apply clinical judgement and local guidelines to individual patient care.