Learning together: a narrative review of external resources for medical education through a shared student-faculty lens.

External resources, defined as commercial learning resources typically found online and not created by academic institutions, are increasingly utilized by students in medical education. As the use of external resources continues to grow, there is a need to understand their appropriate place within medical education and for faculty members to continue to integrate such resources into the existing medical curricula. A gap in the literature exists regarding the role of such resources within formal medical education. This narrative review identifies factors contributing to the use of external resources, integrates student and faculty perspectives to highlight their unique insights, and collaboratively proposes recommendations for the future use of external resources in medical education. Identified factors contributing to the increased use of external resources include generational affinity for technology and online learning, perceived efficiency compared to live lectures, pass-fail grading system of biomedical science courses, the pressure of board exams, and impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although external resources are expensive, medical students use them to support their pre-clerkship learning and performance on national licensure exams. Faculty share the goal of student success and see potential for integration of external resources in the curriculum but raise concerns about reduced learner presence and willingness to read as well as the possibility of a universal medical curriculum. Collaborative student-faculty recommendations include the primacy of student autonomy, the benefits of classroom engagement, and the importance of cost management around third-party resources. Although external resources should not supplant all faculty instruction, they can benefit both medical students and faculty when thoughtfully and strategically integrated within the pre-clerkship curriculum to enhance learning outcomes and board exam performance.