Instructions
We designed this multiple-choice question competition with branching, not linear, questions. In each question, there are several answers and based on your choice, the next question that appears for you, is different from other choices, so you enter a specific path for patient approach or management. If your choice is correct, your path is the correct one and at the end, your patient will be managed correctly. But, if you have selected a wrong choice, the path will end up with a complication relevant to your choice. This happens for each question. When you answer a question, you will not receive any notification that your answer is correct or wrong, the same as what happens while you are managing a real patient. Hence, for each question, you must be careful not to select a wrong path, since you cannot get back to the previous step and correct your choice.
To answer the questions in this competition, you must think as if you are the physician in charge of the patient in the emergency room and nobody watches you and every and each decision you make will be done right away, so your decisions cannot be reversed. If you make any wrong decision, the treatment pathway for the patient will be changed and you cannot alter it. Or, if you spend too much time on physical examination, the patient may encounter a complication. So, the patient will be harmed, and you will lose your credit. The same thing happens in this competition. Thus, think carefully about the patient before answering each question.
While managing a patient, there are some situations that you do not have access to the patient to ask for information (like when patient is under anesthesia or is in CT scan machine) but you have to make a decision. In this conditions, you refer to the patient’s file. During the competition, we recommend you prepare a file for your patient as you move forward to use later in the competition, because when you pass a page, you cannot go back to it anymore. Hence, please write down anything that you think may be useful later in the competition (Patient history, PE, lab results, medications you prescribed, procedures you requested, imaging results, etc).
Your time for reading and answering each question is predetermined and limited. This duration is selected in a way to give you enough time to read, think and write down your notes.
Since this is the first competition of this kind, it definitely needs improvement. Hence, we need your feedback about your experience with the competition. When you finish the competition, there will be a survey and you can accept or regret to take it. But we strongly request you to give us your feedback through this survey.
At the end of competition, you will receive a file explaining about the case and its correct approach. When we finish analyzing your answers, you will receive a full report on your answers and the score your received. We divide the participants into four groups based on their medical school grade. We compare the participants in each group separately and for each group, the 1st ranking will be announced. All participants will receive a certificate of attendance with their score, but the 1strankings will also receive a certificate of their 1st rank and a memorable prize.
The Next Algorithmic Patient Management Competition will be Held on October 16, 2022.
To summarize:
- What you need for this competition: Your knowledge, a computer (Windows or Mac), a pen, a note paper, your favorite drink and snack.
- It is online. You can participate through your personal computer, and wherever convenient for you. Although it is mobile-friendly, we strongly recommend you NOT to use mobile phone or iPad to take the competition.
- The competition opens on Sunday, October 16, 2022 at 9 am (eastern time) and closes at 1 pm on the same day. You can begin the competition any time during this 4-hour period. After 1 pm, the competition will be deactivated, and you no longer can access it.
- The total duration for the competition is 90 minutes and after 90 minutes, your link will be deactivated. Each question has also a predetermined time to answer, shown by a count-down timer in the page and once this time is finished, you will be automatically guided to the next question even if you have not clicked on the next button.
- While you are answering the questions, if you have to close your web browser and leave the competition, your answers and the spent time will be saved up to that question and you can reopen the competition again with the same link and go back to the same step you left and continue the competition. Your 90 minutes time for the whole competition will continue from the saved time. However, you can do this only during the 4-hour period that the competition is active (Sunday, October 16, 2022, 9 am to 1 pm).
- Since the competition will automatically be deactivated at 1 pm on October 16, 2022, we strongly recommend you begin the competition earlier in the morning to have enough time if you encounter any problem with your network or computer.
- There are several pathways of patient diagnosis and management. The pathway you enter depends on your answer for each question. Only one pathway is correct and if you enter the wrong pathways you will lose some points and the patient will become complicated.
- For each answer, you receive a point, based on the appropriateness of your answer for the patient. The correct answer receives the highest point (20), but other answers receive a point from 0 to 19. If you enter a wrong pathway, you can still receive points if you manage the patient correctly in that new condition.
- This is a one-way competition. When you answer a question, you cannot go back to that question again. So, if you think the information provided in each question may be necessary later in the competition, please write down that information.
- When you finish the patient management, you will be asked to take a survey. This will show your feedback on the competition and this feedback is very important for us to improve the competition, however, you can accept or regret to take it.
- The last page of the competition is a The End page. If you do not reach to this page, you have not finished the competition.
- Once you finish the competition, you will immediately receive an Email to confirm your participation with a file discussing the correct approach to the patient.
- We will divide the participants into four groups (Based on their medical school grade) and we compare the competition result of each participant with the members of the same group.
- Your answers will be analyzed, and a full report will be prepared for you. You will receive this report by Email on December 5, 2022.
- You will receive a certificate of competition participation, your score and quartile rank.
- The 1st rankings of each group will be awarded on Monday, December 12, 2022.