SAAAPA Needs Your Help

New questions are needed for the upcoming SAAAPA National Medical Challenge Bowl in San Francisco, California. SAAAPA is asking each program to submit 20 questions by Friday, April 28. 

Because the National Medical Challenge Bowl is an oral competition, questions that may be excellent on written examinations may not be appropriate for use in the Challenge Bowl. When composing or selecting your questions, please keep in mind the unique way in which they will be used.

The following hints may be helpful when preparing questions:

• Questions should ideally be written in an open-ended format with only one, clear answer
• True/false questions are not appropriate
• Treatment-oriented questions are generally problematic because many variations in a condition exist and treatment opinions vary
• Diagnostic questions should present the “textbook” case and include as many details as possible to avoid the controversy of an unclear diagnosis
• Questions and, ideally, answers should be as short as possible
• Questions pertaining to a specific population (e.g., pediatrics, orthopedics) should state this explicitly
• Multiple-choice questions should be avoided

Please submit your questions, answers, and references, electronically to Shannon Faherty, SAAAPA staff advisor, at sfaherty@aapa.org, by April 28. If you have questions, please call Shannon at 703/836-2272, ext. 3311.

Additional information about the National Medical Challenge Bowl, such as registration information, rules, and eligibility can be found on-line at http://saaapa.aapa.org/students/challengebowl.htm.

Thank you for your help in contributing to the continued success of the 16th Annual National Medical Challenge Bowl, a favorite of students and faculty alike.