ANNUAL MEETING WRAP-UP
Medical College of Georgia’s “Presidential SCANdidates” are 2016 SonoGames® Champions
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On May 13, 2016 at SAEM16 in New Orleans, the SAEM Academy of Emergency Ultrasound (AEUS) hosted the 5th annual SonoGames®. The SonoGames® 2016 was a recordsetting, huge success and one of the highlights of SAEM16, drawing more than 500 people into one space! The thrilling, four-hour competition tested emergency medicine (EM) residents from across the country on their ultrasound knowledge, skills and teamwork. A record 73 EM programs, represented by 219 residents in three-member teams, participated in this year’s SonoGames®. Congratulations to the 2016 SonoGames® champions Medical College of Georgia “Presidential SCANdidates” (Drs. Jason Barter, Daniel Reed, Clay Carter and faculty captain Dr. Eric Zevallos) on an amazing victory! The SonoGames® 2016 competition consisted of three rounds, all with new, innovative educational challenges. Round 1: “The Eliminator,” consisted of 40 multiple-choice questions based on clips, images, and articles covering a wide range of point-of-care ultrasound topics. The 15 highest-scoring teams advanced to the second round Round 2: The 15 highest-scoring teams rotated through five different skill stations: 1. 25,000 Hertz Pyramid. This station was modeled after the famous 1970’s TV show the “25,000 Pyramid.” Player 1 chose a square from a pyramid-type board game that flipped open, blasted music, and provided a category. Player 1 was responsible for providing to a blinded Player 2 clues which could not contain any words from the category, or the pyramid square would be forfeited. Once Player 2 guessed the correct category the square flipped again and Player 3 was responsible for scanning the correct anatomical area on the model. The pyramid squares became more difficult and worth higher points as the players advanced to the top. The residents had great fun scanning and dancing to songs like Aretha’s Franklin’s “Think,” (where the teams had to match the “Head Games” category and the scanner had to find the Circle of Willis) and The Supremes “Stop in the Name of Love,” (where the teams matched the “At an Intersection” category and the scanner had to find the stoplight sign for an ultrasound-guided interscalene block). 2. Bourbon Street Bender. While wearing beer goggles to simulate a blood alcohol concentration of 0.20, team members had to scan plastic letters embedded in an opaque solution. Once
a letter was correctly identified, they had to scan as many anatomic structures on a model as they could that started with the same letter. Points were awarded for correctly identifying the letter and the number of anatomic structures scanned. 3. Let’s Get Beaded. This station tested residents’ pattern recognition and spatial awareness by having them build puzzles made of foam board with pathological still images and then demonstrating knowledge of how to scan pathology on a model. Successful completion made teams eligible to throw mardi-gras-style beads onto a pegboard for bonus points, requiring further coordination. 4. Judge Me By My Size? This station used high fidelity simulation cases to test residents’ ability to scan a simulated model and match correct diagnoses and management. This year’s stations focused solely on newly developed pediatric ultrasound cases. 5. Friday the 13th Scan-Off. Teams had to race against experts to obtain images before experts, who were dressed as the classic horror film villains Jason, Freddy Krueger, and Carrie. The experts were handicapped by their costumes and were not able to use their dominant hands. Screams and horror movie music were heard throughout the room. Round 3: This round included the identification of video clips uncovered by the removal of tiles on a board and a “scan-off” in which the audience and judges were blinded to the team performing the scan. The Medical College of Georgia sealed the victory on the 5th scan-off case, taking the cup out of New England for the first time in SonoGames® history. In addition to the main event, awards were given for most creative team names and most creative team uniforms. The winning team names were “Lord Have MRSA” (University of Mississippi), “WES Sign Story” (University of Arizona) and “The EpididyMighties” (University of California, San Francisco Fresno). The awards for best uniform went to “WES Sign Story” (University of Arizona), “Yes We Scan” (University of Connecticut), and “The Brees-O-Electric’s” (University of South Florida). ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This year’s SonoGames® once again had excellent corporate support. GE, GMI, MedaPhor, Mindray-Zonare, Philips, SonoSim and Sonosite-Fujifilm all provided machines, as well as financial support. A special thanks to all of these companies who help make the SonoGames® possible.