Twenty-nine students, representing five PA programs in the state, competed on four randomly selected inter-collegiate teams in the 2014 Student Medical Challenge Bowl. The event was held on Saturday, April 26th. The sun was shining, the pizza was hot, and plenty of chocolate and sodas to keep everyone going. Everyone was geared up to have some fun and fun is what we had!
The Challenge Bowl is a Jeopardy-style game with two rounds of play, each with five categories of questions ranging in point values from 5-25 points, with a number of “daily doubles” thrown in. Buzzer technique and strategic wagering on Final Jeopardy are key, as is phrasing the answer in the form of a question. Question categories included neurology, dermatology, anatomy, physical exam, PA history, cardiology, pulmonary, EENT, musculoskeletal, and gastroenterology.
Samantha Rogers, chair of NCAPA’s Student Affairs Committee, served as the MC for the tournament. Cathie Feild, NCAPA Executive Director, was the buzzer-master and Kat Nicholas, Director of Membership and Marketing served as scorekeeper and game-board up-keeper.
The four teams displayed great sportsmanship and demonstrated superb collaboration skills while deliberating their responses to the questions. At the end of Round 1, teams 1 and 4 were tied for first place. After a brief interlude, Round 2 began and finished with Final Jeorpardy. All teams answered the final question correctly and bid wisely. Team 3 made a great comeback from last place, but Team 1 held the lead and took first place with Team 4 as a close second. SEE PHOTOS
The game was fun, challenging, and educational (especially the PA History category!) Perhaps the best part was the opportunity to meet fellow PA students from the various North Carolina PA programs and get to know a little about each other. A number of the participants in this year’s NCAPA Challenge Bowl plan to put their state-level experience to good use as they compete in the AAPA Challenge Bowl later this month.
Students participating in this year’s Challenge Bowl included Duke students, Bethany Applebome, Lacey White, Julia Chen, John Vrnak, Christina Cady, and Matthew Klein; ECU students, Rebecca Salman, Savannah Sipperly, Amy VanEgmond, and Ashley Pragosa: Elon students, Jaclyn Stevens, Lindsay Finch, Krista Meier, Arezu Shekari, Andy Tillery, and Justin Ollis; Campbell students, Braxton Kinsey, Christine Ciszek, Leighanne McGill, Kristina Hendley, Aimee Sharp, Krista Udd, Natalie Jones, and Kaley Morris; and Wake Forest students, Julie Martin, Erica Hill, Jacquelyn Allen, Bharath Balu, and Kelsey Blaine.
