During the game, I transitioned from being a rather nervous to a more relaxed participant, especially after observing other teams’ trials, errors, triumphs, and losses. However, my relaxed pose quickly vanished once it was my turn to stand at the podium, in the lights, and face an audience and a barrage of questions from the host. While being introduced, I was taken by surprise by Dr. Manno’s inquiry about the first “patient” that I treated. I replied that, at age six, I claimed my brother’s teddy bear as my own. The bruin turned out to be one very sickly beast, needing frequent surgical procedures and countless injections. No doubt, this experience prepared me for medical career. The surprise revelation from my teammate, Arshad Mustafa, MD, was his fear of lizards. The horror, the horror.
The second preliminary round confirmed to me that most fellows just want to have fun. The two guys on the Mississippi Missiles team from the University of Mississippi Medical Center created a bit of a stir with their folksy drawl. They chose to replace the traditional reply to a question from, “What is … ’’ to a southern sounding, “How ‘bout …”. They charmed the audience with their wit and perfectly timed chorus of, “USA, USA,” whenever there seemed to be a need for an energy boost. For me, this was a defining moment of the Bowl, when I stopped worrying about the event and began reveling in all the excitement.
And the Winner Is…
I must pay tribute to this year’s champions, the Portlandumabs, from the University of Oregon Health and Science Center. This team was fearless, and it was clear that they were prepared to face last year’s champs from the University of Colorado, the Know Bones About It and the University of Louisiana’s Hurricane Katrinas. For the final, decisive question, all three teams showed that American spirit and bet all their remaining points on the answer. They were all correct, identifying the Gomori-Trichrome stain as the one that is used to visualize the red-rimmed vacuoles in inclusion body myositis. The Portlandumabs zoomed ahead by 400 points and were declared the victors.
I left San Diego with fond memories of the Bowl. It was such an unforgettable experience: educational, entertaining, and so social too! I think that most, if not all, of the participants learned something about themselves and their peers—and most of all, we had fun. I heartily congratulate all of the participants and hope that the champions will carry the trophy with pride and inspire their younger colleagues to bring something very special to next year’s event in Boston. At the annual meeting, knowledge comes in different flavors and through various means. The Knowledge Bowl, in its very amusing way, teaches so much more than medicine.
