Residents Make National Jeopardy Semifinals

By: Naomi Waxman

Madeleine Heldman, a PGY2 at Feinberg School of Medicine, said she first discovered her aptitude for jeopardy-style competition in high school.

“I am less competitive than others when it comes to sports,” Heldman said, “but trivia is something I’m not terrible at.”

Old habits die hard, and Heldman and her fellow PGY2 Feinberg residents Lida Zheng and Kate Rooney led their Doctor’s Dilemma team to victory last fall at the ACP Illinois Northern Region semifinal competition in Chicago. 

“I was able to find my 17-year-old self again,” she said. “Our goal going into the whole thing was to have a good time and not worry about winning.”

 A hallmark program for the American College of Physicians, Doctor’s Dilemma “brings together some of the brightest residents from around the world in a friendly but highly competitive environment,” according to the ACP.

Founded in 1915, the College has 154,000 members globally and is the largest medical specialty society in the world.

The team was unsure what to expect, but received a list of subspecialties that would be included in the competition. Heldman, Zheng and Rooney divided the categories between them, based on their own strengths and interests.

Chief Medical Resident (2017-18) Sarah Chuzi, MD, said she helped select the team and joined colleagues Aashish Didwania, MD, associate vice chair of education for the Department of Medicine, and fellow Chiefs Anand Patel, MD, Eric Cantey, MD, and Alexandra Goodwin, MD, in the audience during the competition.

“We looked at their board scores and GPA from medical school,” Chuzi said. “You know who has excellent medical knowledge, and these three are extremely smart. I was very happy there were three women [on the team].”

In the jeopardy-style competition, teams answer questions by hitting a buzzer. Hit it too soon, however, and you risk disqualifying your team. Subject categories include a wide range of fields, including cardiology, endocrinology, dermatology and infectious diseases.

Knowing the answer isn’t enough, Chuzi said. Teammates need to work together and communicate.

“I think our team had complimentary medical knowledge,” she said. “They all brought different skills to the table and were not easily flustered. All of those qualities really helped them out.”

Ben Singer, MD, assistant professor in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care and former Doctor’s Dilemma champion, advised the team as it prepared for competition. The residents didn’t need much help, according to Singer, but he enjoyed sharing his experiences and reminding them that in this competition, speed is as important as knowledge.

“I am so proud of the team this year,” Singer said. “They understood what this game was about and they were so nice about it. They handled challenging situations with a lot of grace and a lot of class, which speaks to their character.”

The team did well, but Heldman said she was happy to just have a good time and represent Northwestern University.

“My favorite part was getting to know my teammates,” Heldman said. “I didn’t know Lida or Kate well going into this. We did a lot of bonding before and during the competition… now I feel like I have two new best friends in residency.”