Mount Sinai reclaims Residents Bowl title with win over University of Michigan

As Plastic Surgery The Meeting returned to an in-person format, Mount Sinai returned to its former glory as ASPS Residents Bowl champions. Moderated for the second consecutive year by Edward Davidson, MD, and Raj Sawh-Martinez, MD, the Residents Bowl provided a familiar and fun energy of competition among ASPS's youngest members.

Having won the 2019 Residents Bowl in San Diego, Mount Sinai entered the 2020 Residents Bowl as favorites – only to lose to the University of Pittsburgh in the quarterfinals. This year, Mount Sinai returned with heightened energy, passion and determination to bring the trophy back to New York. The team was composed of previous participants Paymon Sanati-Mehrizy, MD; Jared Gopman, MD; Yasmina Zoghbi, MD; and new team member Stefani Fontana, MD, PhD. Team selection was guided by In-Service Exam scores and plastic surgery areas of individual interest.

Traditionally, physical buzzer systems were used to determine the fastest respondent, a system that often was criticized by residents as inexact. Last year, as the Residents Bowl transitioned to a virtual platform, the Kahoot! App was used. Similarly, this year's in-person contest was also conducted on Kahoot! Rather than each team providing one answer, each team member's answer – based on accuracy and speed – was averaged to calculate the team's final score.

Over the first four rounds, Mount Sinai confidently defeated Northwestern University, Cooper University, Stony Brook and local favorite Emory University. Competition came to a head in the final round against the University of Michigan in a final test of 15 multiple choice questions. Team members from Mount Sinai and the University of Michigan were supported by, respectively, coaches Peter Taub, MD, and Steven Buchman, MD – who both sat anxiously in the front row and cheered-on their residents.

While the University of Michigan jumped to an early lead, Mount Sinai pulled ahead by Question 5. The lead was cemented after Question 6 – a query on upper-extremity trauma – when all four Mount Sinai participants selected the right answer and, conversely, all four Michigan residents missed. However, Michigan, unwilling to be defeated that easily, nearly tied the match on Question 7. The competition remained neck-and-neck, but the Mount Sinai team remained calm and continued to answer the questions with accuracy and speed, clenching the victory. The final score was Mount Sinai 12,080, Michigan 10,675.

Mount Sinai's Residents Bowl championships place them in an elite group with UT Southwestern and Ohio State. Two of Mount Sinai's members will graduate this year, so the team has begun preparing its participants in the 2022 Residents Bowl in Boston – where they'll make an attempt at an unprecedented third-overall victory.

This recap was written by Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai residents Paymon Sanati-Mehrizy, MD (PGY-6); Jared Gopman, MD (PGY-6); Yasmina Zoghbi, MD (PGY-5); and Stefani Fontana MD, PhD (PGY-5).