Section 1.
General information
Goals
This contest has the following key objectives:
- Enhance competencies of young doctors in the realms of problem-based learning and evidence-based medicine
- Promote talented young internists from around the world
- Disseminate current medical knowledge through clinical cases
- Improve the quality of medical education and health care globally
Timeline
January 7, 2024 Launch of the online submission system.
January 29 Deadline extended till February 5, 2024
- Deadline for submitting case reports via the online submission system. Authors are notified over email if their case reports have been accepted. All authors of accepted submissions will take part in poster sessions.
- Presenting authors must register to attend the 9th edition of the McMaster International Review Course in Internal Medicine (MIRCIM 2024).
March 29, 2024 Announcement of the 20 top-rated cases qualified for oral presentation.
April 22, 2024 Deadline for uploading posters, abstracts and slides for oral presentation via the online submission system.
May 9–11, 2024 Oral presentations and poster sessions.
May 11, 2024 Award ceremony.
After the Contest
- Publication of recorded presentations on the BCRC website.
- Publication in the Polish Archives of Internal Medicine (impact factor [IF], 4.8): 6 complete top-rated case reports (winners of the oral and poster sessions) and all abstracts.
Who can participate
Internal medicine specialists or trainees in internal medicine up to 35 years of age.
Students’ submissions will not be considered.
Requirements for the first (presenting) author:
- Registered MIRCIM participant (eligible for a reduced in-person participation fee of €250)
- Listed as first author in only one submitted case report
Authors should provide their ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID; www.orcid.org) if available.
Please note that the organizers do not cover any expenses incurred on the part of participants. Participants from Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia can benefit from the support by the International Visegrad Fund. Read more here.
Criteria for submission
1. Only original unpublished case reports may be submitted.
2. Case reports must receive endorsement from a MIRCIM partner society or university.
3. Case reports should describe an original observation concerning diagnosis, treatment or both. They should present one of the following:
- Rare conditions.
- Unusual presentation or complications of a relatively common condition.
- A difficult path to diagnosis.
- Cases of high educational value for other reasons.
4. Case reports must comply with the guidelines presented in Section 2.
Endorsement letter
Each partner society can endorse up to 10 case reports submitted to BCRC. Each partner university can endorse up to 3 case reports submitted to BCRC. Reports are selected by the partner society/university (for instance, through an internal qualification process). Every case report must be accompanied by an endorsement letter that mentions the case title and authors and is signed by a partner representative.
Jury
1. Jury 1: 5-6 experts delegated by McMaster University and the Polish Institute for Evidence Based Medicine assessing all submitted case reports and selecting 20 top-ranked entries for oral presentation.
2. Jury 2: 5 experts delegated by McMaster University and the Polish Institute for Evidence Based Medicine plus members delegated by MIRCIM partners (1 representative per partner society/university participating in the contest) assessing oral presentations.
3. Jury 3: 3-5 experts delegated by McMaster University and the Polish Institute for Evidence Based Medicine assessing poster presentations.
4. V4 jury: members delegated by V4 partner societies from Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia (2 per society) choosing the best case reports from each of the V4 countries as part of the project “V4 Best Case Report Contest 2024.”
5. Representative of the European Journal of Case Reports in Internal Medicine choosing one case report from the oral presentations (award funded by the EJCRIM).
During oral presentations, content experts chosen by the MIRCIM Scientific Committee will ask questions and provide commentary.
Assessment criteria
Accepted case reports will be evaluated by the jury based on the following criteria:
- Overall clinical interest and educational value (0-5 points)
- Uniqueness/novelty (0-5 points)
- Course of the case (methods used to establish diagnosis, relevant treatments and outcomes, etc.) (0-5 points)
- Practical and technical aspects of the presentation (clarity, language, figures, etc.) (0-5 points)
Section 2.
Guidelines on preparing case reports (abstract, full text, poster, oral presentation)
Language
1. Medical jargon should be avoided.
2. The use of abbreviations should be limited, with preference for those recognized internationally. Abbreviations should be spelled out at first mention except for those commonly used (eg, ECG).
Structure
1. Title (short, informative).
2. Authors’ names (presenting author listed as the first author)
3. Institutional affiliations.
4. First author’s corresponding email address.
5. Introduction (case relevance and importance).
6. Case description:
a) Clinical situation.
b) Course of events.
c) Clinical resolution.
7. Discussion.
8. Conclusions/Lessons to be learned from the case.
Full-length case report
1. Structure: see above.
2. Number of authors: up to 3.
3. Length: up to 1500 words.
4. Number of keywords: up to 5.
5. References: up to 8.
6. Figures/tables: up to 3 figures and 1 table. High-resolution figures submitted as separate files. Preferred formats are TIFF, EPS, JPG.
Abstract
1. Structure: see above.
2. Number of authors: up to 3.
3. Length: up to 500 words.
4. Number of keywords: up to 5.
5. References: none.
6. Figures/tables: none allowed.
Poster
1. Size: max. 10 MB
2. Ratio: 9:16 (vertically)
3. Resolution: Resolution: min. 1080 × 1920 px
4. Format: JPG
Oral presentation guidelines
1. Slide format: 4:3 aspect ratio and 1024 × 768 px minimum resolution.
2. Presentations must be saved as a PowerPoint .pptx file.
3. Use standard Windows fonts only (avoid non-standard and language-specific fonts).
4. Accepted video formats: MP4 (preferred), WMV, AVI.
5. Private computers may not be used for running presentations.
Section 3.
Stages of the contest
Stage 1: Submission of case reports
1. Case reports should be submitted via the online submission system. The system will be launched on January 7, 2024 on the BCRC website (www.mircim.eu/bcrc).
Submissions sent by email will not be accepted.
2. Submissions must include a full-length case report. See the guidelines (above) for detailed instructions.
The abstract, poster and slides for oral presentations will be required at stage 3 and must be uploaded to the system by April 22, 2024.
3. Submissions must be made before January 29, 2024.
4. Submitted case reports must be accompanied by an endorsement letter from a MIRCIM partner (scan/picture uploaded to the system).
Stage 2: Qualifications
1. All successfully submitted case reports are automatically qualified for the poster session.
2. Members of Jury 1 will score all submitted case reports (see the assessment criteria above).
Twenty top-ranked case reports will be qualified for oral presentation. These case reports will not be presented at poster sessions.
3. The schedule of oral and poster sessions will be announced on the MIRCIM website (www.mircim.eu) by March 29, 2024.
Stage 3: Completing the submission
By April 22, 2024 submissions must be completed by uploading abstracts and posters to the online submission system. Authors of cases selected for oral presentation must additionally upload their presentations in the PPTX format.
Stage 4: Contest
Poster session
All accepted case reports (including those qualified for oral presentation) will be presented as digital posters on May 9-11, 2024. Authors of case reports qualified for the poster session only are requested to be present by their posters at indicated times.
The oral presentation must not exceed 3 minutes. Each presentation will be followed by 2 minutes for answering jury questions.
Members of Jury 3 will select 3 best posters through voting.
Oral session
Authors of cases qualified for oral presentation will receive a notification by March 29, 2024. Authors will present their case reports at the conference Clinical Cases in Internal Medicine: Learning Through Practice (a MIRCIM special session), which will take place on May 9, 2024 in the Conference Centre, Faculty of Medicine, Jagiellonian University Medical College in Kraków, Poland.
The oral presentation must not exceed 6 minutes, with the number of slides adjusted accordingly. Each presentation will be followed by 4 minutes of questions/comments from the experts and audience.
Members of Jury 2 will decide on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place through voting.
Oral presentations will be recorded and published as open access on the MIRCIM website (www.mircim.eu).
Voting mechanism
Each jury member selects 5 best presentations, scoring them from 5 (top choice) to 1 (last choice). The points are summed up. The 3 highest-ranked submissions are awarded the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. In case of a tie, the jury will decide on the winner through discussion.
Stage 5: Award ceremony
The results will be announced at the award ceremony on May 11, 2024 during MIRCIM 2024 in the ICE Congress Centre. All authors are requested to attend the ceremony.
Section 4.
Awards
General provisions
If a submitted case has more than one author, the award goes to the first author or a co-author designated by the first author.
All abstracts will be published as abstract proceedings in the journal Polish Archives of Internal Medicine (www.pamw.pl).
Oral presentations
All authors of cases qualified for oral presentation receive:
- Certificate of qualification for oral presentation
- Free participation in MIRCIM 2025
| Award | 1st place | 2nd place | 3rd place |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diploma | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Publication in Polish Archives of Internal Medicine (IF, 4.8) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Free accommodation (up to 3 days) in Kraków during MIRCIM 2025 | Yes | Yes | |
| Free participation in 23rd European Congress of Internal Medicine (ECIM 2025) | Yes | ||
| Money prize | €1000 | €600 | €400 |
Poster presentations
All authors of cases accepted for poster presentation will receive a certificate.
Authors of 3 best posters will be awarded:
- Diploma
- Free participation in MIRCIM 2025
- Publication in Polish Archives of Internal Medicine (IF, 4.8)
V4 Best Case Report Contest
One case report from each of the V4 countries — Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia — will be awarded a prize of €1000.
Winners in this category will be selected by V4 jurors.
Awards are funded by the International Visegrad Fund as part of the project "V4 Best Case Report Contest 2024."
EJCRIM
One case report selected from oral presentations will be published in the European Journal of Case Reports in Internal Medicine (www.ejcrim.com).