“The cases are always as complex and as diverse as our patient population,” an attendee at the first round of the 2025 ACP Clinical Vignette Competition said. Residents work closely with faculty mentors to identify appropriate cases that demonstrate puzzling or unique clinical encounters that also contain critical lessons to impart to colleagues. These are delivered in tight, ten-minute presentations that also allow for questions from judges and other audience members.

This year more than 30 cases were presented for evaluation. Subjects ranged from mysterious rashes and hypoglycemia to meningitis and hypotension. In each instance, the resident walks audience members through basic facts, diagnostic evaluations, and clinical pearls for future application. Residents at every level are eligible to present and expected to compete at least once during their time at Iowa. The majority of presentations came from second-and third-year residents, who have been here long enough to have had experiences to present, though a couple first-year residents also submitted work.

At the conclusion of the afternoon, judges conferred and tabulated their scores and four finalists were chosen to compete the following week during a noon conference.

Greta Becker, MD: Unrelenting Fever in the Fourth Trimester
Mentor: Daniel Livorsi, MD

Brittnee Haynes, DO: Beyond the Glow: The Dark Side of Alchemy
Mentor: Melissa Ludgate, MD

Rob Schoeneich, MD: A Trail of Crumbs: A Puzzling Case of Portal Hypertension
Mentor: Antonio Sanchez, MD

Jennie Houser, MD: Don’t Be Rash! There is More Than Meets the Eye
Mentor: Jenny Strouse, MD

In the end, Haynes’s presentation of a case of mercury poisoning edged past her fellow finalists. She will next face off against other winning Iowa residents at the Progress Conference in Des Moines early next month. The winner of that competition will receive sponsored attendance for the national competition at the ACP meeting in San Francisco next spring.

Special thanks to this year’s judges!
Desmond Barber
Kim Delcour
Diana Jalal
Ethan Kuperman
Eric Mou
Judy Streit
Melissa Swee
Maria Tejedor Bravo
Yana Zemkova