Brains were in overdrive last September at Shriners Hospitals for Children – Canada. Under the supervision of attending physicians from the McGill University Health Centre and the Shriners, medical students and residents from McGill University gathered in a big conference room for a competition to generate solutions to emergency medicine problems.

In the end, the green team took first place, followed by the purple team in second and the navy blue team in third. The winning idea: to set up a geriatric emergency medicine assessment team and a fast-track protocol at triage to identify geriatric patients requiring a CT scan of the head.

Geriatric patients require more follow-up tests or specialist consultations due to a greater number of co-morbidities (health complications), which contributes to hospital overcrowding. They make up the majority of visitors to Quebec's emergency departments, and are four to six times more likely to be admitted to the units.

"Thanks to the collaboration of physicians, residents and medical students, many ideas were presented. Many of them impressed the judges and other healthcare experts in attendance. We hope that the winning teams will be able to pursue their solutions for improved care in Quebec," says Saad Razzaq, president of the McGill Healthcare Management Case Competition (MHCC).

"The MHCC 2023 was a success, in that innovative and concrete solutions to important issues were identified. We hope to raise awareness among other participants in healthcare case competitions so that physicians and future physicians can proactively address critical issues in healthcare across Quebec. "

The MHCC is currently part of the academic curriculum for emergency medicine residents. Its aim is to explore solutions for reducing overcrowding in Quebec hospitals and improving patient flow. The event is organized by eight medical students and six attending emergency physicians.