One of these weekends, we’ll give our crack staff at CMEpalooza headquarters the weekend off to enjoy the fall colors and reunite with their families. This simply wasn’t one of those weekends.

Far surpassing Derek’s prediction of zero entries (he’s both an introvert and a pessimist), we had close to 300 successful entries into our inaugural contest (we’re admittedly using the phrase “close to” somewhat liberally here).

Judging by the messages we got from those who completed their entry forms – one eager beaver filled out the entire Bingo board – it was a fun diversion from work that even helped them learn something about some of our sponsors. If you missed out on the fun but have a burning desire to find out the answers, we’ve got a handy answer key for you right here.

We’ll be having our prize drawing on Wednesday, where we’ll be divvying up $500 in Amazon gift cards to 13 of our successful entrants (one $100 winner, four $50 winners, and eight $25 winners). We’ll announce the winners in this space, and also contact them privately via email.

Our crack team at CMEpalooza headquarters woke up to a flurry of emails this morning that all essentially said the same thing – “I really, really, really (really) want to play CMEpalooza Bingo!! but I just haven’t found the time. Can’t we have until Friday afternoon?”

Usually, my response to these sorts of things is short and succinct.

“No.”

I mean, c’mon people, there are deadlines for a reason. I hate those emails you get that claim “Deadline extended!” because they mean that the deadline was always going to be extended and the time you took rushing to meet the initial deadline has now been wasted.

Don’t get me started.

But perhaps because I still have gleeful visions of Derek as a Sixers halftime dancer, I’m in a good mood today, so we’re extending the deadline to play CMEpalooza Bingo!! until tomorrow (Friday, September 23) at 8:13 p.m. ET. Why did I choose such a random time? Because I have that power.

As a reminder, we’re giving away $500 in Amazon gift cards for those who successfully enter (there are 13 total prizes — first prize is $100 with other prizes of $50 and $25). It takes, in all honesty, 5 minutes to complete a game board.

Here once again are the rules:

• There are a few documents you’ll need to download and/or print out — The bingo card, the question sheet, and the answer form. Don’t worry – we’ve compiled these into one document that you can print out or download. You can get everything you need by clicking on this link. If you want the CMEpalooza Bingo!! Answer Form as a Word document you can write on, we’ve got that right here for you.
• On the bingo card, you’ll see that each CMEpalooza Fall sponsor has been assigned a specific slot (there are a few CMEpalooza slots to fill out the card). Each slot has coordinates listed in the upper left-hand corner. This is important to note as you are filling out the Answer Form.
• To get the answer to the questions, you’ll probably need to visit some of our sponsor websites. You can find direct links to all of them on the CMEpalooza Fall sponsor page.
• We’re not cruel, so we won’t make you complete the entire card. Simply make one Bingo by answering 5 questions that complete either a vertical, horizontal, or diagonal line (just like, you know, as in a Bingo game). Feel free to visit any additional sponsor sites if you really want to, but it’s not mandatory.
• Fill out the Answer Form and return it to me via email (scott@medcasewriter.com) by the new and improved deadline

I promise that this is the one and only deadline extension. The hopper closes on Friday night.

You may have noticed that the blog has been somewhat quiet in the early parts of September. We’re sorry.

I’ve been busy running through a battery of preliminary tests with our presenters for CMEpalooza Fall and getting some other work done. Derek, meanwhile, has been furiously practicing his tryout routine round the clock in the hopes of fulfilling his lifelong dream of being one of the “Sixers Dancers” – you know, the guys and girls who entertain the fans between timeouts and at halftime of NBA games. This is going to be the year, Warnick – we believe in you!

Never fear though – the silence is ending… NOW! We recognize that the days are dangerously dwindling and that CMEpalooza Fall is right around the corner on Wednesday, October 19.

What we’ll be doing here in the next few weeks as you complete your CMEpalooza Bingo!! gameboard (due this Friday) is to give insight into a few of the more unique sessions we have on the agenda this year.

A few weeks back, I dragged a very retro basketball jersey out of the bowels of my closet to record a somewhat meandering video with Derek where we discussed each of the sessions on the Fall agenda, but honestly, I don’t know that we did some of the sessions justice between all of our “Er”s and “Hmmm”s, so I thought it be a better use of your time to read through some of the explanations.

Today, I’ll be explaining the concept behind our 3 p.m. ET session entitled “Common/Not-So-Common Case Conundrums in CME.” This session is being sponsored by CME Matters, one of the Silver sponsors of CMEpalooza Fall.

Here is how this session is going to work:

1. We have recruited 2 teams of awesome faculty. Each team has a moderator and 2 panelists. One team is comprised of people who work for medical education companies, a second team of people who work in the hospital setting.
2. The moderator for each panel is — under cloak and dagger — developing a robust case study focused on a scenario that offers a variety of real-life challenges for those of us who wrangle with CME on a daily basis. I won’t give away any secrets regarding the specific focus of each case, partially because the cases haven’t yet been written, but also because I was the kid at school who loved knowing secrets about everyone.
3. The day before this session goes live, each scenario will be unleashed upon both the unknowing panelists and you, our prospective audience members. Why the day before? Well, I wanted to put a little bit of time pressure on our panelists so that it more adequately mirrored real life, but I also didn’t want to hijack them with a total surprise on the day of CMEpalooza Fall. Hopefully this is a reasonable compromise.We’ll post the scenarios on this site at the same time our panelists get them in case you want a sneak peak at the kinds of issues each panel will be talking about. Don’t worry if you don’t read them before the session though – each moderator will review their case prior to their team’s live discussion.
4. In the session, panelists will talk about how they would address the various issues raised within the case, discussing the pros and cons of various approaches. It’s the kind of tangible, real-world education that I always like best, and hopefully our audience will be able to pull some golden nuggets of information for their proverbial use.
5. If there is time at the end, Derek will show off the tumbling routine that caps his tryout. Good stuff.