Official Rules

Thank you for taking part in the NEJM Resident 360 Quality Improvement Challenge (the “Challenge”). By participating in the Challenge, you are agreeing to these Official Rules, so please take a few minutes to read them over. If you do not agree with these Official Rules, please do not enter this Challenge.

Parties

There are two parties entering into this agreement, you and us.

In this agreement, the first-person plural pronouns “We”, “Us”, “Our”, “Ours”, etc. refer to the Massachusetts Medical Society, the sponsor of this Challenge and owner and publisher of NEJM Group (“Sponsor”).

Similarly, the second-person pronouns “You”, “Your”, “Yours”, etc. refer to you and all members of your team and institution.

Phrases such as “we both”, “both of us” or “both parties” refer to both you and us collectively.

Definitions

1. The term “Challenge Website” refers to https://resident360.nejm.org/groups/qi-challenge/page/home.
2. The term “Submission” or “Entry” refers to information you submit to The Challenge via The Challenge Website.
3. The term “Submitter” refers to single individuals (i.e., corresponding authors) who submit an Entry to The Challenge via The Challenge Website on behalf of themselves or a team.
4. The term “Judge” refers to the individuals who are listed on the “Judges” tab of the Challenge Website. (The "Judges" tab will be available on or before March 1, 2020). Judges may offer comments and feedback to Submitters. The opinions of the Judges are their own and we are not responsible for anything that Judges post on The Challenge Website.

Purpose and Description

The Challenge is open to any resident, fellow or resident/fellow group who has participated in and completed a quality improvement project between January 2018 and January 2020. The Challenge is open to individuals and teams, however, only a single individual may be a Submitter. Teams must be limited to 12 individuals. Although projects may be supervised by faculty mentors, all members of the Submitter’s team must be residents or fellows (or were residents or fellows during the time the project was completed). Submitters must be 18 years of age or older at the time their Entry is submitted. Teams must designate a Submitter on their behalf. Employees of the Sponsor and its subsidiaries, the immediate family members or household members of each, and persons involved in any part of the administration and execution of this Challenge are not eligible. This Challenge is void wherever prohibited by law.

How to Enter

NO PURCHASE IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. The Challenge will have two (2) rounds: a Qualifying Round and a Challenge Round. Submitters must submit an abstract up to 500-words summarizing their QI project in the format described in the Squire 2.0 Guidelines. Abstracts may include one figure or table but no references. Submitters that do not complete the Qualifying Round are not eligible for the Challenge Round. Abstracts will be accepted from March 1, 2020 to March 31, 2020 until 3 PM ET. The abstracts will be accepted on a rolling basis and the qualifying round will close when 100 abstracts are received and approved, or at 3:00 PM ET on March 31, 2020, whichever comes first. Abstracts are approved if they are written in English, describe a project based on Quality Improvement, and all team members have registered for The Challenge and were residents at the time of the project. All abstracts will be triaged and vetted by members of the QI committee before formally being judged for the Challenge round.

On April 15, 2020, teams will be notified if their projects have been accepted into the Challenge round. The Challenge round is a virtual poster competition. Each team will be able to download and complete a poster template that conveys the nature and findings of their project. The submissions period will be from April 15, 2020 to May 15, 2020 at midnight ET. All posters will be displayed on the NEJM Resident 360 website.

All entries must be written in English. Entries for the Qualifying Round will not be accepted after the Qualifying Round Submission Deadline. Entries for the Challenge Round will not be accepted after the Challenge Round Submission Deadline. We reserve the right to change any Submission Deadline at any time in our sole discretion for any reason or for no reason. Entries that do not comply with the Official Rules for The Challenge will be disqualified. Sponsor or its designee’s decision will be final and binding. Limit one (1) entry per Submitter.

Your Obligations

You represent and warrant that you will use The Challenge Website in good faith, will use your real name and only provide accurate information to The Challenge, that your submission is original, truthful, owned by you, has not been previously published elsewhere., and your poster submission was created solely for the purpose of entering The Challenge. You further acknowledge and stipulate that:

1. You are an individual submitting your own original idea.
2. You and each member of your team is a resident or fellow now or was a resident or fellow at the time the work was conducted.
3. You are responsible for understanding your employer’s policies regarding your eligibility to participate in this Challenge. If you are participating in violation of your employer’s policies, you may be disqualified. Sponsor disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for disputes arising between an employee and their employer related to this matter and prizes will only be awarded in compliance with the employer’s policies.
4. You will not violate any rights of the Sponsor or any third party, including, but not limited to, intellectual property rights such as copyright or trademark rights or trade secret rights.
5. You are responsible for providing at your cost all equipment, software, mobile access, and internet access necessary for you to participate in The Challenge.
6. You will not post or submit any material that is inappropriate, offensive, profane, pornographic, racist, bigoted, harassing or intended to cause insult or suffering in others.
7. You will not post or submit content that violates third party rights (such as copyright or other intellectual property or personal rights) or applicable laws.
8. You will not copy or transfer any part of The Challenge Website.
9. If your actions cause any losses to us, either directly or indirectly, you agree to pay all damages, losses and costs incurred as a result. This includes any claims brought against us by third parties as a result of your actions.
10. You will not copy, broadcast, display, sell or transmit any of the copyrighted information on The Challenge Website.
11. You will not “hack” or reverse engineer any of the software, applications or services running on The Challenge Website.
12. You will not use The Challenge Website in the commission of any crime.
13. You will not advertise, tell directly or imply indirectly to anyone that you are affiliated with or endorsed by the Sponsor or its publication. You also will not use any of our logos or trademarks without our written permission.
14. You will not attempt to override any access controls or security measures on The Challenge Website.
15. You agree that we may contact you about this Challenge via the email address supplied with your Entry.
16. You will not interfere with or disrupt access to The Challenge Website.

License and Warranty for Your Submission

You retain ownership of the information you submit to The Challenge. However, you grant us a license to use your Submission and the information you provide to us, as follows:

1. We may share this information with the Judges and our affiliates.
2. We may display, reproduce, distribute, perform publicly, create derivatives from, and publicize this information freely in any manner or media, including but not limited to the Internet and print media.
3. This license applies worldwide, in perpetuity, and is irrevocable.
4. You grant this license to us completely free of charge and without royalty now or in the future.

Once you submit an Entry to The Challenge Website, the information you provide, such as, your name, team name, and the title of your Submission will become public for anyone on the Internet to view. After the Challenge Round Submission Deadline, the content of your Submission will be displayed at The Challenge Website. If you choose to remove your content from The Challenge website, a written request from the Team Leader must be submitted to residentchallenge@nejm.org.

We will do our best to preserve the information, but any information you submit to us is at your own risk of loss and you relinquish any rights to damages or compensation in the event we lose your information.

You represent and warrant that you are entitled to submit the information and that the information is accurate, not confidential, and not in violation of any contractual restrictions or other third-party rights.

We may, at our sole discretion, for any reason or for no reason, and at any time, remove your information, including but not limited to your user account, posts, and comments, from The Challenge Website. You acknowledge that you have no rights to seek any damages or any other compensation in the event that we delete your information.

Compensation

You understand and agree that you will receive no compensation for your Submission or for any other work in relation to this agreement.

Limitation of Liability

You agree to release us completely and in perpetuity from any liability to you for any damages, costs or expense direct or indirect, whether by our negligence, action or omission of action, that you may incur related to these Official Rules, your participation in The Challenge or your use of The Challenge Website. Where local law does not allow this, then you agree that our liability to you is limited to the lowest amount allowable by local law.

Winner Determination and Prizes

Our Decision is Final

The judging period for the Qualifying Round is April 1, 2020 to April 15, 2020. All abstracts will be triaged by the QI Challenge Committee to ensure abstracts are written in English, describe a project based on Quality Improvement, and all team members are residents or were residents at the time of the project. Each poster will be independently scored by two experienced judges. Qualifying abstracts will be invited to submit a poster for The Challenge Round. Judging for the Challenge Round will take place from May 15, 2020 to June 15, 2020. We reserve the right to change the Judging Deadlines at any time in our sole discretion. Judges will review all eligible entries received and vote for winners based on a pre-established scoring criteria. We have the sole and final authority to accept or reject Submissions. We reserve the right to reject any Submission for any reason or for no reason, and you shall have no recourse, legal or otherwise, if your Submission is rejected. We reserve the right to disqualify anyone from The Challenge for any reason or for no reason. You hereby relinquish your right to dispute our decision now and in perpetuity by any means including, but not limited to, legal action and injunctive relief. You also agree that you will not seek any damages from us or The Challenge arising from the results of the online voting, judging, or scoring of the Entries.

Judging Criteria

Decisions on quality of presentation will be made on the basis of the Squire 2.0 Guidelines. The scoring rubric used for the Challenge Round of this competition will be posted on The Challenge website after the abstract submission deadline. Posters will be scored with equal weighting on each of the following criteria: problem definition; aim statement; family of measures; stakeholders identification and engagement; problem characterization; choice of interventions; PDSA cycles; evaluation of intervention. The decisions of the Judges are final and binding. If we do not receive a sufficient number of eligible entries, we may, at our discretion, select fewer winners than described in these Challenge Rules. In the event of a tie between eligible entries, an additional judge selected by us in our sole discretion will break the tie based on the judging criteria above.

Prizes

You must be a Submitter to be eligible to receive a prize.

One (1) Grand Prize. A Prize Package consisting of the following items:

• The winning project will be featured on NEJM Resident 360
• The opportunity for the winning team to write an article about their project to be considered for publication on the NEJM Catalyst website
• A commemorative plaque for your institution highlighting the success of your project
• A one-year subscription to NEJM Knowledge+ Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, or Family Medicine for up to 12 residents in your program
• A one-year subscription to NEJM Online + iPad for up to 12 members of your team
• NEJM Resident 360-branded prizes

The total approximate retail value (ARV) of this Prize Package is $7,000.

Two (2) Runner up Prizes. A prize package consisting of the following items:

• Special feature on the NEJM Resident 360 website
• A commemorative plaque for your institution highlighting the success of your project
• NEJM Resident 360-branded gear

The total ARV of this Prize Package is $250.

Other participants in Challenge round. A Prize Package consisting of the following items:

• Special feature on the NEJM Resident 360 website
• NEJM-branded Certificate of Participation for all team members

The total ARV of this Prize Package is $0.

The total ARV of all prizes is $7500.

We will award only one (1) prize package per Submission.

If you are a potential winner, we will notify you by sending a message to the email address, provided at the time of Entry within seven (7) days following completion of judging. If the notification we send is returned as undeliverable or you are unable to reach us for any reason, we may award to a runner-up.

If there is a dispute as to who a potential winner is, we will consider the potential winner to be the authorized account holder of the email address used to enter The Challenge. Winners may be required to sign an Affidavit of Eligibility, Liability/Publicity Release and a W-9 tax form (or comparable form) within 30 days of notification and provide such information as Sponsor may reasonably require for processing prize awards. If you do not furnish the information requested or complete the required forms as instructed, and/or return the required forms within the time period listed on the winner notification message, we may disqualify you and select a runner-up. Prizes may not be exchanged for cash or other merchandise. However, if for any reason an advertised prize is unavailable, we reserve the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value. You may not designate someone else as the winner. If you are unable or unwilling to accept your prize, we may award it to a runner-up. You will be solely responsible for all applicable taxes related to accepting a prize.

Suspension or Interruption of Service

We do not guarantee that The Challenge Website will be available and accessible all the time. You agree that you have no right to any damages for any losses you incur directly or indirectly as a result of unavailability of The Challenge Website.

We may, at our sole discretion, suspend your access to The Challenge Website for any reason or for no reason. You agree that you have no recourse and are entitled to no compensation or damages in this case.

If two or more different groups of residents submit an entry based on the same project, we reserve the right to remove both groups from The Challenge.

You acknowledge that we cannot guarantee that every user who wishes to vote for your Entry will be able to do so, nor can we guarantee that there will not be errors in the recording of votes and calculation of total scores. The ability of any user to vote for an Entry and the recording and calculation of votes and scores may be affected by site performance, site availability (i.e. downtime), software bugs, user error or other causes. You agree that we are not responsible for any instance of a user’s inability to vote or an error in recording or calculating votes or scores, regardless of the reason. You relinquish now and in perpetuity any and all rights you have to any damages, compensation, injunctive relief or other recourse in relation to a user’s inability to vote for your Entry or an error in recording or calculating votes or scores.

Jurisdiction and Disputes

If either of us have a dispute that we cannot resolve by mutual good-faith negotiation, we both agree that The Challenge and these Official Rules will be governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and you consent to the exclusive venue and jurisdiction of the courts of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in any legal dispute.

Entire Agreement

The Official Rules and the materials referred to herein constitute the entire agreement between the Parties and supersede all previous agreements and understandings, whether oral or written, between the Parties with respect to the subject matter hereof.

What If The Challenge Can’t Run as Planned?

If someone cheats, or a virus, bug, catastrophic event, or any unforeseen or unexpected event that cannot be reasonably anticipated or controlled (Force Majeure) affects the integrity or fairness of this Challenge, we reserve the right to cancel, change, or suspend The Challenge, whether the event is due to human or technical error. If a solution cannot be found to restore the integrity, we reserve the right to select winners from among all eligible entries received before we had to cancel or suspend The Challenge.

Sponsor shall not be liable for delays or failure to meet its obligations pursuant to this Agreement due to causes beyond the Sponsor’s reasonable control.

How Can I Find Out Who Won?

We will post the names of the winners online at The Challenge Website. This list will remain posted one month after the Event.

Who Is Sponsoring This Challenge?

The Massachusetts Medical Society, 860 Winter Street, Waltham, MA 02451 USA