Welcome, one and all, to the 7th annual NephMadness tournament, proudly hosted by AJKDBlog.

This post is intended as a one-stop shop for all you NephMadness Newbies out there. We ran a Twitter poll last month and there were quite a number of you who have never even heard of NephMadness!

If you’ve been wondering why #NephMadness takes over your Twitter timeline every March and April, take a few minutes to read this post and join the fun and learning this year!

What is NephMadness?

We love the description from last year’s very helpful explanatory post, so here it is again:

NephMadness is a free online, CME-granting, evidenced-based, noncommercial learning initiative that leverages the tools of social media to teach about the latest and greatest breakthroughs in the field of nephrology!

What do I need to do?

Step 1 (basic): Read this year’s region posts and learn about the hottest topics in nephrology.

Step 2 (you can do this): Choose which teams move forward and submit your own bracket.

Step 3 (choose your own adventure):

• • Engage with NephTwitter and participate in the conversations on social media.
  • Claim CME credit or MOC points (instructions will be provided at the end of each region post).
  • Get your training program together and complete a group bracket – get inspired with ideas from the VCUrine group.
  • Write a blog post in response to any controversial topic presented.

Still confused?

Here’s a short video by @KidneyCathy:

Check out this visual abstract by @kidney_boy:

Check out this Tweetorial by @_Dr_MK:

What else do I need to know?

Great question, and here comes the nitty-gritty. Back in August, we asked the nephrology community to share ideas for NephMadness 2019. After a crazy amount of conference calls, we selected 8 main topics (REGIONS) with 4 subtopics (TEAMS), for a grand total of 32 nephrology concepts. We invited people to write up these regions and appointed experts to help us vet the information provided to make sure it is accurate, unbiased, and interesting. This year’s regions include:

• Complement: Carla Nester | Anuja Java @anuja_java
• Exercise Nephrology: Chirag Parikh @KidneydrChirag and Maryam Khosravi @_Dr_MK | Matthew Graham-Brown @DrMattGB
• Hospitalist Nephrology: Charlie Wray @WrayCharles | Pascale Khairallah @Khairallah_P
• Hepatorenal: Juan Carlos Velez @VelezNephHepato | Bill Whittier @TWhittier_RUSH
• Hypertension: Susan Steigerwalt @SteigSusan | Swapnil Hiremath @hswapnil
• Pain: David Juurlink @DavidJuurlink | Samantha Gelfand @SammyG
• Plasma Exchange: Andre Kaplan | Paul Phelan @paulphel
• Volume Assessment: Tariq Shafi @DrTariqShafi | Devika Nair @devimol

This year’s official bracket:

Download PDF version of the 2019 Bracket.

BONUS video by @KidneyCathy breaking down this year’s teams:

Who picks the NephMadness champion?

A Blue Ribbon Panel (BRP) will vote on which teams move forward, and they will determine the champion by the bracket submission deadline (March 31, 2019 at 06:00pm EDT). We’re not saying that some teams are better or more important than others, but the NephMadness model is inspired by the college basketball tournament and we do need to get to a champion in the end. Read more about the rationale behind the BRP in this Editorial: NephMadness After 5 Years: A Recap and Game Plan for the Future

Members of the 2019 BRP include:

– Michael Choi @Mike_J_Choi
– Deidra Crews @DrDeidraCrews
– Sarah Faubel @doc_faubel
– Melanie Hoenig @melhoenig
– Holly Kramer @kramer_holly
– Eleanor Lederer @EleanorLederer
– Fiona Loud @FionaCLoud
– Mark Okusa @MarkOkusa
– Roger Rodby @NephRodby

What’s the Schedule?

• March 15: Bracket entry opens
• March 31 (06:00 pm EDT): Deadline for bracket submission
• April 1: First round results | Saturated 16 named
• April 3: Saturated 16 results | Effluent 8 named
• April 4: Effluent 8 results | Filtered 4 named
• April 5: Filtered Four results | Finalists named
• April 8: NephMadness 2019 Champion crowned

New this year: MOC Points!

For US-based physicians, we offered CME credits last year and wanted to expand to MOC this year as well. Instructions for how to claim CME credits and MOC points will be available at the end of every region post.

How to Claim CME and MOC
US-based physicians can earn 1.0 CME credit and 1.0 MOC point for reading this region.

1. 1. Register/log in to the NKF’s Professional Education Resource Center (PERC).
   2. Review the activity and accreditation information.
   3. Click “Continue” and review Course Instructions.
   4. Complete Post-Test. Please note: By selecting “Yes” to the participation questions for each region, the corresponding Post-Test questions will appear. Click “Save Draft” to save your responses and finish later. When you are ready to submit your answers, click “Preview” to review all responses, then click “Submit.”
   5. Click “Next” to complete the Evaluation form, then click“Submit.”
   6. Claim 1.0 CME credit and 1.0 MOC point per region (up to 8.0 total for 8 regions of NephMadness).
   7. Print your certificate.
   8. Review the Post-Test answers and rationale.

The CME and MOC activity will expire on June 15th, 2019.

What are the Prizes?

Perhaps the luck of a NephMadness Newbie will get you to the podium this year! A list of prizes up for grab:

• Top Overall score: Brenner and Rector’s The Kidney
• Top Medical Student, Top Resident, Top Fellow, and Top Attending score: NKF Primer on Kidney Diseases: Expert Consult
• Best Tweeter, Best Blogger, and Group* Prizes: NephMadness rally towel

*Here are the 3 categories of Group Prizes:

Highest Score and Most Entries. When you submit your bracket, there is a question asking whether you are part of a group or whether you are submitting an official entry on behalf of a group.

Best Party. Take a photo (or multiple) and tag #NephMadnessParty. We want to see how you incorporate NephMadness into your curriculum!

For all Group Prizes, the maximum number of prizes awarded will be 25 per group (meaning more than 25 individuals can be affiliated with a group, but we will only award 25 prizes per group).

Each individual can submit up to two brackets.

What’s next?

Stay tuned as we update this blog post with all the materials you’ll need for a successful NephMadness season. Make sure to follow these organizers and be engaged throughout #NephMadness 2019!

• AJKD @AJKDonline
• NephMadness @NephMadness
• Joel Topf @kidney_boy
• Matt Sparks @Nephro_Sparks
• Tim Yau @Maximal_Change
  
• Anna Burgner @anna_burgner

Note: Updated March 15th to include NephMadness 2019 information such as regions and brackets.

Submit your picks! | NephMadness 2019 | #NephMadness | @NephMadness