circle-arrow-right iconWhat does the time commitment look like?
Local MCG Competition: The time commitment is variable. Over the course of a month
and a half, our group had weekly team meetings as well as meetings during the week
with experts in the community. Our weekly meetings were on Sunday afternoons for 1-2
hours. The meetings with community members ranged from 0-2 meetings per week.
National Competition: The time commitment is variable, just like it was in the local
competition, but it is a bigger time commitment. Some weeks you may not have any meetings,
while other weeks you may have 2-3 meetings. Since the national competition is focused
on implementation that means you will have to spend time improving processes in the
healthcare system.
circle-arrow-right iconHow often should we meet with our competition mentor?
Local MCG Competition: You are only required to meet with your mentor once throughout the duration of the competition, but we recommend meeting with them more
than that. We have hand selected mentors from the AU community who have valuable input
to offer your group. If there are times where your questions fall outside of the range
of your mentor's expertise, they should be able to connect you with other experts
in the field that can aid you in the competition.
National Competition: Meet with your mentor on an as needed basis.
circle-arrow-right iconWhat are the requirements to join?
There is no requirement to join! We encourage students from all professional health
programs to join. Teams of 2-5 people will be paired with a mentor at Augusta University
who will help guide you through the process.
If you are from a different university, but are interested in joining and organizing
a local competition at your school, please contact: vbcomcg@augusta.edu
National Competition: Winners from their school will move forward to the national
competition. If the first-place team does not wish to participate in the national
competition, the second-place team will be given the opportunity to. If the second-place
team declines the opportunity to participate as well, the third-place team will be
given the opportunity to participate.
circle-arrow-right iconI am not sure how to get started. How do we go about coming up with a solution?
We will provide a care package with tools to help you brainstorm with your teammates.
Incorporate the Lean Six Sigma framework into your problem solving/solution finding
process. Receive advice and insight from professionals in your area. This will give
you a strong competitive edge and help you get the most out of this experience.
circle-arrow-right iconHow does networking fit in with this project?
Over the course of this competition, it will benefit you to seek advice from and set
up meetings with faculty, physicians, and other professionals in your area. These
meetings will give you the opportunity to meet and get to know a variety of experts
in the healthcare field and make connections early on in your professional health
career.
circle-arrow-right iconWhat research opportunities can come out of this experience?
For projects that receive 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place, students will be featured on MCG’s website, and this can count as a non-peer
reviewed publication for ERAS purposes. For the team that moves onto the national
portion of the competition, there will be an opportunity to collect data since you
will be implementing the solution you came up with.
