RINIA Case Report Competition

RINIA invites medical students and doctors to write up the an interesting and instructive clinical case from their own practice, following the same CARE-guideline structure taught in our case report teaching session.

Overview and Purpose

This competition is designed to help you turn real clinical experience into your first step towards publication. You’ll identify an interesting clinical case, explore the evidence behind it, and develop it into a complete case report with support from RINIA’s teaching, structured template, and feedback.

By taking part, you’ll have the opportunity to:

Strengthen your evidence-based thinking and confidence using international clinical guidelines.
Develop practical research and academic writing skills early in your training.
Showcase interesting and educational clinical cases from the region to a wider audience.
Learn how to take a case from initial idea to a journal-ready case report, with strong submissions supported towards potential publication.

Whether this is your first experience of academic writing or you’re looking to build on existing skills, the competition provides a structured and accessible way to take your clinical experiences beyond the bedside and towards publication.

Who can take part?

The competition is primarily aimed at medical students and doctors, up to and including Foundation/Intern-equivalent level.

To be eligible:

Entrants must have been directly involved in the care of the patient described and have sufficient knowledge of their clinical journey to accurately write and discuss the case.
Each participant may submit one case report only.
Your submission must follow the competition requirements.

What is a Case Report?

A case report is a type of medical writing that describes the clinical story of an individual patient.

It usually describes:

What happened to the patient
What made the case interesting, unusual or important
How the patient was investigated and treated
What we can learn from the case

You do not need to recruit lots of patients or conduct a research study. One interesting clinical case with a clear learning point can be enough.

Case reports are a great way to start developing your clinical writing, critical thinking and research skills, and to share something that other healthcare professionals can learn from.

How can RINIA Support Me?

This competition is particularly suited to those with limited previous experience in research or academic writing.

We will be running webinars to teach you how to write a case report.

We also have a team on hand to give you feedback on your draft so that you can submit your best work to the competition.

Key Dates

How to Enter?

Use the RINIA Case Report Writing Template as a guide when preparing your case report, and follow the CARE guidelines (and SCARE guidelines where relevant for surgical or procedural cases).
Submit your completed case report as a PDF attachment by emailing rinia.uk@outlook.com before the submission deadline stated above.

In the body of your email, please include the following personal information:

Full name
Age
Current or most recent university/institution
If you are a student: your course and current year of study
If you have graduated: your profession and current level of training or role (e.g. Foundation Year 1 / Intern)
Please also confirm in the email that you have obtained valid consent from the patient or next of kin.

You will receive email confirmation of receipt within 3 working days. If you do not receive confirmation, contact RINIA before the deadline.

Case Report Template

Format Requirements

• Word count: 1,500–3,000 words, excluding the abstract and references.

• Structure: Title, keywords, abstract, introduction, patient information, clinical findings/timeline, diagnostic assessment, therapeutic intervention, follow-up and outcomes, discussion and conclusion, references.

• Referencing: any consistent, recognised style (e.g. Vancouver) used throughout.

• Images/figures: optional.

• Anonymisation: no names, initials, exact dates of birth, hospital numbers, exact addresses, or other identifying details anywhere in the submission.

• Consent: You must obtain consent from the patient or their next of kin and confirm you have done this when you submit your case report. You can find an example consent from here.

What will I be judged on?

Your case report will be judged on 5 different aspects, all of different weightings:

Prizes

General Conditions

By submitting an entry, entrants confirm that the information provided is accurate and that their submission complies with the competition rules, including the requirements for patient confidentiality and de-identification.

RINIA may, with the entrant's separate and explicit permission, share excerpts of winning entries for promotional purposes.
RINIA reserves the right to amend these rules, the timetable, or the prizes at any time, with reasonable notice provided to registered entrants.
Entrants retain full ownership and authorship rights over their submissions at all times.
Any dispute regarding eligibility, judging, or results will be reviewed by the RINIA committee, whose decision is final.
It is the responsibility of the recipient of the monetary prize to have a way of receiving international payments.

Questions about eligibility, formatting, or the submission process?

Contact RINIA at rinia.uk@outlook.com

This Initiative Is Supported By The Albanian Committee of Medical Students