The Young Talents in Internal Medicine World Contest (“Contest”) is a competition for young internists for the best clinical case descriptions in the form of abstracts, posters, and full case reports.

To take part in the Contest, participants have to be endorsed by a national society of internal medicine or another recognized partner. Partners are listed on the official Contest website (youngtalents.one). Each partner society can be represented by up to 10 submissions. Other partners, such as universities and medical schools, can be represented by up to 3 submissions.

The Contest offers two modes of participation: 

• In-person participation: Authors attend an in-person event to present their cases in front of an audience and answer questions from medical experts.
• Virtual participation: Poster display without in-person presentation.

Submissions to the Contests are evaluated by an International Jury. The Jury selects 30 cases to be presented at Grand Final and up to 120 additional cases eligible for Peer Award Specialty Finals. The remaining accepted cases will be displayed as posters only.  Cases accepted for Grand Final and Peer Award Specialty Finals are presented during special sessions at the McMaster International Review Conference of Internal Medicine (“MIRCIM”) in Kraków, Poland.

Winners are announced during the Award Ceremony that takes place at MIRCIM. Prizes include certificates, publication opportunities, free participation in medical events, and monetary awards.

The Contest is organized by the Polish Institute for Evidence Based Medicine (Kraków, Poland) and McMaster University (Hamilton, Canada) in collaboration with national societies of internal medicine and medical universities from around the world.

This contest has the following key objectives:

• Provide talented young internists from around the world with an opportunity to present in front of their peers and medical experts.  
• Enhance competencies of young doctors in the realms of problem-based learning and evidence-based medicine.
• Promote talented young internists from around the world
• Disseminate current medical knowledge through clinical case reports.
• Improve the quality of medical education and health care globally.

The Contest is for internal medicine specialists or trainees in internal medicine up to 35 years of age. Students’ submissions will not be considered.

To make a valid submission, a participant must (1) submit their case report during the submission period through the Online Submission System (www.submit.piebm.org) and (2) pay the Contest participation fee. The Organizers do not cover any expenses incurred by participants.

A participant can be listed as the first author of no more than 1 submitted case report.

Authors should provide their ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID; www.orcid.org) if available.

In-person

The in-person participation mode involves presentation of the submitted case reports in person during MIRCIM in Kraków, Poland. Participants are required to pay the in-person participation fee in the amount of €225 by February 20, 2026.

The fee includes:

• Participation in the Contest.
• MIRCIM in-person participation (3 days with lunch).
• Certificate of participation in the Contest.
• Digital poster display on the Young Talents website and venue displays during the event.
• Publication in the Book of Abstracts in the journal Polish Archives of Internal Medicine (impact factor, 4.7).

If a participant switches from in-person to virtual participation, the price difference will be refunded, provided the change is made before April 1, 2026. Changes made on or after April 1, 2026, will not be eligible for any refund.

Virtual

The virtual participation mode is for first authors of submissions who cannot participate in the Contest in person. Awards will be given to the 3 submissions with the highest scores from the Reviewers. Participants are required to pay the virtual participation fee in the amount of €95 (nonrefundable) by February 20, 2026.

The fee includes:

• Participation in the Contest.
• 3-day virtual MIRCIM access.
• Certificate of participation in the Contest.
• Digital poster display on the Young Talents website and venue displays during the event.
• Publication in the Book of Abstracts in the journal Polish Archives of Internal Medicine (impact factor, 4.7).  

Country Representation

Each partner society can endorse up to 10 submissions in total, including in-person and virtual participants.
Other partners (universities ) are entitled to independently endorse up to 3 submissions.
A maximum of 2 submissions per country can be qualified for Grand Final. The Jury may recommend a third submission based on exceptional merit. 

Partner Society Endorsements

Societies of internal medicine interested in becoming partners can contact the MIRCIM Organizing Committee at mircim@piebm.org. Partnership agreements between partner societies and MIRCIM Organizers have to be concluded in writing by February 20, 2026, to be considered valid for the 2026 Contest edition. 

Partner University Endorsements

If a participant represents a country without a national society of internal medicine or where the national society of internal medicine is not a partner, endorsement can be provided by a partner university. Each partner university can endorse up to 3 case reports. 

Case Report Selection and Endorsement Letters

Reports are selected by a partner society/university (eg, through an internal qualification process). The endorsement letter from a partner must include the case report title and authors and must be signed by a partner representative. See the endorsement template here.

Authors are required to include the endorsement letter from a partner society/university when submitting their case report.

Jury Representation

A representative from each partner society or university that has endorsed at least 1 case report for in-person participation is entitled to join the Jury in person in Kraków, Poland (registration fee and participation in social events will be covered). If there are at least 2 cases endorsed by a given partner, the Organizers will also provide accommodation for the Jury member. 

All reviewers, Jury members, and nonvoting experts are experts in the field of medicine. A list of reviewers, jurors, and experts will be presented on the official Contest website at www.youngtalents.one in May 2026.

Reviewers

The Organizers will delegate at least 5 reviewers to evaluate all the submitted case reports. Reviewers have the voting rights and select 30 submissions for Grand Final, up to 120 submissions for Peer Award Specialty Finals, and the virtual module winners.

Jury

Up  to 5 members delegated by the Organizers and 1 member per partner society/university participating in the Contest. Jury members have voting rights and select winners in Grand Final and Peer Award Specialty Finals.

Peer Jury

Authors of case reports submitted to the Contest will be scoring the presentations in Peer Award Specialty Finals in their respective subspecialty categories. Authors are not permitted to vote on their own submission, but vote for other cases in their category.  

Non-voting Experts

Nonvoting experts designated by the Organizers will ask questions and provide commentary following each presentation. Nonvoting experts have no voting rights.

Case Report Review Process

Accepted case reports will be evaluated by reviewers based on the following criteria, each scored from 0 to 5 points:

• Overall clinical interest and educational value.
• Course of the case (methods used to establish diagnosis, relevant treatments and outcomes etc.).
• Uniqueness/novelty.
• Practical and technical aspects of the presentation (clarity, language, figures etc.).

Scoring at Finals  

Grand Final 

Each Jury member selects their top 5 presentations, assigning scores from 5 (top choice) to 1 (fifth choice). Points are then summed up, and the top 3 highest-scoring submissions receive the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place awards. In the event of a tie, the Jury will determine the winner through discussion.

Grand Final presentations will also be evaluated by MIRCIM participants, who will have the right to vote for the best presentation. Voting will be conducted via the online MIRCIM virtual platform and will be available exclusively to registered participants (both on site and online). The presentation with the highest number of votes will receive the Audience Choice Award.

Peer Award Specialty Finals

Each Jury member and Peer Jury member selects their top 5 presentations, assigning scores from 5 (top choice) to 1 (fifth choice). Points are then summed up, and the top-scoring submissions receive awards. In the event of a tie, the Jury will determine the winner through discussion.

I. National Preselection and Contest Submissions (until Feb 20, 2026)

Submission must be accompanied by an endorsement letter from a partner (scan/photo uploaded to the Online Submission System). The internal qualification process, including the schedule and submission deadlines, is determined by individual partners and not regulated in any way by the Contest Organizers. →Representation, Endorsement, Partners 

Submissions must be made via the Online Submission System by February 20, 2026. Submissions sent by email will not be accepted.

Submissions must include a complete abstract. →Guidelines on Preparing Case Reports

Participants are required to select a participation mode (in-person or virtual) when making the submission. Submission payment must be completed by February 20, 2026. →Participation Modes and Fees

II. Review and Result Announcement (Feb 21 – Apr 1, 2026)

All successfully submitted case reports will be evaluated by Reviewers. →Assessment and Scoring Criteria

The 30 highest-scored case reports submitted by authors participating in person are qualified for oral presentation at Grand Final, and the remaining submissions are qualified for oral presentation at Peer Award Specialty Finals. If one of the Grand Final authors changes their participation mode from in person to virtual, the next highest-scored report will be advanced to Grand Final.
The top 3 highest-scored case reports submitted by authors participating virtually will be given awards and acknowledged during the Award Ceremony.

The presentation schedule will be announced on the Young Talents website by  April 1, 2026.

III. Poster and Presentation Uploads (Apr 1 – Apr 24, 2026)

Submissions must be completed by uploading posters to the Online Submission System by April 24, 2026. Authors qualified for a presentation with slides at Grand Final and Peer Award Specialty Finals will be asked to additionally upload their PowerPoint presentations in the PPTX format.

IV. Presentations and Award Ceremony (May 7-9, 2026)

Digital Posters

All accepted case reports will be displayed as digital posters on May 7-9, 2026.

Presentations at Finals 

Authors will present their case reports at Young Talents in Internal Medicine World Contest Finals on May 7-9, 2026.

Grand Final: A single session will be held for the presentation of the top 30 submissions.

A case presentation must not exceed 6 minutes, with the number of slides adjusted accordingly. Each presentation will be followed by 4 minutes of questions/comments from the experts and audience.
Jury members will decide on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place through voting. →Assessment and Scoring Criteria

Peer Award Specialty Finals: All reports (including 30 from Grand Final) and up to 120 additional will be eligible for Peer Award Specialty Finals. Submissions will be divided into subspecialty categories.

A case presentation must not exceed 4 minutes, with the number of slides adjusted accordingly. Each presentation will be followed by 2 minutes of questions/comments from the experts and audience.

Jury members together with the Peer Jury will assign scores through voting. →Assessment and Scoring Criteria

Categories

1. Acute Care and Emergency Medicine
2. Cardiovascular Diseases
3. Respiratory Diseases
4. Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases
5. Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases
6. Kidney and Urinary Tract Diseases
7. Hematologic Diseases
8. Rheumatologic and Immune-Mediated Diseases
9. Allergic Diseases
10. Infectious Diseases
11. Cerebrovascular and Neurologic Diseases
12. Oncology and Palliative Medicine
13. Other

Award Ceremony

The Contest results will be announced at the Award Ceremony on May 9, 2026. All authors are requested to attend the ceremony. The Award Ceremony will be streamed online.

V. Publication (May 7, 2026 – Dec 31, 2026)

All abstracts, posters, and recorded presentations will be published on the Young Talents website.

The journal Polish Archives of Internal Medicine will publish all abstracts in a book of abstracts and full-length highest-scored case reports (winners of Grand Final and Peer Award Specialty Finals) as individual articles.

Only original unpublished case reports may be submitted.
Case reports should describe an original observation concerning diagnosis, treatment, or both. They should present one of the following:

• Rare conditions.
• Unusual presentation or complications of a relatively common condition.
• A difficult path to diagnosis.
• Cases of high educational value for other reasons.

The submission—abstract, poster, and, if applicable, full case report—must be in English.
Medical jargon should be avoided.
The use of abbreviations should be limited, with preference for those recognized internationally. Abbreviations should be spelled out at first mention except for those commonly used (eg, ECG).

Abstracts are assessed by Reviewers.

Structure: see above.
Number of authors: up to 3.
Length: up to 500 words.
Number of keywords: up to 5.
References: none.
Figures/tables: up to 3 figures and 1 table. High-resolution figures submitted as separate files. Preferred formats are TIFF, EPS, JPG.

Full-length case reports are submitted by Contest winners for publication in the Polish Archives of Internal Medicine.

Structure: see above.
Number of authors: up to 3.
Length: up to 1500 words.
Number of keywords: up to 5.
References: up to 8.
Figures/tables: up to 3 figures and 1 table. High-resolution figures submitted as separate files. Preferred formats are TIFF, EPS, JPG.

Posters will be displayed electronically (dedicated on-site displays, online).

Size: max. 10 MB
Ratio: 9:16 (vertically)
Resolution: min. 1080 × 1920 px
Format: PDF or JPG

Slide format: 4:3 aspect ratio and 1024 × 768 px minimum resolution.
Presentations must be saved as a PowerPoint PPTX file.
Use standard Windows fonts only (avoid non-standard and language-specific fonts).
Accepted video formats: MP4 (preferred), WMV, AVI.
Presentations have to be run from a laptop provided by the Organizers. No private devices are allowed.