Psychiatry team wins MindGames competition

By Aaron Zapata, Faillace Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
July 6, 2022

(From left to right) Caroline McCool, MD; Hunter Hinman, MD; and Gauri Wable, MD, PhD; pose with the MindGames trophy after winning the annual resident competition June 8. (Photo by the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences)

Caroline McCool, MD; Hunter Hinman, MD; and Gauri Wable, MD, PhD, residents in the Louis A. Faillace, MD, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, teamed up to compete and win the annual resident competition MindGames June 8.

MindGames is a national residency team competition hosted by the American Psychiatric Association as a fun way for residents to test their knowledge on patient care, medical knowledge, and psychiatric history. Teams from all across the United States compete against each other on a preliminary qualifying exam, and the top three teams advance to a live Jeopardy-style final round.

The residents were invited to compete together by Vineeth John, MD, MBA, professor and vice chair for education. McCool had participated on previous teams, while Wable and Hinman were competing for the first time. Team members emphasized this was a total department effort to win the competition.

The department has enjoyed success in this competition in previous years, winning in 2008, 2012, and 2013. Though it is a friendly competition, the team members wanted to perform well for the department.

“I think it did increase the priority for me, knowing we as a department had performed so well in the past,” Hinman said. “I wanted to do the faculty members who supported us proud.”

“We have a strong legacy of performing well at MindGames,” McCool said. “A lot of previous MindGames team members are now faculty at the department and gave us helpful tips.”

All three not only enjoyed winning MindGames, but also found a bond with each other while competing.

“For me, it was fun being with Callie and Hunter during the qualifiers,” Wable said. “I really enjoyed our preparation time together.”

John expressed his pride in the team winning the department’s fourth MindGames Trophy.

“It is our hope that the team’s success could galvanize our trainees to aspire for national honors and awards,” John said. “The exhilaration of winning is unparalleled. Along with that comes the awareness of the richness of our field which finds itself at the intersection of varied disciplines coalescing into a glorious mix of culture, art, movies, and literature.”