US PulmonologyChampionship 2026
A national competition for community pulmonologists. Diagnose hidden conditions — recognition earned by your decisions, not committees.
Begin with the Opening Case.
An undiagnosed patient walks in — no disease label, no answers to pick from. You decide what to ask, image, test, and refer. About seven minutes.
Then see how your calls compare to community pulmonologists nationwide.
Built and reviewed by practicing pulmonologists.
Cases, scoring, and debriefs are built with a faculty committee spanning pulmonology subspecialties.
Faculty names appear here as each reviewer confirms and completes disclosure.
The committee is being assembled with the Chair across subspecialty areas.
Two seasons. Drop in and out anytime.
Each season stands alone for CME credit. Together they form the inaugural 2026 competition for US community pulmonologists.
Summer Open
20 branching simulations — 16 accredited for CME credit. Hidden conditions, real management decisions. Earn Faculty Honor, Top Champion, and State Champion.
Fall Championship Finals
20 branching simulations — 16 accredited for CME credit. The championship round, where the Champion of US Pulmonology 2026 is named, with the National Frontline and State Champion. Open to all, Summer Open not required.
Championship Awards
Live virtual ceremony. National and state titles announced. Replay for registered participants.
National recognition. Earned, not assigned.
No nominating committee. No academic appointment. Rankings come from your diagnostic decisions, measured against US community pulmonologists nationwide.
Champion of US Pulmonology 2026
Top performer in the Championship Finals, announced live December 2. The inaugural national title in US community pulmonology.
National Frontline
The physicians who first see, screen, and route the hard cases. Top 20 nationally for 2026.
State Champion of Pulmonology 2026
Top performer in each state with at least 10 participants. State Frontline awarded in states with deeper fields.
Serious lung disease gets missed for years.
The most consequential respiratory diagnoses are often delayed for years.
This championship puts those exact decisions in front of you.
Recognize the presentation patterns of serious lung disease — and tell them apart from the common conditions they're mistaken for.
Choose the right imaging and tests, and know when to escalate to multidisciplinary discussion or biopsy.
Differentiate conditions that look alike, using clinical, radiologic, and serologic clues.
Work through current and emerging treatment options with an evidence-based frame — and see where your confidence and accuracy line up.
Two ways to compete.
The simulator is the core of the program — duels put your reasoning to the test head-to-head.
Clinical Simulator
Work a full patient case the way you would in clinic, with feedback at every step.
Duel
Go head-to-head with another pulmonologist on focused clinical questions — ten questions per duel.
Points from cases and duels rank you on national and state leaderboards. CME credit is earned only through the accredited simulations — duels and the leaderboard carry no separate credit.
CME Credit
Accumulate credits based on time spent viewing individual cases
and claim credits at your convenience.
Up to 8.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™
Up to 4.0 per season, two seasons. Each season is separately accredited. Claim only the credit commensurate with your participation.
Up to 8.0 ABIM MOC points
Up to 4.0 per season, two seasons. Each season is registered for ABIM MOC. Claim only the points commensurate with your participation.
The Opening Case is designated for 0.25 credits
Free, no full registration. Start it now, then claim the 0.25 credit with your name and email.
In support of improving patient care, this activity has been planned and implemented by Partners for Advancing Clinical Education (Partners) and Eximion Medical Education. Partners is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
Complete accreditation information is published on each activity page.
AI use in this activity. The accredited simulations in this activity were developed with the assistance of artificial intelligence (Claude, Anthropic — versions Opus 4.7 and Opus 4.8). All AI-assisted simulation content was reviewed and validated for scientific accuracy, balance, and independence by qualified human reviewers and/or the activity’s faculty.
Validated methodology Our last competition put 1,319 physicians across five countries in front of more than 19,000 real clinical decisions. 55 percent finished.
Questions, answered.
The practical details before you start your first case.
Yes. No fee, no membership, no payment details. It's open to any US pulmonologist with an active NPI. A one-time NPI check applies only when you enter the ranked championship; the Opening Case needs no account at all.
Up to 15 minutes per simulation. You work through cases at your own pace, one sitting or many.
Up to 4 hours total for the accredited cases in a season. You can earn 0.25 CME credits per accredited case, up to 4.0 per season.
Yes. The simulations run in your browser on phone, tablet, or desktop. There's no app to install.
That's fine. Drop in and out at any point. Every credit you claim is yours to keep, whether you complete one case or all of them.
Your decisions are benchmarked anonymously against the national field. Everyone competes anonymously under a pseudonym; your real name and affiliation are never shown to anyone, including other participants.
Start with the Opening Case.
Your first case is free and takes about seven minutes — no account. It's also the only way in: clear the Opening Case, pass a one-time NPI check, and you're in the championship.
Invitations open July 1.