69th MCC Guidelines for Poster Symposium

Guidelines for the Residents, Fellows & Students Research Poster Symposium

(in conjunction with the 69^th Annual Midwest Clinical Conference – May 20-21, 2016)

Submission Rules

• Deadline for abstract submission is:  February 19, 2016. Previous works may be submitted.
• Students will be judged separately from Residents and Fellows.
• There will be only be one submission accepted per individual.
• Posters must be 4’x5’ – if size requirements are not followed we are not responsible for posters that cannot be displayed
• All abstracts must be sent by email to rburns@cmsdocs.org
• All submissions must be works of individuals who are actively engaged in residency, fellowship, or medical school training.

Abstract Categories

• Submissions may be entered into one of four categories:

1.  Basic Science
2.  Clinical Vignettes
3.  Health Policy and Medical Education
4.  Clinical Research

• "Basic Science” implies the use of scientific method to derive original data in the laboratory.  Entrants are expected to highlight pertinent aspects of scientific background, medical context, as well as techniques used to derive the data.
• “Clinical Vignettes” connotes use of scientific method to derive original data in the patient care setting.  Abstracts should identify pertinent aspects of pathophysiology, clinical relevance, and techniques used to derive the data. “Clinical Vignettes" involve the presentation of one or more patient encounters that illuminate unique observations of a known disease, or that describe a novel disease process.  These are expected to include clinical patient information – such as history, physical exam, clinical data – as well as an analysis of how such observations might contribute to existing medical or scientific knowledge.
• "Health Policy and Medical Education" refers broadly to any original systematic, scientific analysis of, or model for, health care education or health care policy.
• “Clinical Research” refers to research which is conducted with human subjects (or on material of human origin such as tissues, specimens and cognitive phenomena) for which an investigator or colleague directly interacts with human subjects. “Clinical Research” includes: patient-oriented research, epidemiological and behavioral studies, and outcomes and health services research.

Abstract Text (THESE GUIDELINES MUST BE FOLLOWED)

• All Abstract Submissions should be submitted as an email attachment in MS WORD.  The submissions must begin with:

1.  Title
2.  Authors names
3.  Institution Affiliations

• All research abstracts should consist of four sections, with the headings: Background (the hypothesis of the study must be clearly stated), Methods, Results and Conclusions.  A fifth paragraph, headed Clinical Relevance, should be added for basic science articles.
• Authors will be responsible for submitting their abstract to the appropriate category (Basic Science, Clinical Medicine and Vignettes and Health Policy and Medical Education).
• At the end of the abstract, please include the category of the abstract, contact information of the entrant including name, title (resident/fellow, specialty, year, name of institution), address, cell phone, and e-mail.

Poster Presentation

• Top abstracts from each of the three categories will be selected by a Poster Symposium Committee for presentation at the 69^th Annual Midwest Clinical Conference on May 20-21, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. Posters will be displayed on bulletin boards in lobby/exhibitor area where entrants will be present to discuss their submissions.
• Authors will be contacted via e-mail by March 11, 2016, regarding the Committee’s decision on the abstract selection.
• Invited posters are to be prepared in advance, not greater than 4' (width) x 5' (height).  Bulletin board and pins will be provided.
• Posters should include Title, Authors, Institution Affiliations, and a detailed description of methods and results.  Graphs, tables and photos are welcome on posters.
• No word count is assigned to Poster text, but please limit narrative.
• Posters will be displayed on bulletin boards in a lobby/exhibitor area where entrants will be present to discuss their submissions: May 20, 2016 5:00 to 7:00 pm.
• All costs of poster creation will be the responsibility of the entrants.
• During a designated display time, a panel of judges will visit and examine each presentation.
• Entrants are to remove posters at the end of presentation time.

Judging and Awards

• Resident and Fellow Section Winners will be announced at the CMS Annual Dinner
• There will be one winner and one runner-up award given in each category. The winner of each category, as determined by the panel of judges.

1.  Plaque
2.  Recognition in Chicago Medicine magazine