Call for Abstracts

There will be poster sessions throughout the conference to highlight ongoing efforts to transform health professions education. Poster presenters have the opportunity to discuss their work with conference attendees during these sessions. We welcome completed research projects highlighting innovative social mission work. In-progress research projects will be considered separately.

Accepted posters submitted by learners will be entered into the poster competition. Winners will be announced during the conference. Only submissions by learners as the primary author (students, residents, trainees, and those in training fellowships) will be considered for the poster competition. Other authors may also be included. However, learners are invited and encouraged to submit abstracts in other categories as well.

Panels will feature 3-4 presentations on related novel programs and/or completed research projects. Abstracts can be submitted individually or as a full 90-minute panel. (Accepted individual abstracts will be organized by conference planners into panels with 2-3 other accepted abstracts.) Presenters will have 10-15 minutes each followed by 15-20 minutes of group discussion at the end.

Submission Details:

Submit a brief description (500 word limit for single presentation/1000 for full panel) of the proposed presentation including:

1. Background setting up the scope of the problem, the expertise of the individual(s) without revealing identity (i.e. no names or organizations) and the relevance of the topic to social mission in health professions education
2. Detailed description of the innovation/intervention and outcomes to date OR research methods and key findings
3. Opportunities to build on these efforts and/or policy relevance of the innovation/research findings.  

We are also seeking highly interactive workshops that center on skill-building or problem-solving a pressing issue in social mission in health professions education. Formal presentations and/or lecture format will be limited to no more than 30 minutes total to leave sufficient time for audience interaction.

Examples of Workshops include:

• Providing training in a social mission-related area (e.g. community organizing, advocacy, evaluation/research methods, etc.)
• Sharing a successful effort surrounding social mission and teaching the audience how they can replicate it or adopt its lessons in their own institutions
• Hands-on experience with a social mission training tool
• Engaging participants to advance their own social mission work (e.g. developing recruitment/admission strategy for diversity, developing health equity and leadership curriculum)
• Engaging participants to develop/advance a social mission-related issue

Submission Details:

Submit a brief description (1,000-word limit) of the proposed workshop including clear goals and learning objectives, target audience, details on the specific workshop activities and presentation topics, the expertise of the individual(s) and the relevance of the topic to social mission in health professions education.

This session type invites presenters and participants to engage in conversation about solving “wicked problems”, those problems that have many interdependent factors and sometimes seem impossible to solve. Solving them requires unique and innovative ideas that don’t follow prescriptive formulas and take multiple perspectives into account.

Submissions for this session type should present a wicked problem that the presenters are working to solve that would benefit from the collective wisdom of conference attendees. Presenters should plan for 15-minute presentations with 15 minutes of structured engagement with the audience for each topic.

Submission Details:

Submit a brief description (500 words) that outlines the problem to be presented, including relevant previous research/efforts to address, why it constitutes a wicked problem, how it connects to conference themes, and a set of questions to guide structured engagement with the audience.

This session type invites presenters to give very short talks about something you are passionate about related to one or more of the conference themes. Presenters will have 5 minutes to present their ideas distilled down to the core elements, novel perspectives, and possibilities for innovation.

Submission Details:

Ignite/Lightening session proposals (300-500 words) should include a brief background for the idea to be presented including relevant previous research or other background information, a brief description of the idea that will be presented, and the connection to conference themes.