CALL FOR RESEARCH, CREATIVE SOLUTIONS, AND CHAPTER BEST PRACTICE ABSTRACTS FOR POSTER PRESENTATION WEB-BASED SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

2010 National Teaching Institute® and Critical Care Exposition Including the Advanced Practice Institute


May 15 - 20, 2010 Washington, DC

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: October 15, 2009

To view abstract submission tutorial click here.


Poster Abstract FAQ'S

What are NTI posters?

  • A poster is a short description of your work and should contain all the elements necessary to define your goals and results.
  • Posters cover a wide range of topics related to evidence-based practice, professional development, trends, healthcare research, and chapter management and how chapters carry out the mission work of AACN.

There are three types of posters:

  • Research
  • Creative Solutions
  • Chapter Best Practice

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What are the benefits of having my poster displayed at NTI?

There are multiple benefits to having your poster displayed at NTI, including the following:

  • Abstracts are published in Critical Care Nurse (Creative Solutions) or AJCC (Research), resulting in a searchable citation. (Chapter Best Practice abstracts are not published in the journals.)
  • All abstracts are published on the AACN Web site, with the opportunity to include an additional PowerPoint presentation of the subject matter.
  • Abstracts are hosted by Sigma Theta Tau’s Virginia Henderson International Nursing Library Web site. (Chapter Best Practice abstracts are not available on this Web site.)
  • Opportunity to network with other nurses participating in evidence-based clinical inquiry.
  • Opportunity for chapters to network with other chapters on best chapter practices.
  • Recognition among your colleagues.
  • Building your professional portfolio.
  • The primary poster author will receive a $75 discount on his or her NTI registration fee. Please note the discount is transferable for more information email posters@aacn.org.

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What is a Research poster?

A Research poster may focus on acute or critical care nursing practice, nursing management, or nursing education. The research can be original or replicated studies. Abstracts should describe the methods used to carry out the research, identify variables and sample size, identify protocols and instruments used for evaluation, and describe data analysis. The research must be completed before NTI 2010.

For additional information on AACN’s research priorities, please visit the research section of the Web site.

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What is a Creative Solution poster?

A Creative Solution poster demonstrates practice innovations used by nurses to solve a difficult, unique, or interesting problem related to patient care, nursing practice, nursing management, or nursing education. The creative solution must have been implemented with evaluated outcomes.

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What is a Chapter Best Practice poster?

A Chapter Best Practice poster demonstrates innovations used by chapters to solve issues related to chapter management or to promote AACN’s key initiatives of certification, healthy work environments, or the Beacon Award.

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What are the poster abstract review criteria?

Research and Creative Solution poster abstracts are evaluated on the following criteria:

  • Relevance to AACN's mission, vision, and values
  • Content that supports AACN’s major agenda topics, including research, evidence-based practice, leadership, ethics, public policy, staffing, healthy work environments, and advanced practice
  • Links between research and practice
  • “Cutting-edge” information
  • All components are present, neat, and in the correct format

Chapter Best Practice poster abstracts are evaluated on the following criteria:

  • Relevance to AACN's mission, vision, and values
  • Relevance to AACN’s key initiatives of certification, healthy work environments, and the Beacon Award
  • Relevance to chapter management best practices
  • All components are present, neat, and in the correct format

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What is the selection process?

Poster abstract submissions will be evaluated and selected after a blind review by a volunteer group on the basis of the following criteria:

  • Research poster abstracts are scored and selected on the basis of scientific merit, clinical relevance, and clarity.
  • Creative Solution poster abstracts are scored and selected on the basis of creativity, clinical relevance, and clarity.
  • Chapter Best Practice poster abstracts are scored and selected on the basis of creativity; relevance to chapters and to the key initiatives of certification, healthy work environments, or the Beacon Award; and clarity.

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What is the timeline for submission and notification of acceptance/regrets?

Poster abstract submission opens August 3, 2009 and closes October 15, 2009. Notification of acceptance/regrets will be e-mailed to all listed abstract authors no later than January 15, 2010.

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Do you have any examples of a good poster abstract?

For examples of good poster abstracts, please review the NTI 2009 poster abstracts and presentations. NTI 2009 Poster Page

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What are the format guidelines for a Research poster?

A Research poster abstract must include the following key elements (please be sure to review these guidelines to ensure compliance):

  1. A brief title that clearly indicates the nature of the study/procedure. The title is limited to 120 characters including spaces.
  2. The following fields are automatically available and must be filled in:
    • Purpose - What was the intent or goal of the study? What did you want to learn? Limited to 500 characters including spaces.
    • Background/Significance - What was the problem and why was it important? What knowledge are you building on? Limited to 500 characters including spaces.
    • Method - What was your design? What was your sample? What instruments did you use? How were data collected and analyzed? Limited to 700 characters including spaces.
    • Results - What did you find? Limited to 700 characters including spaces.
    • Conclusions - What do your findings mean? Limited to 500 characters including spaces.
  3. Do not use the following features within the abstract text fields as they will not convert:
    • Bullet points
    • Page borders
    • Charts
    • Tables
    • Underlines
    • Indentations
    • Graphs
    • Super/subscript

Please double-check your abstract for typographic and grammatical errors.

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What are the format guidelines for a Creative Solution poster?

A Creative Solutions poster abstract must include the following key elements (please be sure to review these guidelines to ensure compliance):

  1. A brief title that clearly indicates the nature of the study/procedure. The title is limited to 120 characters including spaces.
  2. Creative Solutions poster abstracts must include the following sections:
    • Purpose – What was the intent/goal of project? What problem is addressed by the creative solution? Limited to 500 characters including spaces.
    • Description – What was the creative solution? How was it developed and implemented? Limited to 1250 characters including spaces.
    • Evaluation and Outcomes – What were the outcomes of the project? How was success measured? Limited to 700 characters including spaces.
  3. Do not use the following features within the abstract text fields as they will not convert:
    • Bullet points
    • Page borders
    • Charts
    • Tables
    • Underlines
    • Indentations
    • Graphs

Please double-check your abstract for typographic and grammatical errors.

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What are the format guidelines for a Chapter Best Practice poster?

A Chapter Best Practice poster abstract must include the following key elements (please be sure to review these guidelines to ensure compliance):

  1. Make the title brief and clearly indicate the nature of the study/procedure. Title limit is 120 characters including spaces.
  2. Chapter Best Practice poster abstracts must include the following sections:
    • Purpose – What was the intent/goal of project? What problem was addressed by the creative solution? Limited to 500 characters including spaces.
    • Description – What was the best practice? How was it developed and implemented? Limited to 1250 characters including spaces.
    • Evaluation and Outcomes – What were the outcomes of the project? How was success measured? Limited to 700 characters including spaces.
  3. Do not use the following features within the abstract text fields as they will not convert:
    • Bullet points
    • Page borders
    • Charts
    • Tables
    • Underlines
    • Indentations
    • Graphs

Please double-check your abstract for typographic and grammatical errors.

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Are there character limits?

Each field of the abstract has a character limit (including spaces), as noted in the formatting sections.

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How do I submit an abstract?

Please view our tutorial on the submission process.

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How many authors can be listed on the poster?

  • Up to 10 additional authors may be listed on the abstract.
  • You will be required to submit the following information for each co-author: first name, last name, e-mail address, and phone number.
  • It is vital for the e-mail addresses to be current and accurate because all communication with AACN will be delivered via e-mail.
  • If the presenting author’s contact and e-mail address should change before NTI 2010, he or she needs to provide the new contact information to posters@aacn.org.

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Do I have to register for NTI to present the poster?

You have to register for NTI only if you are planning to attend. If you are not planning to attend, you may appoint a co-author on your abstract or colleague who is planning to attend to put your poster up on your behalf.

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What if I have more than one poster selected or if I am presenting a live educational session?

  • Authors who have multiple abstracts accepted will be eligible for only one $75 reduction in NTI registration. This fee reduction cannot be combined with chapter discounts.
  • If you are presenting a live Education Session and you are an author of a Research, Creative Solutions, and/or Chapter Best Practice poster abstract, the $75 registration discount for poster presentation will not apply, because the registration for live education speakers is already compensated. If you wish to transfer your $75 poster discount to a co-author on your abstract you may do so.
  • To transfer your discount email posters@aacn.org indicating you wish to transfer your discount, be sure to include your abstract number and the name of the co-author you would like the discount transferred to.

Please note that you can only transfer the discount to one of your co-authors.

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What expenses will I incur if my poster is accepted?

  • Expenses associated with the preparation, delivery, and presentation of a poster abstract are the responsibility of the author/presenter.
  • If accepted, the author is required to pay all fees associated with the meeting including, but not limited to, travel, housing accommodations, and meeting registration.

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Do I have to be an AACN member to submit an abstract?

  • You do not have to be an AACN member or customer to submit an abstract.
  • You will have to create a customer ID to submit an abstract. Creating a customer ID is free.
  • This process is explained in the online tutorial.

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What if my poster is sponsored?

If your poster is sponsored, complete the sponsor name field on the application (only if you have received financial sponsorship).

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What if my abstract is not selected?

  • If your abstract is not selected for presentation, your topic may be considered for development as an AACN continuing education article.
  • Please indicate your interest in this additional opportunity on the abstract application by selecting the YES box when completing the web-based abstract submission.

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Can I submit additional documents (eg, PPT and Excel documents)?

  • Yes, you will have the opportunity to add additional documents such as PowerPoint or other pertinent data during the submission process.

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How many abstracts can I submit?

  • There is no limit to the number of abstracts you can submit.
  • You must complete all required abstract information for each submission.

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Once I’ve submitted an abstract, can I still edit it?

Yes, please review the tutorial for instructions on how to edit your abstract. You can edit your abstract until the submission deadline.

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Will my abstract be copyedited?

  • No, submitted abstracts will not be edited for content. Abstracts will be formatted to fit publication requirements only.
  • Please double check the abstract for typographic and grammatical errors.
  • Consider using a word processing program with spell and grammar check to create your abstract before entering the information online.

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