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Maine Osteopathic Association Mid Winter Symposium

 Research and Scholarship Forum (February 6, 2015)

Instructions for Abstract e-Submission

Please read all the instructions carefully before typing your abstract and compare to the example abstracts.  Abstracts must be received by 5:00 pm on Friday, January 8, 2016. Abstracts and completed Registration Forms must be submitted as Word-document attachments to an E-mail sent to MOA Executive Director Angela Westhoff at awesthoff@mainedo.org

Page Format:

Paper:      8.5 x 11 (letter), portrait orientation (vertical)

Margins:  Left:  1.25 inches

                  Top, bottom, and right:  1 inch

Font:         Arial, 11 point

      The text should be single spaced, but skip a line between sections of the abstract (see examples).

Length:    The abstract must fit on one page (using the margins and font previously described).

                  Do NOT use the header or footer options to include text or titles.

      Do NOT include images or tables in the abstract.

      Do NOT include references or acknowledgements in the abstract.

 

Heading:  Line 1:  Title (Use bold font and capitalize the first letter in each word except for articles (a, an, the,

                  etc.), conjunctions (and, or, but, etc.), and prepositions (by, for, with, from, etc.).  An exception to

                  this rule is capitalization of the word immediately following a colon in the title (e.g., “Nine Months of

                  Facial Pain Relieved by OMT:  A Case Report”).

 

                  Skip a line before the Authors line.

 

Line 2:  Authors [Last Name, Initial(s), and Degree(s) or Year of Medical School].

 

All authors must be named with initials and degree(s) or year of medical school included.  The only credential following the name of a medical student should be his or her year of medical school (e.g., OMS III).

 

The person presenting the poster at the Forum should be the First Author.

 

Examples:   Smith, J, D.O., Jones, AV, M.D.

                    Smith, J, OMS III, Jones, AV, M.D.

 

Line 3:  Name of Institution, Program or Department, City, and State (in that order) of each author.

 

If authors are from multiple institutions, use superscripts following each author’s last name in the Authors line to indicate affiliation.  Use corresponding superscripts in the Name of Institution line.

 

For abstracts with multiple authors and multiple affiliate institutions, each institution named must appear on a separate line.  For abstracts with a single author, the author’s name and affiliate institution must appear on the same line and may continue to the next line if necessary.

 

Examples:   Smith1, J, D.O., Jones2, AV, M.D.

                              1Hillsboro Hospital, Department of Family Medicine, Munsey, Indiana

                              2University Hospital, Department of Surgery, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

 

                                      Smith1, J, OMS III, Jones2, AV, M.D.

 

                                      151Ʒ�� College of Osteopathic Medicine, Biddeford, Maine

                                      2University Hospital, Department of Surgery, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

 

                                      Smith, J, D.O., Hillsboro Hospital, Department of Family Medicine, Munsey, Indiana

 

                                      Smith, J, OMS III, 51Ʒ�� College of Osteopathic Medicine,

                                      Biddeford, Maine

 

                  Excluding credentials, do NOT use any abbreviations in your abstract heading (e.g., Department,

                  not Dept.; Maine, not ME; etc.).

 

                  It is important that the format of the Author Heading of your abstract be exactly like that of

                  the Author Heading in the examples above.  As you will note, the Author Heading begins

                  with the First Author presented by last name followed by a comma, the author’s initial(s)

                  with no punctuation followed by a comma, and the author’s degree(s) with punctuation (e.g.,

                  D.O., M.P.H., etc.) or year of medical school with no punctuation (e.g., OMS III) followed by a

                  comma (except after the last author) to separate multiple authors and then each subsequent

                  author presented in the same fashion.

 

                  We expect your abstract to be camera ready when it is submitted; otherwise, we will return it

                  to you for correction.

 

                  The Abstract Review Committee will utilize a scoring system which includes ratings of

                  writing quality as well as grammar, punctuation, and formatting used in your abstract.  The

                  abstract should be of professional quality and should not look, feel, or sound like a dictated

                  clinical note.

 

                  Skip one line before beginning the body of the abstract.

 

                  Use the example abstract(s) as your model.  Your abstract should have the same appearance.

 

 

Abstract Content (for Original Research):  You must follow the traditional four-section format.  It is strongly suggested that you include the following in each section:

 

Introduction:    Required:  Purpose/objectives/aims; the hypothesis

    Recommended (if room):  Rationale for the study

 

Methods:          A brief statement of methods, to include:  Subjects (inclusion/exclusion criteria and sampling method and size); primary measures, design, and procedures; data analysis and statistical tests employed

 

Results:             Summary of key results, including all relevant statistical tests and p values

 

Conclusion:      A brief statement of the conclusion, integrating results with aims or information in Introduction

 

 

Abstract Content (for Case Report), Interns, Residents, Medical Students Only:  Follow traditional case-

report format:

 

Introduction: (use bold font) A brief synopsis of the background (including what is known in the medical literature, controversy or disagreement among experts, etc.) that frames the case that will be presented.  It should be clear from this background why the case to be presented in the next section is relevant, interesting, and/or important enough to merit the case report.  The linkage between the Introduction and the Case should be clear and logical, often obtained by using a transition sentence.

Case: (use bold font) Should include relevant patient characteristics; age, gender, and, if relevant, cultural or racial characteristics (e.g., predisposition to sickle cell anemia); current presenting symptoms; relevant patient history; process of addressing issues of differential diagnosis and case complexity; course of treatment; and treatment outcome.  Psychosocial factors (e.g., availability of family caregiving, appropriate housing, and psychiatric issues) and treatment-cost factors affecting the type of treatment needed and/or provided should also be included if relevant.  On the first use of a medical term, condition, or abbreviation that is not common in general medical literature, give a brief definition followed by the abbreviation or acronym.  The abbreviation or acronym can be used alone on subsequent references to the condition or term.

 

Discussion: (use bold font) Highlight the key features of the case as related to the relevant factors in the Introduction that made this case worthy of a case report.  Depending on the primary focus of the case report, draw conclusions about the nature of the condition and/or the appropriate course of treatment.  The “take-home message” should follow logically from the conclusions.

 

Numbers between one and ten must be spelled out.  Numbers higher than ten must be written as numbers.  However, when beginning a sentence with a number, always spell out the number.  Use appropriate hyphenation when referring to a patient’s age (e.g., a five-year-old boy, a 77-year-old woman, etc.).

 

All abstracts will be reviewed by a subcommittee.  You may be contacted with suggestions for improvement.  If so, you will be given the opportunity to rewrite your abstract and resubmit it.  You will have approximately one week to do so.

 

 

Submit Abstract and Completed Registration Form to:

Angela Cole Westhoff, MOA Executive Director

awesthoff@mainedo.org

Put “Abstract Submission” in the subject line.

 

In the body of the E-mail, please put the title of your study, your name, institution, and

two phone numbers (day and evening) AND write your E-mail address.

 

 

Abstracts must be received no later than 5:00 pm on January 8, 2016

 

E-mailed Registration Forms must be received by 5:00 pm on January 8, 2016

 

You will be contacted by the end of January with a decision.  If selected to present, you should plan to arrive at the Holiday Inn by the Bay, 88 Spring Street, Portland, ME by 9:30 am on Friday, February 5th, 2016 to set up your poster in the MOA’s Exhibit and Poster Session Hall in the Casco Bay Ballroom (lower level).

 

Poster display and judging are scheduled from 10:00 am to 3:30 p.m.  The MOA will host a reception on Friday evening from 5:00- 6:30 pm at the Holiday Inn by the Bay for all participants and awards will be presented at that time.