Call for Papers

Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (June 24-28, 2017)

Call for Voluntary Presentations: General Overview

The 2017 AWHONN Program Committee seeks volunteer presenters for the Annual Convention to be held June 24-28, 2017 at the New Orleans Convention Center. AWHONN is the leading professional association for nurses who specialize in the care of women and newborns. Our members include neonatal nurses, women's health nurses, OB-GYN and labor and delivery nurses, nurse researchers and educators, nurse executives and managers, childbirth educators, clinical nurse specialists, nurse practitioners and nurse-midwives. Our national conference draws more than 3,000 attendees of whom 73-75% have 15 or more years of experience and 38-46% have a graduate degree. Presenting at AWHONN ensures that your podium or poster presentation will be heard or viewed by a highly skilled, sophisticated and influential body of nurses. Those interested in this opportunity have five application options available. All applications must be submitted via our Speaker Management System.

The goal of the 2017 AWHONN Annual Convention is to energize and support nurses to translate knowledge into action.

At conclusion of the convention, learners will be able to:

1. Create an environment that supports innovative solutions.
2. Integrate new strategies and tactics that improve outcomes.
3. Embrace the power of nurses as leaders.

AWHONN seeks to ensure that all educational programming is free of commercial bias and under no circumstances should the submission include promotion of a product or service. Abstracts may not exceed 250 words in length.

Click here for Submission Guidelines and FAQs

1. Specialty Sessions: Sixty or ninety minute oral presentations on topics related to convention goal and objectives. The talk may consist of an in-depth examination of a clinical problem or practice, a review of best practice on a selected topic or a detailed discussion of a professional issue. It is not necessarily original research.
2. Research Study Presentations (Papers or Posters): Posters or 30 minute oral presentations on completed research conducted by the submitters. Research papers and posters are reports on original research that generates new knowledge for nursing practice. Research abstracts must include the following headings:objective (problem statement or research hypothesis); design; setting; sample; methods; results (data analysis); and conclusion/implications for nursing practice. All researchers must have completed the data analysis stage before submission of the abstract, and the research outcomes must be clearly described. IRB approval must be noted.
   Applicants can indicate their preference to present as a paper or a poster. Only those with speaking experience should select "paper." If the paper is not selected for oral presentation, applicants can indicate their willingness to present it as a poster.
3. Evidence-Based Quality Improvement Projects (Papers or Posters): Posters or 30 minute oral presentations on data-driven quality improvement projects conducted by the submitters. Evidence-Based Quality Improvement Projects start with an improvement related objective, base-line data, and the abstract include the following headings: objective, design, Setting; Participants, Intervention/measurements; Results; Conclusions/ implications for practice. Results reported must include process or structure data and outcome data. Conclusions must include information on the strategies and tactics utilized (Bingham, D., Main, E.M., 2010, Effective strategies and tactics for leading change on maternity units. Journal of Perinatal and Neonatal Nursing. 24(1), pp.32-42) and the implications for nursing practice including the facilitators and barriers to change that were identified. All researchers must have completed the data analysis stage before submission of the abstract, and their data must be clearly described. IRB approval or exemption must be noted.
   Applicants can indicate their preference to present as a paper or a poster. Only those with speaking experience should select "paper." If the paper is not selected for oral presentation, applicants can indicate their willingness to present it as a poster.
4. Innovative Program Presentations (Papers or Posters): Posters or 30 minute oral presentations on innovative programs implemented in a variety of practice settings. These are newly created and implemented programs that address challenges in women's health, obstetric and neonatal nursing practice, education or administration. Submissions must include the following headings: purpose of the innovative program (what you wanted to achieve through implementation); proposed change; implementation, outcomes and evaluation; and implications for nursing practice.
   Applicants can indicate their preference to present as a paper or a poster. Only those with speaking experience should select "paper". If the paper is not selected for oral presentation, applicants can indicate their willingness to present it as a poster.
5. Case Study Presentations (Posters Only): Poster presentation of in-depth study and analysis of actual complex patient care cases or practice situations that posed unique nursing challenges. Cases must include the following headings: background; importance of the subject matter and specific purpose of the report; case: summary of pertinent features of the clinical findings, important laboratory abnormalities, interdisciplinary interventions, and outcome; and conclusion/implications for nursing practice reflective of current evidence-based research.
   Case write-ups must not contain identifying information or in any way violate HIPAA regulations. The case under discussion cannot be under current litigation. Presenters must confirm in the written submission that they have complied with these requirements.

Submission Deadline:

Abstracts are due no later than 11:59 PM Saturday, September 10, 2016 (Eastern time). You will be notified of the committee's decision in November 2016.

Presenting authors will be automatically informed of the unique ID numbers and passwords assigned to their abstracts. Abstracts may be viewed and modified at any time between submission and the deadline, using the assigned ID# and password.

Technical Assistance:

For help in submitting an abstract online, email Tech Support

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