The 2013 AWHONN Program Committee seeks volunteer presenters for the Annual Convention to be held June 15-19, 2013 in Nashville, Tennessee. 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 over 3,000 attendees of whom 73-75% have 15 or more years of experience and 38-46% have a master's degree or higher. Presenting at AWHONN ensures that your talk, research, case studies or innovative programs 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 2013 AWHONN Annual Convention is to empower learners to champion excellence in the care of women and newborns.

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

1. Integrate improvement science into practice
2. Experience inspiration and professional growth
3. Strengthen collaborations

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 400 words in length.

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1. Specialty Sessions: Sixty or ninety minute oral presentations on topics related to convention goal and objectives. The talk may consist of a literature review or an in-depth examination of a clinical problem, best practice or professional issue. It is not necessarily original research. Abstracts may not exceed 400 words in length and are due no later than 11:59 PM Monday, September 10, 2012 (Eastern time). Examples of abstracts accepted for presentation as specialty sessions in the past include the following:
   • o Better Bones, Stronger Body: New Strategies to Prevent and Manage Bone Loss
   • o Postpartum Hemorrhage: Vigilance, Preparation and Response
   • o Delivery Room Resuscitation of the Micropreemie: OB and Neonatal Perspectives
   • o Speaking the Same Language in Perinatal Medical Records

2. Research Presentations (Papers or Posters): Posters or 30 minute oral presentations on completed research conducted by the submitters. Research papers and posters are original. Research abstracts start with a problem and include the following elements: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, with research outcomes clearly described.

   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 for poster presentation. Abstracts may not exceed 400 words in length and are due no later than 11:59 PM Monday, September 10, 2012 (Eastern time). Examples of abstracts accepted for presentation as research papers or posters in the past include the following:

   • o Effects of Guided Imagery on Maternal Stress During Hospitalization for Preterm Labor
   • o Exploring the Relationship Between Mental Illness and Pre-Eclampsia
   • o Predictors of HPV Vaccination Intent Among Urban, Economically Disadvantaged Young Women

3. Evidence-Based Quality Improvement Research 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 study question, base-line data, and include the following components: background on why the project was started; intervention and study design; outcomes measurement; and application/implications for women’s health, obstetric or neonatal nursing practice, education or research. All researchers must have completed the data analysis stage before submission of the abstract, with research outcomes clearly described.

   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. Abstracts may not exceed 400 words in length and are due no later than 11:59 PM Monday, September 10, 2012 (Eastern time). Examples of abstracts accepted for presentation as research papers or posters in the past include the following:

   • o Post C-Section Pain and Initiation of Breastfeeding: Changing Practice Through Process
   • o "Mom, I’m, Yellow" An Evidence-Based Initiative to Reduce Risks of Newborn Hyperbilirubinemia and Hospital Readmissions
   • o Transitioning from Traditional Maternity Nursing to Family-Centered Nursing

4. Innovative Program Paper 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 elements: purpose of your 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. Abstracts may not exceed 400 words in length and are due no later than 11:59 PM Monday, September 10, 2012 (Eastern time). Examples of abstracts accepted for presentation as innovative program papers and posters in the past include:

   • o Implementing Nurse to Nurse Bedside Report in the Birth Center
   • o Expedited Partner Therapy: A Solution to Reduce the Prevalence of Sexually Transmitted Infections
   • o Implementing a Perinatal Substance Abuse Screening Tool to Improve Newborn Outcomes
   • o A Collaborative Approach for the Identification and Treatment of Obstetrical Hemorrhage

5. Case Study Presentations (Paper or Posters): Posters or 30 minute oral presentations of in-depth study and analysis of actual complex patient care cases or practice situations that pose unique nursing challenges. Cases must include the following elements: background; importance of the subject matter and specific purpose of the report; case description: 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. If the paper is not selected for oral presentation, applicants can indicate their willingness to present it as a poster. Abstracts may not exceed 400 words in length and are due no later than 11:59 PM Monday, September 10, 2012 (Eastern time). Examples of case study abstracts accepted as posters or papers in the past include the following:

   • o Thyroid Storm in Pregnancy
   • o Caring for a Patient with a History of Recurrent Pregnancy Losses and Bipolar Disorder
   • o Case Studies In Breastfeeding Success for Infants with Congenital Surgical Anomalies

Please click below to start your abstract submission:

CASE STUDY
Submission Deadline: September 10, 2012

EVIDENCE-BASED QUALITY IMPROVEMENT RESEARCH PROJECTS
Submission Deadline: September 10, 2012

INNOVATIVE PROGRAM
Submission Deadline: September 10, 2012

RESEARCH PROGRAM
Submission Deadline: September 10, 2012

SPECIALTY SESSION
Submission Deadline: September 10, 2012

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.

For help in submitting an abstract online, email Tech Support.