FCACS Abstract Program Rules and Guidelines

The 2019 Florida Chapter of the American College of Surgeons (FCACS) Surgical Education Committee invites the submission of abstracts for the Edward M. Copeland, MD Resident Paper Competition. Accepted abstracts will be presented at the 2019 FCACS Annual Meeting in Orlando March 22-23, 2019.

Eligibility is as follows:

1. All residents or fellows enrolled in general surgery or surgical specialty residency/fellowship training programs in the state of Florida who have not completed training before June 2019.
2. Medical students are eligible to submit an abstract for the poster presentation only.

Entries will be accepted for the following categories: basic science, clinical science, or Commission on Cancer.

All entries should represent original work done by the contestant while training in the state of Florida.  One of the abstract authors must be a member of the Florida Chapter American College of Surgeons.  Abstracts must be accompanied by a letter of sponsorship (see the content guidelines section below for more information on this).

As a condition of submission, the contestant agrees to present their work at the Annual Meeting for either the poster presentations or podium presentations, if selected for the competition.

All abstracts must be submitted online via the FCACS Abstract submission website using the online submission form.  Please be sure to read all instructions, information, and policies closely.

Important Dates

Abstract Submission Deadline
Friday, December 14, 2018

Finalists Notification
Monday, January 14, 2019

Last Day for Authors With Selected Abstracts to Register for the Meeting
Friday, February 22, 2019

Poster Presentations
Saturday, March 23, 2019

Podium Presentations
Saturday, March 23, 2019

Presentation Methods

The top nine scoring papers will be selected for podium presentations. The format will be an oral presentation, followed by discussion. Entries not selected for a podium presentation, will be considered for poster presentation. Medical Students who submit an abstract will be considered for a poster presentation only.  ALL presentations will be eligible for travel grants and awards.

Travel Grants and Awards

First, second, and third place awards will be awarded in the basic science and clinical science category.  First, second, and third place will be awarded in the Commission on Cancer (CoC) category as well.  Winners of the COC competition will also be submitted for consideration in the National ACS COC trainee competition for presentation at the Surgical Congress.

The first-place resident/fellow poster and the first-place medical student poster will also receive a monetary award.

Abstract Submission Instructions

Please read through the submission instructions below before preparing your abstract:
 

1. Read the general information and policies for the submission of an abstract.
2. Write your abstract, per abstract guidelines.
3. Select a category that best relates to your abstract.
4. Review the acceptance and presentation process for abstracts.
5. Submit your abstract through the online abstract submission form.
6. Register to attend the 2019 FCACS Annual Meeting by Friday, February 22, 2019.

General Information and Policies

• You may complete your abstract submission over multiple sessions. There will be a point in the process when you MUST finalize your abstract and make a FINAL submission. Please note that if you do not mark your abstract as complete and make a FINAL submission, it CANNOT be considered. Take note of any deadlines under the appropriate call for abstracts and be sure to complete the process before that date.
• Do not CREATE your abstract in the submission system, but rather create your abstract in a separate Word document and COPY and PASTE it into the abstract submission system. This way, you will not have lost your abstract in the event of disconnection from the Internet, etc. Be sure to check for errors when pasting. Certain special characters may be changed by the browser.
• If you are currently a member of the Florida Chapter, we will prefill your address information for you in the online submission form based on your current account information profile. Note that changes made here will apply to your abstract only and WILL NOT BE APPLIED to your Florida Chapter member record or account.
• The lead author must register for the 2019 Florida Chapter Annual Meeting. Deadline for author registration is February 22, 2019. Lead authors MUST BE registrants at the Florida Chapter Annual Meeting.
• A representative from the program MUST be present at the Florida Chapter Annual Meeting to support the medical student or resident.
• To submit an abstract, all the authors listed on the abstract must approve the final version. In addition, each author listed on the abstract should have made a substantial contribution to it, such as 1) contributing to the conception and design of the study and the acquisition of data; 2) analysis and interpretation of the data; and/or 3) drafting the poster and/or revising it critically for important intellectual content. Full disclosures must be provided for each author. These requirements are taken seriously by the FCACS and any failure to fully comply with these requirements may result in an abstract being withdrawn from the abstracts program.
• It is the responsibility of the lead/corresponding author to ensure that his or her abstract is submitted correctly.
• Abstracts will be reviewed by the FCACS Abstracts Review Committee.
• Faxed, emailed, or mailed hard-copy abstracts or abstracts sent on a CD/disc WILL NOT be accepted. If you are unable to submit via the website, please contact the FCACS staff:

Phone: 904-309-6240
Fax: 904-998-0855
Email: abstracts@floridafacs.org

Disclaimer

The Florida Chapter will not be responsible for abstract submissions not received via the website or for submission errors caused by Internet service outages, hardware or software delays, power outages, or unforeseen events.

Abstract Guidelines

Content Guidelines
Abstracts for poster entries submitted for competition can only be accepted electronically and must adhere to the following guidelines:

• Abstracts are limited to 500 words.
• Abstracts must be divided into sections: Title, Background (including Objectives/Hypothesis), Methods, Results, and Conclusion.
• Title included in word count.
• Abstracts must be proofread carefully to avoid errors before submission.
• Abstracts must contain generic drug names only.
• Abstracts must be submitted in clear English with accurate grammar and spelling.
• The principal author of the abstract must be a resident, fellow, or medical student.
• Photos, graphs, or graphics must be neat and legible, and may be in addition to the single page but no more than one additional page. These do not count against word count.
• Lead and secondary authors must disclose all financial relationships.
• Any funding support for the research must be disclosed.
• Encore research is NOT eligible for submission. Submitted work must not have been published, accepted for publication, or won previous awards. [Note: Winners of the Commission on Cancer oral presentation cannot be submitted for the National Surgical Congress if works was previously presented in oral or poster form, published, accepted for publication, or won previous awards.]
• A letter of sponsorship must accompany the abstract. If you are a lead author who is not a member of the Florida Chapter, your letter can come from a co-author who is a member in good standing with the Florida Chapter. Otherwise, letters must come from a department chair or program director. This letter must attest to the originality of this work and its compliance with the rules. Medical students are NOT required to submit a letter of sponsorship.
• One of the authors of your abstract must be a member of the Florida Chapter.

Checklist

Below you will find a checklist for abstract preparation. All abstracts are considered equally for selection, and the quality of the abstract is the single most important factor in the Committee's decision.

You will be asked for the following:

• Title
• Background/Synopsis (including Objective/Hypothesis) - A concise description of your subject matter and prior work in this area. This should include your objectives and hypothesis
• Methods - The experimental design or technique employed
• Results - Outcomes & measurements, with statistical significance, if appropriate
• Conclusion - Conclusions, clinical pertinence, and value or for Workshops and Presentations, the prevailing point of view
• Proofread - Make sure to proofread your abstract. Misspellings and typographical errors reflect poorly on your scientific work. Prepare to substitute plain text for special characters as these characters may not be rendered reliably (i.e., plus or minus for ±, alpha for a etc.)
• Authors - For each author you must provide first and last name, city and state, authors’ affiliation and institution, as well as preliminary financial disclosure information.
• Supplemental Materials for Upload (optional) - Images such as figures and tables.

Abstract Submission Topics

Abstract authors will be required to indicate which topic best matches the content of their abstract. Topics for the 2019 Florida Chapter Annual Meeting are:

• Basic Science
• Clinical Science
• Commission on Cancer*

*Entries in the Commission on Cancer category should be specific to oncology and related to the mission of the Commission on Cancer. The Commission on Cancer is a consortium of profession organizations dedicated to improving survival and quality of life for cancer patients through standard-setting, prevention, research, education and the monitoring of comprehensive quality care.

Acceptance and Presentation Process

Abstract grading is blinded and abstracts are accepted by the Florida Chapter Abstract Committee on the basis of quality and merit. You will be notified by January 14, 2019, if your abstract has been accepted for a poster or podium presentation.

Questions? Contact the Florida Chapter office at abstracts@floridafacs.org or call 904-309-6240.