Page 9 - Mobility Management, January/February 2020

as a baseline and then presents the material in a way that shows their passion, their love, their drive for the field, that’s what really brings attendees into a session.”
Schein agreed: “One of the things we look for is a passion for spreading knowledge. Look at yourself and how versed you are in that specific topic. If it’s some- thing that’s brand new and something you’re a novice at, you’re seeking to build foundational knowledge.
With intermediate, you’re looking to refine or hone in on certain skills or advancing knowledge on that topic. And then for advanced — our committee in Pittsburgh and our outside advisory committee helps us review [submis- sions] and when doing so can identify that this specific person has the highest degree of technical competence and mastery of a topic to be able to relay that informa- tion to an advanced audience.”
Wander added, “We always get requests for more advanced-level courses.”
Time to Submit Your Abstract
When you’re ready to submit your abstract, go to www. seatingsymposium.us for instructions, including how many words/characters allowed, and sample abstracts.
“We look at the abstract as a short document intended to capture the interest of an attendee,” Schein said. “It should tell what your topic is about and why they should come hear it. The title is very important. It should be short: attention-catching titles are the most effective.”
“A lot of our attendees are not going to read through our program line by line,” Wander said. “They’re going to base their selections on the titles itself. That’s a vital portion of the abstract.
“On the technical side, what is your aim or your objec- tive? You’re going to have a method of data collection or just your methods in general, and then a conclusion of what you were able to find out. It can be based on research; it can be based on clinical application.”
Presentations must include references. “This is a little scary for first-time presenters,” Wander acknowledged. But committees aren’t just expecting references from professional journals that contain the exact information that will be presented. Wander suggested “manuals that have been developed in wheelchair skills and training, or manuals presented by a supplier, if you’re doing a specific overview of a type of accessory. The only thing we ask is that you do use a reference. Sometimes people will say, ‘ATP for 20+ years.’ We appreciate your hands-on experience and dedication, but because we are an accredited university, we need [references] to make sure
our attendees are getting the best-possible education.” Wander said many questions relate to the learning
objectives: “When attendees leave, what are they going to walk away with the ability to do? We try to break it down to action verbs: They’re going to be able to tell me three ideas about this specific topic, or give me three examples that could be used as a solution to x, y and z.”
The Finishing Touches
Before you click Submit, spell-check and proofread your abstract. And if you have questions, reach out to the RSTCE team. It’s better to have questions answered on the front end, before the deadline passes and the team is reviewing the abstracts of 150+ hopeful presenters. m
This is the first in a series of articles in partnership with the University of Pittsburgh, which produces and hosts the ISS in odd-numbered years.
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