ICIM Blog

A showcase for the research of medical students, residents, and newer practitioners in integrative and holistic medicine

sponsored by the
American Holistic Medical Association and
International College of Integrative Medicine

in cooperation with their joint conference, March 19-21, 2010
“Healthy Brain, Healthy Body: Mental Wellness in the 21st Century”

PURPOSE
The purpose of the student/new practitioner poster competition is to allow medical students, residents, and newer practitioners to synthesize their research and showcase their work on a topic in the field of integrative and holistic medicine.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Students/residents/practitioners will share their ideas with members and guests of the AHMA and ICIM at their first-ever joint conference on March 19-21 in Nashville, Tennessee.

• The winner will receive a cash prize of $200. Judging will be conducted by a panel of multi-disciplinary academic leaders in integrative medicine.
• All poster authors will be recognized on the conference website, in the conference catalog, and in one or more organizational newsletter(s). A press release will be sent to the media in the winner’s hometown.
• Abstracts from selected high-quality submissions will be published in Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine – the leading peer-reviewed journal in integrative medicine.

ELIGIBILITY
The competition is open to all students, residents and practitioners who are no more than 4 years past graduation.
• You need not be an AHMA or ICIM member to submit an abstract.
• All abstracts must be original work. Encore presentations are acceptable as long as the work has not been previously published.
• All co-authors must be given appropriate credit.
• If your abstract is selected by the Review Committee, you must be available to present your poster at the official event on the morning of Sunday, March 21, 2010, at the Marriott Nashville Airport Hotel. Convention registration fees apply for presenters and any co-authors who attend.

ABSTRACT SUBMISSIONS
Appropriate abstract areas include:
• Basic Research
• Clinical Research
• Integrative program design and implementation
• Integrative Education

Your abstract should include a concise introduction describing the purpose of the poster, as well as a brief description of the methods, subjects, procedures, results and conclusions. If appropriate, results can be presented in tabular form. Your abstract should not include graphs, diagrams or photographs.

Abstracts submitted should be no longer than 250 words when using 12-point, Calibri font, single-spaced. Make sure to review your abstract in its entirety prior to submitting. If your abstract is selected, content may be published and provided to all event attendees.

Abstracts will be reviewed and accepted/declined on a rolling basis, with an absolute deadline for submission of March 1, 2010. Abstracts must be emailed to nas28@case.edu to be eligible. Only electronic submissions will be accepted. Submit now online.

All submissions received before the stated deadline will receive an e-mail from the ICIM/AHMA conference committee within one week of submission as to the status of the abstract.

JUDGING CRITERIA
Your poster should be prepared so that it can be easily understood in your absence, since neither you nor your representative will be present during the judging.
Abstracts will be judged by a Review Committee composed of medical and educational professionals on the following criteria:
• Innovation and originality of project or research
• Relevance to the field of holistic/integrative medicine
• Clarity of the written abstract
• Organization of the information
• Scientific merit and/or clinical significance (for basic research and clinical research submissions)
• Impact on students, school or education (for integrative education submissions)
Judging criteria are based solely on the content of the front of the poster.
Note: With regard to research using human subjects, AHMA and ICIM endorse the protections embodied in the Basic Principles of the Declaration of Helsinki and its explanation in the regulations governing research supported by the U.S. Government (45 CFR Part 46:56 FR 28003). Research must be conducted in accordance with these regulations or it will not be accepted. Research involving humans must be approved by institutional IRBs. Investigations involving animals reported in abstracts must have been conducted with IACUC approval and in accordance with the principles set out in the NIH Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals.

GUIDELINES FOR POSTER SESSION PRESENTERS
The content of the poster must fit with a 3 x 5 foot space. Poster board and push pins will be provided by the conference. All other materials are the responsibility of the presenters.
Noted below are a few websites that show sample templates and tips for poster presentations. You can find numerous others on the Internet as well.
- http://www.posterpresentations.com/html/free_poster_templates.html?gclid=CP-Ay4Hk2J4CFRXxDAodUyo6yQ
- http://www.swarthmore.edu/NatSci/cpurrin1/posteradvice.htm
- http://www.ncsu.edu/project/posters/NewSite/
- http://www.postersession.com/?gclid=CJyDgrPn2J4CFRHyDAodjD5I8A

SCHOLARSHIPS

Participants who are full-time students in an accredited MD or DO program who are planning to attend the 2-1/2 day conference, may apply for all, or a portion of their registration fees, through the William D. Mitchell Scholarship Fund. To apply:
1. Register for the conference at www.integrativemedicineconference.org. When you fill in the registration form, just write "student" in the pay box.
2. Send a brief paragraph to nas28@case.edu describing why you would like to attend the conference, what you expect to bring to the experience, and/or what you would like to take away.
Scholarships will be distributed on a rolling basis, and early application is greatly encouraged.