National Conference on Correctional Health Care
October 18-22, 2008  ·  Chicago, Illinois

Call for Proposals: Your Opportunity to Inspire
Every year thousands of correctional health professionals from the United States and abroad attend the National Conference on Correctional Health Care, the world’s largest and most well-regarded conference in this field. They come to be educated and inspired by leaders from every discipline in this diverse sector of health care. You can be one of those leaders, inspiring meeting participants to elevate their standards of professionalism and health care delivery.

We are seeking presenters to share successful programs, innovative treatment practices, illustrative case studies and relevant research findings. To best meet conference attendees’ needs, the NCCHC education committee favors presentations that:

• Engage the audience in productive discussions

• Provide practical knowledge, skills and tools that attendees can employ on the job

• Advance the quality of care provided to patients

• Improve the work life of those engaged in the delivery of correctional health care

• Challenge current perceptions and attitudes

To achieve these goals, this year’s National Conference will feature a broad range of content areas, program skill levels from basic to advanced and more interactive classroom settings.

Submission Guidelines
Please follow these guidelines to ensure that your presentation is given full consideration for inclusion in this program. We suggest that you prepare a Word file with your submission information in advance to save time online and to ensure that you have a backup copy of your proposal.

Lead Presenter
All proposals must have a designated lead presenter who is the sole point of contact. The lead presenter is responsible for submitting the presentation proposal, informing co-presenters of the education committee’s decision, distributing materials to co-presenters, planning the presentation agenda and ensuring that the content is not biased. The first three items below are required of all lead presenters and co-presenters. Lead presenters also must briefly describe their qualifications to present the material in the proposal.

• Contact information and professional affiliation

• 1-page CV or resume

• Disclosure form: All presenters are required to disclose their intention to discuss in their presentation any commercial products or services in which they have significant financial interest. Additionally, lead presenters are required to disclose any significant relationships with commercial supporters of the conference, as identified on the disclosure form.

• Qualifications to present the material (lead only)

Presentation
Proposals should be submitted online. They also may be submitted by mail if copied to a disc. Faxed proposals will not be accepted.

• Title: Clearly and concisely indicate the subject and focus of the presentation (maximum 100 characters).

• Presentation summary: Succinctly describe the presentation for the conference Final Program (maximum 75 words).

• Abstracts: Summarize the purpose, methods, findings and conclusions of your presentation, and explain precisely what attendees may expect to gain from it (approximately 300 words). Presentations that promote corporate products or services will not be accepted.

• Learning objectives: Provide three learning objectives for the presentation and a brief explanation on how each objective will be met. For guidance, see Tips for Writing Learning Objectives and Tips for Writing Content Outlines.

• Skill level: Indicate the level of your presentation—basic, intermediate or advanced. Keep in mind that 40% of attendees have been in the field for more than 10 years.

• Intended audience: Indicate the primary audience to whom your presentation is directed, e.g., nurses, physicians, administrators, all of the above.

Selection Criteria and Review
The NCCHC education committee will review all submissions. Decisions are based on the following criteria:

• Content must be relevant to health care provided in correctional settings.

• Content must be accurate.

• Content must be based on scientific modalities of diagnosis or therapy (if applicable).

• The presentation must not show preference for one product or service over another unless there is a clear scientific or objective basis to do so, or unless the presentation format allows for a fair presentation of alternatives.

• Corporate support, if any, must be disclosed.

• If applicable, the presentation must be consistent with NCCHC standards and promote their use.

• Presenters’ credentials should be appropriate to present the subject matter.

• The presentation should be sufficiently in-depth to require the full time allotment (usually 1 or 2 hours).

• Presentation goals and objectives should correspond with the conference goals and objectives (see sidebar).

Topics to Consider
Every year, conference attendees provide feedback on topics for future programming. Presentations that address the following topics are especially encouraged:

• Medical: pain management, women’s health, juvenile health, geriatric care

• Nursing: clinical skill improvement, administrative skills, overcoming barriers

• Staffing: managing staff, recruitment and retention, staff wellness, orientation and training

• Management: contract compliance, budgets and finance, cost containment, report writing

• Mental Health: diagnosis, treatment, long-term management, segregation, discharge planning

• Professional: conflict resolution, professional roles, patient relations, peer review, leadership

• Pharmaceuticals: use of narcotics, medication management, distribution and administration, psychotropics

• Quality Improvement: CQI initiatives, practical applications of quality data, measuring and documenting outcomes

• Legal: national guidelines, charting and documentation, federal laws

Poster Presentations
Poster presentations are an excellent way to share information in a less structured format. They are ideal for individuals looking to develop their presentation skills as well as seasoned speakers who cannot take part in a classroom session. While hands-on demonstrations won’t work in a poster, this format is well-suited to many types of information, including detailed research data, storyboard case studies and literature summaries.

Posters are displayed in a dedicated room with extended viewing time to give every attendee an opportunity to visit. To meet the demand for in-depth discussion about the posters, we will schedule a special session where presenters and attendees can engage one on one. Attendees also welcome handouts of information presented in the posters.

To submit a proposal for a poster, please use the same form as for the oral presentations.

Approved Proposals
Selected presentations will be scheduled for Monday through Wednesday, October 20-22. The lead presenter will be notified of the education committee’s decision in late May.

Presenter Support
Presentation and speaker information will be listed in the conference preliminary and final programs. Each room will be equipped with a podium, microphone, screen, head table and LCD projector. Additional audiovisual equipment may be rented at the speaker’s expense. AV rental forms will be sent with letters of acceptance.

Proposal Deadline Extended
Proposals received by April 11 will be considered for inclusion in the program. Submission of a proposal implies a commitment to attend the National Conference should your submission be accepted. All speakers, including poster presenters, will receive a discount on the conference registration fee.

If you have any questions about the submission process, please contact Deborah Ross, Director of Education & Meetings, at 773-880-1460 or deborahross@ncchc.org.

Download Call for Proposals (PDF)