Call for Proposals

Updates in Correctional Health Care:
Translating Principles to Practice
April 4-7, 2009  ·  Las Vegas, Nevada

With more than 1,000 correctional health professionals expected to attend, this conference is recognized as a vibrant forum in which to receive cutting-edge information and instruction from leaders in the correctional health care specialty. You can be one of those leaders, helping to develop your colleagues as professionals and to advance the field as a whole.

This is your opportunity to share your expertise and lead one of the many stimulating sessions and interactive courses. Or take part in a new conference feature: a symposium that provides researchers with the opportunity to present 20-minute summaries of studies germane to correctional health care. All abstracts will be published in the conference proceedings manual.

New Program Intent
The intent of Updates in Correctional Health Care: Translating Principles to Practice is to share innovative developments, treatment practices and research studies with conference attendees. Participants will gather to learn from you, an expert in the field of correctional health care.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
Please comply with the following guidelines to ensure your presentation receives full consideration for inclusion in this program. We suggest that you prepare a Word file containing your submission information in advance to save time online and to ensure that you have a backup copy.

Presenter Information

All proposals must have a designated lead presenter who is the sole point of contact. The lead presenter is responsible for submitting the proposal, informing copresenters of the education committee’s decision, distributing materials to copresenters, planning the presentation agenda and ensuring that the content is not biased.

The first three items below are required of all lead presenters and copresenters. Lead presenters also must provide a brief statement of why they are qualified to present the material in the proposal.

• Contact information and professional affiliation

• 1-page CV or resume

• Disclosure form (see details below)

• Qualifications to present the material (lead only)

Presentation Information

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

• Presentation Summary: Succinctly describe the presentation for the conference final program (75 words maximum)

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

• Learning Objectives: Provide three learning objectives for the presentation. For guidance, see these Tips for Writing Learning Objectives.

• Intended audience: Indicate the primary group(s) that your presentation is meant to address (e.g., nurses, physicians, administrators, all of the above).

• Skill Level: Indicate whether the skill level that your presentation is meant to address is basic, intermediate or advanced.

Topics to Consider
To meet educational needs and interests expressed by attendees at recent conferences, we encourage presentations that address the following topics:

• Medical: infectious disease; chronic disease; pain management; pharmaceuticals; women’s health; quality improvement

• Nursing: managing staff; recruitment/retention; staff wellness; orientation and training

• Management: contract compliance; budgets and finance; cost containment; report writing; medication management; staffing

• Mental health: diagnosis; treatment; long-term management; segregation; medications

• Professional: professional roles; patient relations; peer review; leadership; quality improvement

• Legal issues: national guidelines; charting and documentation; laws and regulations

New! Research Symposium
This is an excellent way to hone presentation skills while sharing information in a condensed format. Each speaker will present a 20-minute summary of a research study or paper (limited to one speaker per proposal). Similar to poster presentations, content may address topics in general areas such as the following:

• Treatment modalities and clinical outcomes

• Management practices

• Concise case studies

• Literature summaries

• Research theories and methods

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 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 conference goals and objectives.

Approved Proposals
Selected presentations will be scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, April 6-7. The lead presenter will be notified of the education committee’s decision in late November.

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 enclosed with letters of acceptance.

Presenter Disclosure Statement
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. Speaker disclosures are included in the online submission form.

Proposal Deadline
Proposals received by October 3 will be considered for inclusion in the program. Submission of a proposal implies a commitment to attend the Updates conference should your proposal be accepted. All speakers will receive a discount on the conference registration fee.

If you have questions about the submission process, please contact Deborah Ross, director of education and meetings, at 773-880-1460 or deborahross@ncchc.org.