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Poster content should increase understanding of a disease, improve the diagnosis or treatment of a disease, or contribute to improving processes that promote health and patient outcomes, increase patient safety, or improve utilization of resources. Descriptions for types of scientific posters are as follows:

Clinical and Translational Research

Posters in the Research Category should include the project's objective, hypothesis, methods, data collection and analysis. Research projects must have acquired appropriate IRB or other approval prior to starting the research project. This documentation should be included with the poster submission. Reference on the poster should be made to the IRB or other approval unless the project was exempt from such approval; this should be indicated on the poster.

Quality Improvement and Performance Improvement

Since USA Health has adopted the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle format for quality improvement projects, posters in the Quality Improvement Category should demonstrate the use of this quality improvement tool, including the project's aim statement, the planned intervention, the metrics used in data collection during the project, the outcome analysis, and the actions implemented as a result of the project.

Patient Safety, Patient Education and Patient Advocacy

The patient's experience should be at the heart of this poster with an emphasis on influencing patient outcomes. Posters focusing on patient safety should cover how the project contributed to improvements in patient safety and the delivery of consistently high-quality, safe care either quantitatively or qualitatively. Abstracts may also be submitted that relate to the use of outcome data, how to measure and convert data into information. The poster should provide evidence that the team’s work has considered existing best practice. If the poster focuses on the ³ÉÈË¿ì²¥ and/or advocacy aspect, the poster should include content from an associated patient ³ÉÈË¿ì²¥ campaign or advocacy efforts and evidence of the impact of the project on the target population’s health.

Clinical Vignettes

Clinical vignette posters are case-based (i.e. case reports) scientific posters that most often present a classic example of an unusual process or an unusual presentation of a common condition. These posters frequently include Learning Objective(s), Case Information and Implications, and Discussion. 

Judges for the poster competition will be selected for expertise in the areas of the three categories to include USA faculty physicians and members of USA Health's quality improvement and patient safety leadership. Judging criteria will include appearance, originality, significance and presentation of content; visual impact and organization of the poster; and an interview with the author of the presentation by the judges. 

Judges will be assigned to the categories below:

1. Clinical and Translational Research

2. Quality Improvement, Performance Improvement, Patient Safety, Patient Education, and Patient Advocacy

3. Clinical Vignettes

Awards will be presented for the best oral and poster presentation. The winner(s) of the oral presentation competition will receive a $300 award. The winner(s) of each of the three categories will receive a $300 award. We encourage you to use this opportunity to showcase your research. We look forward to your submission!

Please note: The Quality Improvement and Patient Safety categories are merged into one category for the competition.

See the Scientific Poster Competition Scoring Tool [PDF].

Abstract Submissions

An abstract is a summary of the contents of a scientific poster and allows the USA Expo Selection Committee to choose the best posters to reflect the spectrum of resident and fellow scholarly activities across USA Health. Poster abstract submissions are expected to adhere to the following:

• The primary author is responsible for completing and submitting the abstract submission form as an attachment via email to gme@health.southalabama.edu. The faculty mentor(s) and residency/fellowship program director should be copied in the email.

• Only electronic submissions will be accepted, and incomplete submissions will be returned.

• Residency/fellowship program faculty mentor(s) are responsible for reviewing the submission form for accuracy and completeness as well as for ensuring the quality of the abstract and poster.

• No submissions will be accepted after the deadline.

• Realizing that projects may qualify for more than one of the three competition categories, the author(s) will need to select the category for which their project is to be considered.

• There is a 2000 character limit on the abstract description.

• Judges will select which abstract submissions qualify for the poster competition. The winner(s) in each category will receive a $300 award.

• One abstract submission in each category will be selected for the oral presentation competition. The three selected participants will give a 10-minute oral presentation. The winner will receive a $300 award.

Final e-Poster PDF Submissions

• A PDF final draft of the poster created in PowerPoint must be received by the GME Office by April 3, 2024, 11:59 p.m. Submit your poster as a 48x36 inches pdf (4:3 ratio) pdf file. Send e-Poster pdf submissions to gme@health.southalabama.edu.

Submission Timeline

Feb. 15, 2024 - Abstract Submission Deadline: Email abstract submission form to the GME Office at gme@health.southalabama.edu.

March 4, 2024 - Abstract Acceptance Notification: Acceptance notice will be sent to the primary author and program leadership by March 4, 2024.

April 3, 2024 - Final e-Poster PDF Submission Deadline: Final PDF posters must be emailed to the GME Office at gme@health.southalabama.edu by April 3, 2024, 11:59 p.m.

April 17, 2024 - Final PowerPoint of Oral Presentation Deadline: The three participants selected for the oral presentation competition must send their final PowerPoint presentation to the GME office at gme@health.southalabama.edu by April 17, 2024.  

May 1, 2024 - Resident/Fellow Exposition: The exhibit hall opens at 2 p.m.  

Awards: The winners in each of the judged categories will be announced at the conclusion of the Expo and will receive a $300 award. Literature reviews and case reports WILL BE considered for the poster competition this year.

Submission Form

Download the USA Resident and Fellow Exposition Poster Competition Submission Form [PDF]. 

A poster presentation is a graphic display of your project using text, graphs, tables and photos to publicize a project, generate interest and educate others on the project's outcomes. Your poster should be self-explanatory, allowing you to supplement the content, discuss details and answer questions during the poster session.

For posters representing the University of South ³ÉÈË¿ì²¥, the USA logo must remain right justified at the level of the title of your poster as provided in the template below. The title, author(s), department and USA attribution should remain the standard font and size. The font size should be 24 or larger. If the list of authors wraps onto an additional line, be sure that an author’s name and their credential(s) are on the same line. The project leader should be listed as the first author, followed by the other members of the team with the faculty mentor(s) listed last. Posters should be free of commercial content. Literature reviews and case reports will not be considered for the poster competition.

Please reach out to your Residency coordinator or the GME Office to have your poster printed. 

Poster Specifications

If the author(s) anticipate submitting/presenting the poster at a societal or ³ÉÈË¿ì²¥al meeting, the size of the poster should meet the requirements of the anticipated meeting. Do not have the poster reprinted for the USA Residents and Fellows Exposition. Otherwise, posters should be 48" x 36" square. Posters can be created effectively using Microsoft PowerPoint using the following template:

• USA Professional Poster Template 48 x 36 (4:3 ratio) [Powerpoint]
• USA Health Professional Poster Template 48 x 36 (4:3 ratio) [Powerpoint]

Relevant Resources

• (Webpage, American College of Physicians)
• (Webpage, National Library of Medicine)
• (Webpage, American College of Physicians)
• (Webpage, American College of Physicians)
• (YouTube, Sacramento State)
• (Website)
• USA Brand Templates