Social Mission Alliance 2026
For Us All: Transforming the Health Workforce
Call for Abstracts, Presentations and Posters

The 2026 Social Mission Alliance Conference, For Us All: Transforming the Health Workforce call for abstracts is an opportunity to inspire and empower health professions leaders, practitioners, educators, trainees, and community partners committed to enhance health equity within their institutions and communities. Together, we will discuss topics such as the socially accountable leadership, commitment to community, preparing and expanding the health workforce, curriculum and programming and support school ecosystems.

Ready to share your ideas and spark change? The Social Mission Alliance is now accepting abstract submissions for the 2026 Conference, including poster, panel and workshop presentations—plus exciting new categories like SMA Wicked Problem Sessions, SMA Ignite/Lightning Sessions, and Panel Presentations. Click 'Submit Now' below to begin.

Submissions that include the following features are strongly preferred:

• Student led initiatives
• Co-authorship by community members and partners
• Co-authorship with trainees (students, residents, etc.)
• Interprofessional and/or interdisciplinary
• Inclusive of multiple institutions
• Innovative and/or disruptive
• Impact-driven

Abstracts will be considered for the following session types:

• SMA Wicked Problem Session (60 minutes/2 topics):
  • This session type invites presenters and participants to engage in conversation about solving “wicked problems”, those problems that have many interdependent factors and sometimes seem impossible to solve. Solving them requires unique and innovative ideas that don’t follow prescriptive formulas and take multiple perspectives into account.
    
    Submissions for this session type should present a wicked problem that the presenters are working to solve that would benefit from the collective wisdom of conference attendees. Presenters should plan for 15-minute presentations with 15 minutes of structured engagement with the audience for each topic.
• SMA Ignite/Lightening Sessions (60-min, 6-8 presentations per session):
• This session type invites presenters to give very short talks about something you are passionate about related to one or more of the conference themes. Presenters will have 5 minutes to present their ideas distilled down to the core elements, novel perspectives, and possibilities for innovation.
• Panel Presentations: (90-minute total breakout session, 3-4 presentations):
  • Panels will feature 3-4 presentations on related novel programs and/or completed research projects. Abstracts can be submitted individually or as a full 90-minute panel. (Accepted individual abstracts will be organized by conference planners into panels with 2-3 other accepted abstracts.) Presenters will have 10-15 minutes each followed by 15-20 minutes of group discussion at the end.
• Posters:
  • There will be poster sessions throughout the conference to highlight ongoing efforts to transform medical education. Poster presenters have the opportunity to discuss their work with conference attendees during these sessions. We welcome completed research projects highlighting innovative social mission work. In-progress research projects will be considered separately.
    
    Accepted posters submitted by learners will be entered into the poster competition. Winners will be announced during the conference. Only submissions by learners as the primary author (students, residents, trainees, and those in training fellowships) will be considered for the poster competition. Other authors may also be included. However, learners are invited and encouraged to submit abstracts in other categories as well.
• 90-Minute Workshops:
  
  • We are also seeking highly interactive workshops that center on skill-building or problem-solving a pressing issue in social mission in health professions education. Formal presentations and/or lecture format will be limited to no more than 30 minutes total to leave sufficient time for audience interaction.
  
  Examples of Workshops Include:
  • Providing training in a social mission-related area (e.g. community organizing, advocacy, evaluation/research methods, etc.).
  • Sharing a successful effort surrounding social mission and teaching the audience how they can replicate it or adopt its lessons in their own institutions.
  • Hands-on experience with a social mission training tool.
  • Engaging participants to advance their own social mission work (e.g. developing recruitment/admission strategy for diversity, developing health equity and leadership curriculum.)
  • Engaging participants to develop/advance a social mission-related issue.
  
  Themes for the conference include:
  
  1. Socially Accountable Leadership
  2. Commitment to Community
  3. Preparing and Expanding the Health Workforce
  4. Curriculum and Programming
  5. Supportive School Ecosystems
  
  Click "Submit Now" below to begin.
  IMPORTANT: Please be sure to read the abstract submission guidelines below in its entirety PRIOR to submitting your abstract.
  
  If you wish to pair/combine your oral breakout session with another abstract, please indicate this within the bottom of the abstract proposal. We cannot guarantee acceptance of every submitted abstract. A request for accommodations does not mean approval.