The deadline for Session Proposals submissions is September 30^th, 2021 at 11:59 PM ET.
 

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) Committee on Scientific Program is pleased to announce the call for session proposals for the 2022 Annual Clinical and Scientific Meeting (ACSM), being held in San Diego, CA May 6-9.

This is your opportunity to contribute to dynamic professional discourse while ensuring ACSM 2022 is the premier educational destination for fresh perspectives, exclusive educational content, and clinical innovation. 

 ABOUT ACSM 2022
The ACSM has long been a gathering of the leading women’s health care experts and next year is no exception. ACSM provides attendees with cutting-edge research, clinical best practices, and collaborative solutions to the challenges faced by our members. 

Sessions for the meeting will center around four tracks: obstetrics, gynecology, professional development, and office practice. Concise and focused sessions across a variety of topics promise to engage attendees while providing opportunities to connect.

COMMITMENT TO DIVERSE PERSPECTIVES

ACOG is committed to incorporating diverse perspectives within each session and across the entire conference. Diversity and inclusion are essential to the success of the ACSM. Incorporating the voices of those underrepresented in race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, ability and disability, geographic and cultural origins, age, socioeconomic status, and other factors helps to build an inclusive ACOG community filled with creative perspectives and professional experiences. ACOG is seeking proposals that feature topics addressing issues related to diversity and equity as well as sessions that have diverse speaker representation. 

PROPOSAL GUIDELINES

The programming for ACSM 2022 will center around this year’s theme: Reconnect. Recharge. Reset.  As you develop your submission, consider the narrative around these questions.

• How does your session help attendees Reconnect to colleagues and the ACOG community?
• Is your educational content providing a fresh point of view that will Recharge the mind, body, and spirits of attendees?
• Are you addressing innovations and emerging technologies that not only advance clinical practice but Reset the perspective of your audience? 

Session Format Outline: Speakers should select a preferred session format and submit an outline that includes details on how the session will achieve identified learning outcomes and how its content aligns with conference themes and topics. 

-Scientific and Clinical Symposiums: These 30-50-minute interactive lectures focus on topics of special interest. Examples of these session types include review of clinical evidence and guidelines, presentation of novel programs with evaluation, quality improvement topics, and discussions of clinical controversy as well as sessions addressing practice management and physician wellbeing.  Proposals should address how the session will engage participants and at least 10 minutes should be reserved for questions. 

-Lightning Talks/EdTalks: This session format is reserved for three focused and concise 10-minute talks connected by an overarching theme. These talks will be given by three different speakers with no PowerPoint presentation. The session will be followed by 15 minutes of Q&A for all speakers. 

-Surgical Tutorials: These sessions will offer strategic approaches to surgical procedures in obstetrics and gynecology. Surgical Tutorials emphasize case-based learning, using slides, video, and interactive demonstrations.  Each segment should be separated by “Ask the Expert” breaks to encourage participation from the audience and faculty. 

SUBMISSION

Proposals must be submitted online. Copy the proposal information into a plain text editor such as MS Notepad to eliminate formatting prior to placing in the submission form. 

• Each session type has a limited number of speakers. 
• Proposals must identify one primary speaker/course director.
• The content of the presentation must be relevant, accurate, balanced, and have scientifically justified recommendations. 
• Presentations that promote corporate products or services will not be accepted. Corporate support, if any, must be disclosed.
• The text of the proposal should be organized into section headings as follows:
  1. Title: The title should be clear, accurate, and concisely indicate the subject and focus of the presentation. When choosing your title, avoid misleading language and include keywords that will resonate with the audience you are trying to attract (maximum 20 words).
  2. Learning Objectives: Provide three learning objectives for the presentation and a brief explanation regarding how each objective will be met. Learning objectives should provide context and be realistic and achievable.
  3. Description:  The description should be 20-60 words and focus on the content of the course, its intended learner/audience, the benefits of attending the course, and the value of the subject matter itself. Use complete sentences (no bullets), avoid using the first-person, and limit the use of acronyms and abbreviations. This description will be used as promotional material for the course/session and will be printed in the final program. Inviting and engaging descriptions are encouraged. Also, please describe how your session represents diverse perspectives. 
• Consider the following elements of diverse representation:
  1. Range of personal identities (eg, age, ethnicity, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, ability, nationality)
  2. Variety of career stages and job roles
  3. Variety of perspectives and viewpoints
  4. Content explicitly focused on diversity, inclusion, and equity

 

SPEAKERS

• Speaker credentials and experience should be appropriate to present the subject matter. 
• The primary speaker/course director will serve as the sole point of contact and is responsible for submitting the proposal, informing co-presenters of the selection decision, distributing materials to co-presenters, planning the presentation agenda, ensuring that content is valid, and following copyright policies.
• Session proposals must include at least one ACOG member as author. Submissions that do not meet this requirement will not be considered.
• All speakers listed in the proposal are required to disclose any relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies (formerly commercial interests), as explained on the required disclosure form.
• The presenting author/submitter is responsible for ensuring all authors are aware of and comply with the disclosure requirement. The submission will not be final until all disclosures are complete.
• Failure to disclose will result in disqualification of the submission.
• Owners and employees of ineligible companies are considered to have unresolvable financial relationships and cannot be considered for presentation at the ACSM.
• All funding sources must be disclosed within the submission and will be required to be acknowledged in all presentation materials if the proposal is accepted.
• All speakers listed in proposals are required to provide contact information and their professional affiliation.
• If needed, all selected presenters should be prepared to provide a version of their presentation that includes audio and video.

REVIEW AND SELECTION PROCESSES

All submissions received by the published due date will be independently peer-reviewed and scored by the Committee on Scientific Program based on the following criteria: 

• Importance to the practice of obstetrics and gynecology and adherence to evidence-based medicine 
• Relevance to the overall theme of ACSM 2022 and identified objective
• Pertinence to the interests of ACOG members 
• Expertise and qualifications of the presenters
• Timeliness and relevance of the topic
• Overall impact and quality
• Articulated commitment to diversity