Abstracts

Deadline for abstract submissions: Extended deadline – 21 February 2024
Notification of acceptance: Pre conference Workshops, Panel Discussions, Debate and Symposia: 20 February 2024
Notice of acceptance of Abstracts: Oral presentations short, in-conference workshops, e-Posters, PechaKucha™, Campfire Story presention: 14 March 2024

Invitation SAAHE 2024

The Scientific committee for the SAAHE National Conference 2024 Invites abstract submissions relating to any aspect of health professions education across the continuum, from undergraduate through postgraduate to continuing professional development. There are multiple presentation formats available for you to present your work and ideas.

We would like to optimise the likelihood of your abstract being accepted, therefore please read and adhere to our guidelines carefully, and ensure that you provide all the required information.

Before starting, you would need to select the appropriate submission format from the menu and ensure you are able to meet the following criteria:

Your work should be on the topic of health professions education.
Abstracts are welcomed from any health profession, stage of education or subject area. If you are presenting on the outcome of a research or evaluation project, or reporting on a new initiative or innovation, the work must be complete or there must be at least interim findings to report on.

The overall conference theme is: Decoding and Recoding to Transform for contextually relevant Health Professions Education

All abstracts should comply with one of the following suggested Educational themes which is most suitable to describe your research:

Advocacy Education
Artificial Intelligence /Technology Enhanced Learning
Assessment and Evaluation
Community-Based Education
Curriculum Development and Reform
Equity, Diversity, Inclusion (EDI) and Decolonisation
Faculty Development
Interprofessional Education
Lifelong Learning and Continuous Professional Development
Patient Safety
Planetary/Global challenges and Health Education
Postgraduate Medical Education /Workplace based Assessments
Resilience and Well-being
Service/Experiential Learning

All abstracts must be submitted via the SAAHE 2024 Abstract Portal. Abstracts will not be accepted in any other format or medium.

The abstract portal will close at 23h59 on the dates specified above.

Abstract Submission

The educational theme you choose for your abstract will determine which reviewers it is sent to, and which group makes the decision about its inclusion in the programme. Some submissions will span more than one educational theme and you should choose which one is the best fit for your work. At the discretion of the programme review committee, you may be offered a presentation slot in a different themed session if your abstract was rejected for inclusion in its original category.

Submission Categories

Workshop Abstract Requirements:

Select between pre-conference (3 hours) or in-conference (2 hours)

Pre-conference workshop

Pre-conference workshops aim to guide participants to explore specific health professions education topics and experience the practical skills associated with the topic. Pre-conference workshops are 3 hours in duration, will be held on the 25^th June 2024, on-site at the Gateway Hotel Umhlanga conference centre and will be charged for, in addition to the conference fee. Please note that the pre-conference workshops provide much-needed additional conference income, and that the presenters of these workshops are not remunerated for these workshops. There are only six (6) pre-conference workshops available, and we will thus look for the six (6) abstracts that offer the most enticing, innovative, and inspiring topics

The abstract must include the following:

Workshop title
Presenters’ names and affiliations
Summary of presenters’ expertise that informs this workshop (50 words)
Three expected workshop outcomes
Workshop agenda for 3 hours
Workshop description including practical application (200 words)
Why should this workshop be a pre-conference workshop? (50 words)

In-conference workshop

In-conference workshops aim to guide participants to explore and experience the practical skills associated with specific topics in health professions education. In-conference workshops are 2 hours in duration, and will be held in the workshop sessions during the conference. Please note that the in-conference workshops are free to conference delegates.

The abstract must include the following:

Workshop title
Presenters’ names and affiliations
Summary of presenters’ expertise that informs this workshop (50 words)
Three expected workshop outcomes
Workshop agenda for 2 hours
Workshop description including practical application (200 words)

Oral -Paper Presentation Abstract Requirements

Papers will be presented as a live 10-minute oral presentation followed by 5 minutes of questions and answers (Q&A) facilitated by the session chair. A pre-recorded version of the presentation will be requested prior to the congress to serve as a backup in case of power/network issues.

Paper title
Presenters’ names and affiliations – Presenting author underlined
300-word abstract that should include: introduction, aim/objective, methods, results, conclusion

e-Poster Presentation Abstract Requirements

Posters should be submitted as a PDF file designed to a minimum of A3 in landscape (PPT template will be available) that can be downloaded and viewed at any time during the conference. The posters may be interactive using QR codes or links to additional content or engagement tools. Posters will then be presented during the poster sessions as a pre-recorded/ in person presentation of 3 minutes with 1-3 slides, followed by a 2-minute live Q&A.

Poster title
Presenters’ names and affiliations – Presenting author underlined
300-word abstract that should include: introduction, aim/objective, methods, results, conclusion.

PechaKucha™

This presentation method involves telling a story using images rather than text from slides, and the Powerpoint presentation is done using 20 slides that move automatically and allows only 20 seconds of commentary per slide.

Total time for presentation: 6 minutes and 40 seconds

Presenters’ names and affiliations – Presenting author underlined
300-word abstract that should include: introduction, key message, character/s, impact.

Campfire Story Presentation Abstract Requirements

Campfire stories will be presented as a live 15-minute oral presentation. A campfire story is your opportunity to tell the story of your learning/teaching experiences over the last year, how you have learnt from the experiences and what has changed for you since then. This is not a research-based presentation, it is more about sharing your wisdom with the community of practice so that we can all learn from your experience. A text forum will allow for questions and comments. A pre-recorded version of the presentation will be requested prior to the congress to serve as a backup in case of power/network issues.

Campfire story title
Presenters’ names and affiliations – Presenting author underlined
300-word abstract that should include: introduction, key message, character/s, impact.

Symposium Abstract Requirements

A symposium is typically offered by one of the Special Interest groups (SIGs). This is a 1-hour focussed session that offers up to 4 presenters 10-minute live presentations each, which is then followed by a 20-minute live discussion. A pre-recorded version of the presentations will be requested prior to the conference to serve as a backup in case of power/network issues.

Symposium title
Overview of the symposium theme
Presenter 1 name and affiliation & presentation title (This should be the corresponding presenter for the abstract)
- 150-word abstract describing this presenter’s contribution
Presenter 2 name and affiliation & presentation title
- 150-word abstract describing this presenter’s contribution
Presenter 3 name and affiliation & presentation title
- 150-word abstract describing this presenter’s contribution
Presenter 4 name and affiliation & presentation title
- 150-word abstract describing this presenter’s contribution

Panel Discussion Abstract Requirements

This is a 30-minute session. Three experts in a topic are invited to answer questions posed by the panel host/hostess. The panellists will be given the questions ahead of the conference and will NOT provide a formal presentation, but rather answer the questions in a live on-camera session in a round-robin style.

Panel Discussion title
Overview of the Panel Discussion theme
Name and affiliation – are you willing to be the panel host? Yes/No
Suggest 3 or 4 experts in the topic who could be approached for the panel
Suggest 4 questions that you would pose to the panellists

Debate Abstract Requirements:

This is a 1-hour session. For a debate to work, an issue that has opposing stances needs to be the topic of the debate and two teams need to argue for their stance. Prior to the start of the debate the audience votes for the stance they most believe in. The debate master will manage the flow of the debate: 40 minutes are allocated to debate where each team is given a 5-minute opening position statement (10-minutes in total), a 5-minute team chat (5-minutes), 5-minute rebuttal of the opposition’s position statement (10-minutes in total) a 5-minute team chat (5-minutes), 5-minute closing argument (10-minutes in total). During this time the audience can post their questions/comments to the text forum. For 15 minutes the debate master will pose questions to the teams from the audience. During this time the audience is again asked to vote for the stance that they most believe in after the debate. The debate winners are the team that has swayed the most votes over their time (i.e. the difference between their initial votes and their post-debate votes).

e-Poster Presentation Abstract Requirements

Poster title
Presenters’ names and affiliations – Presenting author underlined
300-word abstract that should include: introduction, aim/objective, methods, results, conclusion.