INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTIONS ON ABSTRACT SUBMISSIONS

Western Orthopaedic Association
74th Annual Meeting, August 4-7, 2010
Portola Hotel & Spa, Monterey, California 

WOA is now accepting Abstracts for the 74th Annual Meeting being held August 4-7, 2010 at the Portola Hotel & Spa in Monterey, California. Please read all of the instructions below before clicking the link at the bottom of this page.

Policies Governing Accepted Applications:

1. Scientific Program participation is open to all Orthopaedic Surgeons and Residents/Fellows.
2. Applications must be submitted online by February 4, 2010 (Resident Awards) or February 15, 2010 (General Abstract) to be eligible for review by the Program Committee.
3. Submission of a corrected abstract is not allowed after February 4, 2010 (Resident Awards) or February 15, 2010 (General Abstract).
4. An orthopaedic surgeon, resident/fellow or a member of WOA must be listed as one of the authors.
5. Once an abstract is accepted, additional authors cannot be added.
6. Acceptance and rejection letters and all future correspondence will be mailed to the Primary Author listed on the Abstract Submission Form by April 2010.
7. Abstracts not accepted for a podium presentation may be accepted for a poster presentation.   
8. The paper is to be original, unpublished work. (See instruction #12 below.)   
9. A copy of the manuscript must be included to be considered for an award.
10. WOA reserves the right to publish the accepted abstracts in a medical journal. This will not preclude publishing the manuscript in another journal.
11. The WOA reserves the right to withdraw a presentation at any time.

Instructions to complete abstract application:

1. TITLE: Make the title brief and clearly indicate the nature of the study/procedure.
2. CONTENT: The abstract must include four parts: INTRODUCTION should clearly state the problem and the purpose of the study; METHODS should provide a description of what was actually done; RESULTS should contain the findings of the study; DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION should be based upon the findings and relate to the stated purpose of the study and existing knowledge. Provide specific details about your research/study. DO NOT list any author's name or institution in the abstract or manuscript. A two-year minimum follow-up per patient is required for all results for reconstructive procedures and new or modified techniques as they relate to diagnosis, surgery, complications or other phases of orthopaedic surgical problems.
3. LENGTH: Do not exceed space provided on abstract. Provide as much information as space permits. Additional pages will not be accepted.
4. TYPE: The abstract should be typed on the form provided within space allotted (300 words max). Do not exceed space provided. Standard 12 pt. Times New Roman is required for all abstract submissions. Abstracts are to be single spaced. Use English only.
5. STYLE: Use initial capitalization for the entire title. DO NOT include company names, titles, appointments or addresses in the abstract. DO NOT use subtitles. Standard abbreviations may be used, when necessary. Do not cite references. Omit P values. No reference is to be made in your text as to authors, institutions, clinics, pharmaceutical companies, or specific manufacturers. Submit the form, completed in full. Please check your work prior to submission. The Western Orthopaedic Association is not responsible for proofreading or accuracy.
6. AUTHOR INFORMATION: Indicate your name, mailing address, email address, telephone numbers, degree, and the institution where the research took place. Also, include the name, mailing address, telephone number, email address and degrees of all co-author(s). Please notify WOA if any of this information changes.
7. DRUG NAMES: Nonproprietary (generic) names of drugs are required and should be written in lower case. Proprietary names are capitalized.
8. AWARD SUBMISSIONS: One (1) copy of your full manuscript must accompany this online application at time of submission.
9. SUBMISSIONS: An Electronic Submission form is provided below for all submissions. The Resident Award abstract submission deadline for WOA’s 2010 Annual Meeting is February 4, 2010.
10. NOTIFICATION OF ACCEPTANCE: The Program Committee will review Abstracts. You will be notified of acceptance by April 2010. The Western Orthopaedic Association reserves the right to withdraw a paper at any time.
11. REGISTRATION FEES: All presenters must register for the meeting and pay the registration fee. A registration fee does not apply to Resident/Fellow Award winners. The member registration fee must be paid by all other presenters.
12. MANUSCRIPT: The paper is to be original, unpublished work. All authors must indicate the publication status of their paper. Papers that have been previously published are ineligible. Papers that have been submitted for publication, but will remain unpublished prior to the date of the annual meeting are eligible. If a paper is accepted but is subsequently found to have been published before the annual meeting, the Program Committee has the right to withdraw the paper.

Podium Presentation

Each Podium presentation will be approximately 4-6 minutes in length. Standard audiovisual equipment in the scientific session room includes an LCD projector and Windows Computer. Personal laptops will not be used for presentations.

Poster Presentation

Poster presentations will be shown for the entire meeting (3 days). Poster presenters are expected to be at their poster during presentation times. Designated times for poster presenters to report findings will be listed in the acceptance letter and the Program. 

Abstract Grading Process

• Abstracts will be read in a “blind” fashion. Your text should not reveal the authors or institutions of origin.
• Graders are orthopaedic surgeons and are members of the Program Committee. Each abstract is reviewed and graded by at least four graders and the final grade is then averaged.
• Grade is influenced by: significance of the study, content and clarity, specific number of cases or specimen studies, clinical or research data to support its conclusions, minimum follow-up of 2 years per patient for results describing reconstructive procedures, and new or modified techniques as they relate to diagnosis, surgery, complications or other phases of orthopaedic surgical problems.

Resident/Fellow Awards

The WOA will recognize outstanding papers submitted and presented by residents with the Lloyd W. Taylor, Vernon P. Thompson, Harold and Nancy Willingham, Sanford and Darlene Anzel Award and WOA Resident Awards. The combined amount of these awards is $10,000. Plus, the top two Resident Award Winners will present their papers at the 2011 AAOS Annual Meeting!

Please submit your abstract for the following categories:

General Scientific Abstract (Open to all orthopaedic surgeons) 

Submission Deadline is February 15, 2010 for General Scientific Abstracts.