Scientific Abstract submissions are limited to 3,000 characters, including spaces.

Maximum character count limit applies only to these sections: 

• Background
• Methods
• Results
• Conclusions
• Tables/Graphics (if included)

Character count limit does not apply to author information

1. Title (No all caps, quotes, underlining or bolding.)
2. Background (Describe the context and importance of the study and state the objective(s) of the study.)
3. Methods (Include a description of the methods used including study design, setting, population, measures, and analytic procedures.)
4. Results (Describe the results in sufficient detail to support the conclusions. Tabular or graphic results are acceptable. It is not satisfactory to state, "The results will be discussed" or "Other data will be presented.”  Abstracts that do not provide actual results will not be considered for publication or presentation.)
5. Conclusions (State the implications of the findings for clinical practice, research, education, or policy.)
6. Graphics (Optional. See below.)

Additional Details

1. Presentation Format (Select your presentation preference: Oral Presentation Only, Poster Only, No Preference. See below.)
2. Primary Submission Category (See below.)
3. Secondary Submission Category (Optional. See below.)
4. Award Eligibility (Optional. See below.)
5. Theme Related Submission (Does this submission content relate to the meeting theme? This information is not part of the peer review process. If accepted, your response may impact the scheduling of your presentation. Yes/No)
6. Scheduling Restrictions for Presenting Authors (Optional. See below.)
7. Non-Commercial Funding Source (Optional. See below.)
8. Poster Walk-Through Participation (Optional. See below.)
9. Joint Abstract Session Eligibility (Optional. See below.)
10. Accuracy (Confirm accuracy of information submitted.)
11. Policy Verification (Confirm understanding of Submission Policies & Presenter Register Policy.)
12. Authors (Name, Institution, City/State, Email)

• Scientific abstract submissions have the option to include either one table or figure.
• Graphics should be compact and used only to display essential results, where textual presentation would be less efficient.
• Large tables and figures intended for use in an oral or poster presentation are not appropriate for abstract submissions. 

• Maximum size: 3 inches in width
• Graphics are included in the online publication of SGIM Annual Meeting abstracts in the JGIM Supplement.  Abstracts are printed in two columns with optimal publishing with legible text at 3 inches in width.

Graphic Size/Character Count:

• The size of the graphic will count against the overall character count of your submission.  The larger the graphic, the less text you may include. If a graphic is too large, the ScholarOne system will notify you upon upload to either scale the image down or reattach a smaller original image to conform to the character limit.
• Check the character count in the top right-hand corner of each ScholarOne webpage.
• Please ensure enough time before the submission deadline to upload a graphic and potentially resize the image.

Graphic Size/Character Count Examples:

• 3"w x 2" h graphics will count as 672 characters
• 3"w x 3" h graphics will count as 768 characters
• 3"w x 4" h graphics will count as 990 characters
• 3"w x 5" h graphics will count as 990 characters
• 3"w x 6" h graphics will count as 990 characters

Total character limit is 3,000 characters (excludes author information).

• 300 dpi halftone 
• 600 dpi with text
• 600 dpi combine halftone and text (embedded text)
• 1200 dpi bitmap (pure text and lines (b/w))

.eps format

• 300/600/1200 dpi objects combine embedded images and vector

Example Graphics

• The recommended graphic size is 3 inches wide by 2 inches high; this graphic size accounts for the least amount of characters at 672 from the overall character count.
• Remember, the inclusion of graphics is optional and should only be included where textual presentation is less efficient. Graphics should be compact and used only to display essential results.
• If accepted for presentation, more detailed graphics can be included during the poster or oral presentation.

1. Download example graphic template (Microsoft Word Document)
2. Create table or graph and save document as a .PDF
3. Save the .PDF as a .TIFF or .EPS
4. Upload into ScholarOne and click Save Changes

Submission Disqualification

• Abstracts will be disqualified from consideration if the submission includes more than one graphic (figure or table).
• Graphics created by combining multiple images into one file for upload or that are larger than 3 inches in width will lead to disqualification for presentation.

Identify your preference for presentation format:

• Oral Presentation Only
• Poster Presentation Only
• No Preference

Format choice matters:

• SGIM schedules accepted submissions based on the results of the peer review process. The most highly rated submissions are scheduled for an oral presentation followed by those rated highly enough for presentation as posters.
• We recommend stipulating “no preference”, as it will increase the likelihood of your submission being accepted.
• If you stipulate “oral presentation only” and your submission is only ranked highly enough for a poster presentation, you will receive a rejection notification.
• Submissions funded through direct commercial support should select “poster only” as their choice, as poster sessions do not offer CME credit hours.

Submitting authors MUST select one category for each submission:

• Aging/Geriatrics/End of Life: submissions addressing issues of care of older adults and of issues related to aging and/or end-of-life care decisions regardless of patient age
• Clinical Decision-Making/Economic Analyses: submissions about clinical decision-making; formal decision analyses of medical practice; shared patient-physician decision making; patient preferences or utilities; and cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit analyses of specific interventions
• Clinical Epidemiology/Healthcare Effectiveness Research: submissions with a focus on the investigation and control of the distribution and determinants of disease in clinical populations or a focus on the evaluation of effectiveness of therapies or interventions in clinical care settings
• Heath Disparities/Vulnerable Populations/Global Health:  submissions devoted to the health and health care of underserved and special populations, health disparities, health literacy, and global public health issues, such as chronic disease management in developing countries, global epidemics, and emerging pathogens
• Health Policy: submissions that evaluate the impact of local, state/province, or national policies on clinical and economic outcomes
• Hospital-based Medicine: submissions that focus on the care of hospitalized patients, the inpatient care of medical conditions, and the role and effectiveness of hospitalists and hospital-based systems
• Medical Education Scholarship: submissions that focus on issues related to medical education: needs assessment, curricular design, curricular implementation, and outcomes assessment in undergraduate, graduate, and continuing medical education. Submissions that address issues that impact career development, satisfaction, and balance between personal and professional life in medical personnel
• Medical Ethics/Professionalism/Humanities: submissions that focus on areas as diverse as clinical ethics, research ethics, global health ethics, medical professionalism, the history of medicine, literature, philosophy, theology and/or spirituality in medicine
• Mental Health/Substance Use: submissions addressing mental health and substance abuse from educational, research or clinical perspectives. This includes a broad range of substances – alcohol, tobacco, both prescription and non-prescription drugs in addition to street drugs
• Organization of Care/Chronic Disease Management: submissions with a focus on organization of health care delivery; patient-centered medical home; strategies to increase the efficiency or effectiveness of a medical practice system; management of one or more chronic diseases; or broader perspectives on disease management
• Preventive Medicine: submissions that address disease prevention, early detection, and health promotion, including screening, case finding, health habits and beliefs, and interventions to improve these areas
• Quality of Care/Patient Safety: submissions that focus on quality assessment, gaps in quality of care, medical errors, quality improvement, and patient safety in the inpatient or outpatient setting
• Women’s Health: submissions addressing issues and conditions specific to or important to women

Additional Details

• Submitting authors should decide whether the unique and central feature of a submission is related to its methodology, topic, or other content and then select the category that best reflects the work.
• Scientific Abstract categories also determine its assignment to review committees.
• The program committee does its best to schedule sessions within the same category in order to avoid conflicts within concurrent sessions, but this is not always possible.

Optional. Choose one secondary submission category:

• Cancer Research
• Ethics
• Geriatrics
• Health Literacy
• Implementation Science
• Health Information Technology
• Women’s Health

Do not duplicate your primary category if identifying a secondary category:

• If your primary category is women’s health, do not select women’s health as your secondary category. 
• If your primary category is preventive medicine and your secondary category is women’s health, it may be scheduled in a women’s health area of a poster session.

Optional.

Mack Lipkin, Sr. Associate Member Scientific Abstract Oral Presentation Awards

If you can answer yes to both these questions below, identify your eligibility for this award during the online submission process:

1. Are you an SGIM Associate Member (Student, Resident, or Fellow)?
2. Are you the first author of an abstract submitted to the SGIM Annual Meeting?

• Three of these awards will be presented to SGIM Associate Members whose Scientific Abstract oral presentations are judged the highest.
• Judging of presentations by finalists for these awards will take place at the Annual Meeting.
• If the eligible author cannot present at the Annual Meeting, he or she may identify a co-author to present in his or her place, BUT that negates eligibility for the award.

Milton W. Hamolsky Junior Faculty Scientific Abstract Oral Presentation Awards

If you can answer yes to both these questions below, identify your eligibility for this award during the online submission process:

1. Are you an SGIM Full Member?
2. Will you be in the first two years of a junior faculty appointment at the time of the SGIM Annual Meeting?

• Three of these awards will be presented to junior faculty SGIM Full Members whose Scientific Abstract oral presentations are judged the highest.
• Judging of oral presentations by finalists for these awards will take place at the Annual Meeting.
• If the eligible author cannot present at the Annual Meeting, she or he may identify a co-author to present in her or his place, BUT that negates eligibility for the award.

Optional. If accepted to present from Round One, please indicate scheduling restrictions below. Religious observance can also be indicated.

• Religious Observance, cannot present on Wednesday
• Religious Observance, cannot present on Thursday
• Religious Observance, cannot present on Friday
• Religious Observance, cannot present on Saturday
• Session A: Wednesday 5:30-7:00 pm
• Session B: Thursday 8:15-10:15 am
• Session C: Thursday 10:30-11:30 am
• Thursday Lunch: Thursday 11:45 am - 12:45 pm
• Session D: Thursday 1:00 pm -2:00 pm
• Session E: Thursday 2:15-3:15 pm
• Session F: Thursday 3:45-4:45 pm
• Session G: Thursday 5:00-6:00 pm
• Session H: Friday 8:15-10:15 am
• Session J: Friday 10:30-11:30 am
• Friday Lunch: Friday 11:45 am-12:45 pm
• Session K: Friday 1:00-2:00 pm
• Session L: Friday 2:15-3:15 pm
• Session M: Friday 3:45-4:45 pm
• Session N: Friday 5:00-6:00 pm
• Session O: Saturday 7:30-10:00 am
• Session P: Saturday 10:15-11:15 am
• Session Q: Saturday 11:30 am – 12:30 pm

Optional. Choose as many as apply:

• AHRQ Funding
• DOD Funding
• NIH Funding
• PCOR Research Grant
• RWJ Foundation
• VA Funding

The program committee reserves the right to use this information in scheduling.

Optional. If accepted for poster presentation, do we have your permission to schedule you to participate in a walk-through? A walk-through session will include an expert in your identified category bringing a small group of attendees around to discuss your work. (Yes/No)

Optional. In addition to indicating submission categories, please indicate whether you believe your abstract is suitable for one (and only one) of the following joint oral abstract sessions. This will neither increase nor decrease your chances for acceptance or the scheduling of an oral presentation. The mission of each society will help you determine whether your research would be appropriate for any of these sessions. 

Joint SGIM-American Academy on Communication in Healthcare (AACH) Abstract Session

The mission of the Academy is to improve the quality of care by enhancing healthcare communication and collaborative relationships through education and applied research. Abstract submissions appropriate for consideration at the joint SGIM- AACH abstract session include observational and interventional studies pertaining to patient-physician communication, shared decision-making, health literacy, patient-centered care, relationship-centered care, the patient-physician relationship, and other healthcare communication strategies, including use of the Internet and intercultural communication strategies to improve quality of care. Studies incorporating innovative methods to teach medical interviewing and communication skills are also appropriate.

Contact Person: Neda Ratanawongsa, MD (neda.ratanawongsa@ucsf.edu)

Joint SGIM- Society of Medical Decision Making (SMDM) Abstract Session

The Society of Medical Decision Making's mission is to improve health outcomes through the advancement of proactive systematic approaches to clinical decision-making and policy-formation in health care by providing a scholarly forum that connects and educates researchers, providers, policy-makers, and the public.  The Society's diverse membership includes trainees to senior researchers as well as educators, clinicians, managers, and policy makers and has significant overlap with SGIM. Appropriate research topics are in the areas of Physician Cognition and Behavior, Judgement and Decision Making, Attitudes and Preferences, Decision Analysis, and Cost-Effectiveness Analysis.  Research that presents new methods or new applications of existing methods will be emphasized. See the society's homepage (www.smdm.org) for more information about SMDM

Contact Person: Maryilyn M. Schapira, MD, MPH (mschap@upenn.edu)