As you continue in your career, you may find that attending professional conferences, in-person or virtually, may be

Assignment Scenario: As you continue in your career, you may find that attending professional conferences, in-person or virtually, may be beneficial to your professional development. In this scenario, you will be presenting a poster and abstract at a professional conference to share your knowledge, skills, and expertise on a specific healthcare subject matter. You will select your specific subject matter from the Topic List Options provided below. Your topic will be personalized based on the Topic and the Option you select for your presentation. Example: Topic 1: Strategic Human Resource Management which will be based on Option 1-A of my local community. Each Topic that is provided below is from the course’s content. While you may use any of the eBooks, materials, or publications provided within the weekly content sections of this course, you may also have to conduct your own research to create your poster and abstract.

Several templates have also been provided for you. Please review the templates that are located within the Resources section below the assignment prompt, then select one that you feel will be best for your poster presentation. Please note that you can only use free programs to create your poster, and if you are planning on using a specific program outside of Microsoft Office, then you will need to email the instructor to review your request. The abstract must be provided in Microsoft Word.

Assignment Requirements

Poster Requirements:

1. Poster Title: Your poster should include the title that you are presenting, be brief, but long enough that the audience can understand the topic. 
2. Visuals: Illustrations, graphics, graphs, photographs, or other images that provide the viewer with information on your selected population. At least one visual must be included on the poster.
3. Appropriate Headers: Each area on the poster must include appropriate headers or titles for the information contained with the section.
4. Text: Blocks of text should be brief but informative. Expand on: a) why the information you are presenting is important, b) background and evaluation of topic, c) what you learned,  and d) focus on the key items that you researched for your selected topic.
5. References: A minimum of four references with correlating in-text citations are required. Supporting external evidence will need to be presented using APA 7th Edition formatting. Your references should be from the last five years, collected from the any of the weekly course content, and you may include a maximum of two additional resources outside of the weekly content from your own personal research.

Abstract Requirements:

1. Formatting and Length: Your abstract should be between 350 to 500 words, formatted in APA 7th Edition using Microsoft Word.
2. Text: The abstract should highlight the major points of your poster, explain: a) why the information you are presenting is important, b) background and evaluation of topic, c) what you learned,  and d) focus on the key items that you researched for your selected topic.
3. References: Include any references from your poster in your abstract. Ensure that all references and in-text citations are formatted in APA 7th Edition formatting. You are not required to include all your references from the poster unless they are needed to present the information within your abstract.

Topic List Options for Your Poster Presentation with Abstract

Topic 1: Healthcare Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM): Select One Option for this Topic.

• Option 1-A: SHRM Challenges and Opportunities within Your Local Community. (You must provide the location in your presentation, be sure to include the city and state of focus.)
• Option 1-B: Labor Relations and Labor Costs from the United States to Another Country or Countries. (You must clearly identify the country or countries that you are comparing to the United States.)

Topic 2: Quality and Change Management: Select One Option for this Topic.

• Option 2-A: Implementing a Quality Improvement (QI) Initiative using a Specific Quality Method for a Healthcare Facility. (You must clearly identify the type of healthcare setting that you will be presenting the information on such as a hospital, skilled nursing facility, ambulatory center, etc.; concisely define the QI initiative such as a specific patient care improvement objective or organizational objective like reduce call light wait times, improve patient experience, etc.; and you must state one specific type of QI method/tool that you will be applying such as Six Sigma, Lean, FMEA, etc. You may select an actual QI initiative from an organization or create a hypothetical situation for this option.)
• Option 2-B: Change Management using a Specific Approach (You must clearly identify the healthcare setting that you will be presenting the information on such as hospital, skilled nursing facility, ambulatory center, etc.; concisely defined the type of change management approach that you will be using such as Lewin’s Three Step Approach, Kotter’s Eight-Step Approach, etc.; and describe the specific situation that you will be addressing such as adopting new technology, implementing a new specific process, etc. You may select an actual Change Management initiative or create a hypothetical situation for this option.)

Topic 3: Finance and Economics: Select One Option for this Topic.

• Option 3-A: Select a Financial Case Study from Gapenski’s Cases in Healthcare Finance (You can select a case study from the eBook, Gapenski’s Cases in Healthcare Finance, Sixth Edition, which you can present your poster and abstract on for this project. The eBook permalink is located in the course’s toolkit of the class under the Finance and Economics section.)
• Option 3-B: The IHI’s Triple Aim: Applying a Value-Based Payment Model (You will present information on The IHI’s Triple Aim associated to defining value under one of these models: Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs); Bundled Payment for Care Improvement (BPCI) Model 2, 3,or 4; BPCI Advanced; Patient-Centered Medical Homes (PCMH); or private insurance value based programs. You will need to define your healthcare setting and your selected value-based payment model. You may select an actual healthcare organization that is using a value-based payment initiative or create a hypothetical situation for this option.)

Topic 4: Cultural Competency and Health Literacy: Select One Option for this Topic.

• Option 4-A: Health Literacy and the Role of Culture (You will need to select a specific population; select a level of health literacy such as functional, interactive, or critical; provide details associated to that specific culture related to health literacy; and provide details to how the specific culture is influenced by your selected topic within health literacy.)
• Option 4-B: Cultural Competency and Patient Care Delivery: (You will select a specific culture or population; select a specific healthcare setting; and apply your specific culture or population to the healthcare setting related to patient care delivery considerations such as disparities, disease management, challenges, barriers, or any aspect of care that should be considered.)

Topic 5: Teamwork and Communication: Select One Option for this Topic.

• Option 5-A: Interdisciplinary Teams and Outcomes (You will select a healthcare setting, a specific issue for the team, and present information on the different components of the team that influence organizational outcomes, patient outcomes, or overall functionalities. You may use an actual healthcare organization that has applied an interdisciplinary team to address an issue or create your own hypothetical situation for this option.)
• Option 5-B: Best Practices of Effective Healthcare Teams (You will select a healthcare setting and provide information from your research on the best practices of effective healthcare teams that are supported through scholarly evidence. You may include principles, values, organizational characteristics, theories, or other applicable elements to describe the best practices that you identified from your research.)

Topic 6: Risk Management and Emergency Management: Select One Option for this Topic.

• Option 6-A: Emergency Management with Your Local Community. (You must clearly identify the location, including your city and state. The emergency can be applied to a specific healthcare setting, a natural disaster, epidemic, pandemic, or any event that requires emergency management.)
• Option 6-B: Risk Management Planning in a Healthcare Setting. (You must clearly identify the healthcare setting and apply a risk management plan to a specific event such as safety, regulations, compliance, etc.)

Topic 7: Information Technology: Select One Option for this Topic

• Option 7-A: Meaningful Use and Information Technology. (You may use historical stages or apply current aspects of Meaningful Use such as interoperability, regulations, or programs.)
• Option 7-B: Innovations of Information Technology in Healthcare (You will need to define the view such as organizational, national, or global; discuss the type or types of technology; and include the influence that IT has had related to healthcare delivery.)

Topic 8: Healthcare Globalization: Select One Option for this Topic.

• Option 8-A: Managerial Ethics in Global Health (You will need to define the ethical issues and healthcare settings or context.)
• Option 8-B: Future Trends in Global Health (Define the global trends, issues, or policies that may influence health from an international perspective.)

emplates: Click on Links to Access Examples. 

• Maryland Center for Undergraduate Research for creating a research poster
• External website that provides poster templates that are downloadable using PowerPoint. Make Signs Templates 
• Colin Purrington poster templates on his blog in both PowerPoint and Open Office Draw formats. This site also offers information on research for posters. 
• Free PowerPoint Poster Templates and More Free Templates
• Poster Design Templates, The Cain Project in Engineering and Professional Communication, Rice University
• Scientific Posters, Michael Alley, School of Engineering, Pennsylvania State University
• A step-by-step guide to creating an academic poster, Cornell University from the Haas Scholars website, University of California, Berkeley. This page has other downloadable PDFs on various topics related to undergraduate research.
• SIU School of Medicine Poster Presentation Information and Templates SIU School of Medicine Posters and Presentations with Templates and Information
• University of Texas Poster Samples for the sciences, social sciences, and humanities

Poster Preparation Resources and Articles

• Advice on Designing Scientific Posters, Colin Purrington blog, Swarthmore College
• Creating Anthropology Conference Posters: A Guide for Beginners by Jason E. Miller, MA and John K. Trainor, MS (University of South Florida), American Anthropological Association
• Creating Effective Posters from North Carolina State University
• Build a Research Poster, Office of Undergraduate Research and Artistry, Colorado State University (click on link underneath How Do I Build a CURC Poster?)
• Guidelines for Poster Presentations, Whitman College
• Poster and Presentation Resources, The Graduate School, University of North Carolina
• Poster Design Guide, The Cain Project in Engineering and Professional Communication, Rice University
• Poster Presentations, The Writing Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Poster Resources and Design Tips, University of Nevada, Reno
• Journal of Palliative Medicine: Writing Abstracts and Developing Posters for National Meetings
• Poster Sessions, The Writing Studio, Colorado State University
• Preparing a Poster Presentation from Northeastern University via the WebGuru
• Preparing and Delivering Presentations, Academic Support Services, Amherst College

Poster Preparation Online Tutorials, Workshop Slides, and Web Conferences

• Designing a Poster, study guide, University of Leicester (UK) (Study guide for creating poster presentations)
• InDesign CS5.5: Creating Poster Sessions, Mississippi State University Library (Step-by-step webcast on creating a poster in Adobe InDesign. InDesign is a popular design software)
• Extreme Makeover: Poster Edition, Utah State University Graduate Training Series (Workshop on improving poster design using Power Point)