04/23/2025
Call for Posters: 2025 OAPA Annual Conference
OAPA recognizes the importance of promoting research in the PA profession.
We are pleased to provide a platform to display the research of Ohio PAs and PA students during the OAPA Annual Conference being held Thursday, October 23 and Friday, October 24, 2025, at the Renaissance Columbus Westerville-Polaris Hotel in Westerville, Ohio.
Accepted poster topics will include:
- Original or Clinical Research
- PA Education
- Case Studies or Reviews
- Professional Outreach and Advocacy
- Quality Improvement
- PA Wellness
Posters will be grouped into three categories based on the leading author’s professional experience:
- Early career PAs with less than 5 years experience
- Experienced PAs with 5 or more years experience
- Current PA students
Poster presenters will be recognized with a certificate and prizes may be available.
Please read the complete Poster Guidelines below to participate. The deadline for submission is by midnight on Friday, August 15, 2025. Poster submissions will be evaluated on a rolling review. Please contact OAPA Annual Conference Committee member Chris Heinrich at heinric@ccf.org with any additional questions.
2025 OAPA Annual Conference Poster Guidelines
Adapted from AAPA Poster Session Guidelines with permission
The Ohio Association of Physician Assistants (OAPA) recognizes the importance of promoting research in the PA profession. In response to this demand, we are pleased to provide a platform to display the work of Ohio PAs and PA students. Please read through all the poster guidelines below before submitting your abstract.
General Poster Information
Posters will be presented during the OAPA Annual Conference at the Renaissance Columbus Westerville-Polaris Hotel in Westerville, OH.
Acceptable research topics include:
- Original or Clinical Research: Study findings or other research projects
- Education: PA and PA student education
- Case Studies or Clinical Reviews: Interesting cases to disseminate knowledge for PAs and PA students
- Professional Outreach and Advocacy: Projects/programs promoting the PA profession or serving patients and communities that are not clinical or research-based
- Quality: Quality improvement projects that would benefit other practicing PAs and their patients
- Wellness: Research and other projects specifically pertaining to the professional wellness of practicing PAs or matriculating PA students
All submissions will be grouped into one of three categories based on the professional experience of the leading author:
- Early career PAs with less than 5 years experience
- Experienced PAs with 5 or more years experience
- Current PA students
Poster presenters will be recognized with a certificate and prizes may be available. Poster presenters will have the opportunity for additional publicity after the conference as their work will be featured over time through OAPA communications.
General Submission Requirements
In order to have a poster displayed at the OAPA Annual Conference, presenters must submit a form (see below) with their intent to participate and submit an abstract for review by OAPA.
All abstracts must be submitted by an Ohio PA or PA student who can claim authorship for the project. Authorship includes involvement in the conception and design of the project, analysis and interpretation of the data, drafting the abstract or revising it critically for intellectual content, and/or giving final approval of the version to be published. Authorship does not include providing encouragement, physical facilities, financial support, critiques, or editorial contributions.
Posters previously presented at other organizations’ poster sessions are welcome so long as the author has retained rights to present the work.
The presenters are responsible for all expenses associated with the preparation and presentation of the posters and for conference registration. At a minimum, all poster presenters must have a single day registration for the day they are presenting, although full conference registration is welcome. Authors will also be required to be present with their posters for discussion during display hours.
Abstract Submission and Formatting Guidelines
All research abstracts should include the following sections if applicable to the topic investigated:
- Purpose - A brief statement explaining why the investigation/research/project was conducted (recommend one sentence)
- Methodology - Materials, methodology, and any analytical procedures applied if applicable to the investigation/research/project (recommend two sentences)
- Results - Presented in sufficient detail to support the conclusions (NOTE: If results are not yet available, must include a report/anticipated date of obtaining results.)
- Conclusions - Include the author’s opinion about the meaning of the study.
The abstract text should not exceed 3000 characters (about 500 words), not including the title or author information.
Titles should be brief and clearly indicate the abstract’s content. Capitalize the first letter of each word, except prepositions. No abbreviations should be used in the title.
Only standard abbreviations will be accepted. Special or unusual abbreviations should be placed in parentheses after the full word appears the first time. Arabic numerals should be used to indicate numbers, except when used in the beginning of a paragraph. Nonproprietary (generic) names of drugs should be used.
Do not include tables, graphs, algorithms, pictures or references in the abstract.
Accepted abstracts will be distributed through OAPA communications as submitted. Abstracts should be edited and carefully reviewed prior to submission. A common reason abstracts are not accepted is significant typographical or grammatical errors. Changes to abstracts will not be permitted once accepted by OAPA.
Deadline to submit abstracts: Friday, August 15, 2025 at midnight
The submitting author will receive all correspondence via email from OAPA. Notification decisions regarding acceptance will be made on a rolling basis, and no later than Friday, August 29, 2025.
Guidelines for Accepted Posters
- Posters should be no more than 24’’ x 36’’ and no less than 22’’ x 28’’ and should be mounted on a foam core board for display on a standard easel.
- Posters must include a title, author(s) name(s), abstract, purpose, methodology, results, and conclusions.
- The poster should have the title placed at the top with the authors’ names and affiliations (optional) beneath it. The title should match that submitted with the abstract.
- All subtitles and texts should be readable from two to three feet away. Avoid the use of script fonts that are difficult to read.
- All illustrations (graphs, pictures, figures, tables) should be large enough for easy observation.
- Matte finish on graphs or pictures gives better visibility due to the reduction of glare.
- All figures and tables should have brief captions.
Thank you for your interest in the 2025 OAPA Annual Conference Poster Session. For any questions, please contact Chris Heinrich at heinric@ccf.org.