Please provide all information requested on the online submission form. Noncompliance with the instructions will result in immediate rejection. Please keep in mind the following:

1. All authors are required to submit verification of credentials and authorship. Only authors who complete this process may be included and listed authors on the abstract and subsequent poster.

2. The title for the presentation should inform the reader of the subject matter.

3. Limit the abstract to 300 words, single-spaced. Title, author, and references are not included in the word count. Please be sure that your abstract describes the work performed.

4. A minimum of three (3) patients are required (unless the case is complex or a unique situation and/or a unique technology is used) for all "Case Study" abstract submissions.

5. Images or photos will not be accepted at the time of abstract submission.

6. The abstract will be blind-reviewed, so please make sure that neither author(s) name(s) nor facility affiliations appear in the body of the abstract.

7. References are mandatory. Please list 2-5 references in APA format. The number of references is restricted to no more than five (5).There is a separate area to provide references.

8. Disclosure of all sources of support is mandatory. There is a separate area to disclose support. BRAND NAMES CANNOT BE INCLUDED IN YOUR ABSTRACT- NO EXCEPTIONS. Please provide only the generic name in the body of the abstract.

The review process is completed by individuals selected for their content/research expertise. Abstracts are blind reviewed (meaning that the person who reads and rates an abstract does not know the name of the author(s)) and then accepted or rejected based on an average of several scores. The numerical rankings for the different criteria of an abstract are then averaged and used to decide to accept or reject the abstract.

Only Research abstracts will be considered for oral or poster presentation at WOCNext. Authors of top ranking Research abstracts will be invited to present their findings during a General Session. In addition, the reviewers will select other top Research abstracts to be presented during several Concurrent Sessions identified by the National Conference Planning Committee. Those Research abstracts not chosen for an oral presentation will also be considered for poster presentations.

All abstracts are reviewed for compliance with the above instructions.

Non-CE Posters are accepted abstracts submitted by an author with a relative conflict of interest in association with an industry organization. Industry support does not exclude abstracts from being accepted, displayed as a poster at WOCNext 2021 or able to win a merit award, it simply means that no CE will be awarded for these abstracts due to ANCC guidelines stating that content must be free of commercial influence. These posters will be displayed separately from the CE posters in the meeting abstract site.

The abstract reviewers will use the following criteria to score each abstract:

Research Abstracts

1. Topic: is the topic significant to wounds, ostomy, continence, and/or professional practice?

2. Purpose: is the purpose/objective clearly stated?

3. Methodology: are the methods described and appropriate?

4. Statistics: have appropriate statistical methods been used?

5. Results: are the results presented in sufficient detail to address the research questions or aim?

6. Conclusion: are conclusions supported by data presented in the abstract?

7. Clarity: is the abstract well written? Are ideas clearly communicated?

Practice Innovation Abstracts

1. Topic: is the topic significant to wounds, ostomy, continence, and/or professional practice?

2. Purpose of the innovation/objective: is the purpose clearly stated? Is a description included that identifies the need for the practice innovation?

3. Process/Replication in practice: does the description provide clear details that would allow replication in practice?

4. Outcomes: are the outcomes that relate to the problem and objective(s) included? Are the key measures or indicators used to evaluate the outcomes described?

5. Clarity: is the abstract well written? Are ideas clearly communicated?

Case Study Abstracts

1. Statement of Clinical Problem: is the clinical problem/challenge clearly articulated and relevant to WOC nursing practice? Is relevant clinical data included (age, gender, primary related diagnosis, and relevant comorbidities)?

2. Description of Past Management: is the duration of the clinical problem stated? Are past management approaches and patient response described?

3. Current Clinical Approach: is the management plan and any changes made to it described along with rationale?

4. Patient Outcomes: is the patient response described, including time frame for response, objective and subjective data?

5. Are there are least 3 patients included, unless a very specific or unusual case or technology is used?

6. Conclusions: are clinical implications identified along with limitations? Has the author limited conclusions to this case only, without generalization to general population?

Oral Presentations

Only the primary author will make the presentation unless another author is approved by the WOCN^® Society National Conference Abstract Chair. Time for oral presentations will vary and will be communicated to authors well in advance of the date of the presentation.

ePoster Presentations
We will be presenting posters in electronic format (ePoster) this year. The abstract submission process is the same for both traditional paper posters and ePosters. If your poster is chosen for an ePoster, more instructions will follow. Please mark your interest to be considered for this option on the Title page of the submission process. Click here for more information on ePosters. 

To review the 2021 ePoster guidelines, please click here.

Posters will be reviewed by the WOCN^® Society National Conference Abstract Chair/designee and judges. Infractions that violate these published guidelines could result in a poster being temporarily altered or even removed from display. Please follow the guidelines carefully to avoid these scenarios. To review the 2021 ePoster guidelines, please click here.

Merit Awards

All submitted abstracts undergo a rigorous peer review process to determine acceptance for presentation at the conference. The top scoring posters in each category are then peer reviewed during the event to determine Merit Award winners for the categories of Case Study, Practice Innovation, and Research. Merit Awards will be announced during the Abstracts General Session on Monday, June 28, 2021 from 9:50 am – 10:10 am.

If an abstract is accepted for poster presentation, specific information about layout, including a tutorial on poster layout/development will be available post notification of acceptance.

At least one author must register to attend WOCNext 2021 by Monday, March 1, 2021.