Call for Abstracts

The 2009 Call for Abstracts has now been closed Notifications of acceptance will be sent out by email the week of February 16, 2009

The Canadian Ophthalmological Society (COS) is accepting abstracts for the following topic streams:

• Cataract surgery
• International and public health ophthalmology
• Pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus
• Cornea, external disease & refractive surgery
• Glaucoma
• Uveitis
• Neuro-ophthalmology
• Retina
• Oculoplastic & reconstructive surgery
• Low vision rehabilitation
• Ophthalmic pathology (case reports only)

NOTE: An abstract is not required for a case presentation at the Canadian Ophthalmic Pathology Society meeting. Submission of case presentations can be made by email to Doctor Godfrey Heathcote at [email protected] before May 1, 2009.

Format

Oral: 7 minute oral presentation
Poster: printed presentation

Note: based on evaluation results, there will be no electronic posters this year, only printed poster presentations in the exhibit hall.

COS Awards

Excellence in Ophthalmic Research: for residents, fellows or medical students conducting original, innovative research at a Canadian university. First place: $3000; Second place: $2000; Third place: $1000. You must apply for this award at time of abstract submission.

Best Poster: All posters are automatically eligible for this award of $500. Authors must be present at their posters when requested. Judging criteria will be forwarded to all poster presenters.

Abstract Guidelines

• All primary (submitting) authors must be members of COS. Your 2009 membership dues must be paid to access the submission form. Click here to renew your membership now.
• Foreign-trained fellows completing a fellowship in Canada and Canadian medical students are exempt from the membership requirement and may submit abstracts.
• Abstracts should be previously unpublished at the time of submission. Your material should not have been previously published, submitted to another journal or presented at another meeting. If you have presented or submitted your work for publication elsewhere, you must supply details and inform the COS of acceptance.
• Abstracts may be submitted only once.
• Abstracts must be submitted using the online abstract submission process. Abstracts will not be accepted by email or other methods.
• Abstracts should be written and submitted by physicians or allied health professionals. Abstracts written or submitted by industry personnel will not be accepted.
• Abstracts must be maximum 400 words or 2950 characters in length.
• All authors of an abstract must disclose any financial interests. See Financial Disclosure criteria for more details.
• All necessary permissions must be obtained before submitting an abstract. COS assumes no responsibility for the publication of any submitted material.
• You may choose your presentation format preference; however all accepted abstracts are assigned to an oral or poster presentation at the discretion of the reviewing committee. If your format choice is not granted, you may withdraw your abstract.
• By submitting an abstract, you agree to present it at the meeting and pay any and all applicable fees.
• The body of your abstract should include study details under the 5 main headings: purpose, study design, methods, results and conclusions. Abstracts with undetermined results will not be accepted.

Abstract Review

Abstracts will be adjudicated according to the topic stream selected. Abstracts are reviewed by the COS Council on Continuing Professional Development. All abstracts are considered equally for selection, and the quality of the abstract is the single most important factor in the Committee's decision. Abstracts are chosen on the basis of originality, clinical relevance, comprehensiveness, solid scientific practice, ability to stimulate discussion and/or address an educational need. Abstracts that do not adhere to the abstract submission guidelines will not be accepted. See Rejection Criteria for details.

Keys to a Successful Submission

Your abstract is more likely to be accepted if:

• You have followed all the abstract guidelines; you have read and understood COS Scientific Program Criteria including the Rejection Criteria.
• You have listed all co-authors, and declared all financial interests.
• You have submitted your abstract to the appropriate topic stream.
• You have included a short descriptive title and have avoided gratuitous statements and irrelevant information.
• The body of your abstract includes study details under the headings: purpose, study design, methods, results and conclusions. Abstracts with "results pending" or "conclusions to be discussed" will not be accepted. Information about sample size, study duration, follow-up, techniques used, etc. has been included. See Rejection Criteria.
• You have proofread your abstract. Your abstract should be clear, concise and free of errors.

COS Scientific Program Criteria

Ethical Approval
Studies should follow the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki and/or the research protocol should be reviewed and approved by an appropriate independent ethics committee or institutional review board.

Financial Disclosure
COS is an accredited Continuing Professional Development provider of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. COS must disclose to the program audience any real or apparent financial interests relevant to the content of your presentation(s) in order to ensure balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor in all accredited educational activities. Declaration of financial interest is not intended to restrict your presentation but to inform the audience that this relationship exists.

All presenters at the meeting MUST disclose any significant financial interest or other relationship with the manufacturer(s) of any commercial product(s) and / or provider(s) of any commercial services.

A financial interest is any relationship in which you may benefit by receiving: salary, travel benefits, intellectual property rights, royalties, honoraria, stocks, stock options, consulting fees, speaking fees, membership fees, or any other financial benefit. Financial relationships pertain equally to your immediate family (i.e. spouse/partner or dependent child).

Rejection Criteria
Abstracts are reviewed according to the submission guidelines and assigned a corresponding score. Abstracts receiving a score below the cutoff point will not be accepted.

Abstracts will be rejected if:

• There is lack of full financial disclosure or there is concern about an apparent conflict of interest regarding commercial relationships.
• The abstract appears to be primarily commercial in nature or appears to have been prepared by an industry representative.
• There are ethical concerns in the area of animal or human subject research.
• The abstract concerns previously published/ presented material. Some exceptions may apply.
• The abstract adds little to the body of knowledge, does not present new information that advances the field of ophthalmology, or is similar to abstracts submitted by the same authors.
• The study was poorly designed or conducted; the sample size is insufficient; it contains no data; the methods used could not have led to results indicated; results do not support the conclusions, etc.

Presenting Author
The submitting author must be present at the meeting to deliver the presentation. If the submitting author is unavailable, a co-author may present with COS approval. Financial disclosures for all presenting authors must be completed. If the submitting author is a medical student or resident we require a senior author to also be present and prepared to support the work of the presenting author.

Abstract Withdrawal
Notice of withdrawal must be received by March 14, 2009. Please send written notice of withdrawal to:

Inika Anderson
Manager, Continuing Professional Development, COS
610-1525 Carling Ave
Ottawa ON   K1Z 8R9

Tel: 613 729-6779 or 800 267-5763
Email: [email protected]

If you fail to notify COS of withdrawal or if you fail to present, you will be ineligible to submit for the following year's meeting.