Abstract Guidelines

Submission Rules

Abstract Blinding: Abstracts must be blinded – meaning any references to authors or institutions should be removed from the abstract title, content and attachments. You must ensure that your abstract is blinded and does not reveal anything about you or your institution.  Abstracts that are not blinded will be disqualified. (ex. A Level I trauma center in Indianapolis, is not blind)

Abstract Content: The abstract body cannot contain more than 3800 characters including spaces. Please structure your abstract (except case reports and family abstracts) using the following headings: Introduction, Methods, Results, Conclusion.

Attachments: Only one attachment per abstract may be submitted. Files must be legible as a 3”x5” image for the program book. Only one attachment per abstract may be submitted. Table can be no more than five columns, ten rows.  

Abstract Sponsor: All abstracts must have a WTA Member Sponsor.  The Member Sponsor can be the Senior Author, Presenter or any other author on the abstract.  If none of the authors are WTA Members, you must find a WTA Member willing to sponsor your abstract and that member must email amy@westerntrauma.org by September 4th confirming  that they are sponsoring your abstract.

Medical Student Presenters: Attending level author to be present to answer questions when medical students present.

Prior Presentations/Publications: The paper must not have been presented (in part of whole) at another major regional/national/international meeting (as an oral presentation, video presentation, poster or quick shot), nor submitted/published in any journal in either abstract or full manuscript format, with the following exception:

• Abstracts that have only been or will be presented by the resident first author as part of their local, state, regional or national ACS Committee on Trauma Resident Paper Competition, and that otherwise meet the criteria outlined above, ARE eligible for submission. While presentation at WTA and COT meetings is allowed, in such cases, like all WTA presentations, it is mandatory that the manuscript be submitted to the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery and not elsewhere.

Manuscript:  All authors (except case reports and family abstracts) must submit a manuscript to the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery. Failure to submit the manuscript by the deadline will result in the removal of the manuscript from the resident paper competition (if applicable) and the Member Sponsor will be banned from submitting an abstract for one year.  Submission of a similar manuscript to any other journal could result in a two-year ban from submitting an abstract to the WTA for the WTA Member and the abstract institution. 

Resident Paper Competitions
There are two Resident Paper Competitions at WTA (one clinical research, one basic science).
Resident Paper Competition Rules:

• Eligibility: Any resident or fellow who has completed the work being presented while in an official ACGME/AAST training program. The presenter may have completed training at the time of  the presentation.
• Requirements: The paper must not have been presented (in part of whole) at another major regional/national/international meeting (as an oral presentation, video presentation, poster or quick shot), nor submitted/published in any journal in either abstract or full manuscript format, with the following exception:
  • Abstracts that only have been or will be presented by the resident first author as part of their local, state, regional or national ACS Committee on Trauma Resident Paper Competition, and that otherwise meet the criteria outlined above, ARE eligible for submission. While presentation at WTA and COT meetings is allowed, in such cases, like all WTA presentations, it is mandatory that the manuscript be submitted to the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery and not elsewhere.
• Manuscript: All abstracts accepted for Earl Young presentation must have a manuscript submitted electronically in a Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery format to the Publications Committee Chair by January 15th.
• Acceptance: Due to the number of qualified applicants, only the top-rated abstracts will be entered into the competition.  Some Earl Young and EE Moore qualified abstracts will be selected to be presented at the meeting but will not be part of the final competition.  You will be notified with your abstract acceptance if your paper is part of the competition.
• Sponsorship: The sponsorship of an Earl Young or EE Moore Competition is not to be taken lightly. The sponsor of the paper must be a Western Trauma Association member in good standing. 

If the manuscript is not submitted by the deadline, it will not be considered eligible for the competition. The sponsor and/or the senior author is expected to be present when the paper is given.  The senior author and/or sponsor will be banned from submitting an abstract for one year for failure to adhere to these rules.
By submitting an abstract, you certify that the information contained in the presentation and manuscript represents original work that has not been previously published, and will not have been presented or be under consideration for publication at a regional, national or international meeting prior to the dates of this meeting. Poster presentations and ‘quick shots’ are considered prior presentations.

Earl Young Resident Clinical Research Competition

• You must indicate on the abstract submission form if you’d like to be considered for the Earl Young Resident Clinical Research Competition.  Clinical research addresses common clinical problems in trauma and critical care that affect everyday diagnosis or management. The research should involve human subjects and can be retrospective or prospective.
• The Residents’ Paper competition was begun in 1991 as a tribute to Dr. Young’s memory and his “spirit of inquiry, love of learning and commitment in service to mankind. The award is given to the best resident paper presented at the Annual Meeting.

EE Moore Resident Basic Science Competition

• You must indicate on the abstract submission form if you’d like to be considered for the EE Moore Resident Basic Science Research Competition.  Basic science research addresses the scientific basis of clinical problems, mechanisms, or cellular determinants underlying problems in trauma and critical care that could lead to innovations in diagnosis or management. The research may involve human subjects or animals and should be of a prospective design (i.e., one that tests an a priori hypothesis using a concurrent cohort).
• The E. Eugene Moore Resident Prize for Basic Science Research has been established to encourage residents to become surgeon researchers. Dr. “Gene” Moore has been a major factor in the academic growth of the Western Trauma Association by encouraging resident attendance and participation in the program at the Annual Meeting of the WTA. Abstracts eligible for this award are submitted to the Program Committee for resident prize status presentation at the annual meeting of the Western Trauma Association. A manuscript must be submitted to the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery in advance of the meeting for consideration of publication. The manuscript and presentation are judged with first and second place cash prizes and recognition given at the annual WTA annual banquet. The first place resident’s name is listed in the annual meeting program book.

Tom Scalea New Member Research Award

• This award is for new Active Members of the Western Trauma Association (joined WTA as an Active Member within 3 years of abstract submission date).
• The Tom Scalea New Member Research Award has been established to honor scholarly work done by a member within the first three years of membership in the Western Trauma Association. Active Member must have been elected to WTA Membership in the past 3 years and not be a Senior Member or becoming a Senior member in that window.
• To qualify: the new member must indicate on the abstract submission form to be considered for the Tom Scalea New Member Research Award.  The new member must submit a manuscript to the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery in advance of the meeting according to the deadline and the new member must personally present the work at the meeting.

Questions regarding your submission?
Contact Amy@westerntrauma.org  or text 317-409-0873.