2014Call for Student PostersMNRS 2014 Annual Research Conference March 27-30, 2014Hyatt Regency St. Louis at the Arch, St. Louis, Missouri

We invite you to submit a poster for the School of Nursing MNRS Student Posters competition. You could be selected and present at the MNRS conference in March 2014 in St. Louis!

We will select up to three (3) studentswith posters in each of the following educational programs:

Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing (BSN)

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing Science (PhD)

UW-Madison School of Nursing Instructions – Deadline October 11th

Please submit the MNRS 2014 Poster Submission Cover Sheet(attachment)and the materials as outlined on pages 2 -3 for each category.All application instructions and guidelines must be followed. In each educational level, there will be three poster categories. Students should check the appropriate category for judging as follows:

1) Research: Research is a systematic investigation used to generate generalizable knowledge about a phenomenon.

2) Evidence Based Projects (EBP): EBP projects exemplify the use of best evidence from research, practice and patient preferencesto influence the provision of high quality care. EBP projects start with a clinical problem or quality concern, evaluate the literature for best practices related to the concern, and implement evidenced based practice, system, and/or policy changes to address the concern. EBP projects should highlight recommendations for clinical practice, future research, and policy change.

3) Evidence Based Literature Review: The EBP literature review is a thorough review of the literature related to a clinical problem.

UW-Madison School of Nursing Travel Funding

Students selected as part of the UW-Madison School of Nursing competition will be funded to attend the MNRS conference in St Louis. This includes conference registration, travel to get to the conference (likely a UW van traveling to the conference with staff), meals while at the conference, lodging (likely double or triple hotel room occupancy).

MNRS membership is required, but students do not need to become a member until they have received notification from us that their abstract has been approved for presentation (November 2013). Due to state regulations, UW-Madison cannot pay for the MNRS student membership.

Three Categories for Posters

1.Research Project

Completed research and research in progress may be submitted. Abstracts will be judged on the following criteria but only through the 3rd criterion if the abstract describes research in progress. Abstracts submitted as research in progress must be completed by the time of the conference.

Use bold font for the abstract headings. The 350 word abstract must include the title, headings, and the following key elements:

•Purpose and Background/Significance:State the purpose of the studyand why it is important to nursing science, practice and/or patient care.

•Theoretical/ conceptual framework: Include conceptual and operational definitions.

•Method: Describe the study design, sample, instruments used, and data collection procedures (Include proposed data collection and analysis if project is not complete).

•Results and interpretation of results: Discuss findings within the context of prior research, conceptual framework, and study limitations.

•Conclusions: Explain what the findings mean for the science of nursing.

NOTE: A separate statement (not in the 350 word abstract) must include a description of the research team and the student’s role on the research team and in developing the poster.

2.Evidence Based Project (EBP)

Completed EBPs and EBPs in progress may be submitted.Abstracts will be judged on the following criteria but only through the 4th criterion if the project is in progress. Abstracts submitted as EBPs in progress must be completed by the time of the conference.

Use bold font for the abstract headings.The 350 word abstract must include the title, headings, and the following key elements:

  • Nature and scope of the project (introduction, problem identification, significance, project objectives).
  • Synthesis and analysis of supporting and related literature. Describe the evidence-based solution. How was it developed? Include the theoretical framework if applicable.
  • Project implementation: Describe the implementation process and significant challenges encountered.Include plans for implementation if the project is not complete.
  • Evaluation criteria: Provide details of your method for evaluating the success of the project. Include proposed evaluation criteria if the project is not complete.
  • Outcomes: What were the outcomes of the project? How were the outcomes measured?
  • Recommendations: Describe your recommendations for clinical practice and policy based on the outcomes of the evidence-based practice project.

NOTE: A separate statement (not included in the 350 word abstract) must include a description of the student’s role with the EPB project and poster.

3.EBP Literature Review

Use bold font for the abstract headings. The 350 word abstract must include the title, headings, and the following key elements:

  • Problem:Describe the health care issue the evidence review addresses. Provide support for the significance of the problem.
  • Purpose:State the objectives of this inquiry relative to the overall evidence-based literature review on this topic.
  • Search Strategy: identify databases searched, inclusion/exclusion criteria.
  • Results of literature search: Describe the search, number of studies included and level of evidence. Include a summary table of your evidence in theposter.
  • Synthesis of Evidence: Briefly describe the synthesis of the evidence that includes major trends and notable gaps.
  • Implications for Practice:Includeyour recommendations for practice, education, or future research based on the review and synthesis of the evidence.

If you are selected by the School of Nursing to present…

2014 MNRS Conference Competition and Guidelines

Best Poster Awards: Abstracts with the highest initial review rating will then be selected for on-site judging and will be judged according to the scientific criteria listed above, plusoverall poster appearance. It is suggested that each student refer to a published article on poster preparation or refer to the guidelines provided in your poster acceptance notification letter. Each student level of posters, Undergraduate, MSN, DNP, and PhD will be judged separately. Award winners will be announced during the Awards Ceremony on March 29, 2014.

Set up times will be posted on the MNRS website and in your acceptance letter.

Avoidance of Commercialism

All presentations must avoid commercialism. Presentations that constitute promotion and advertisement will be prohibited. This includes pervasive or inappropriate use of logos. Product or service descriptions or advertisements may not be distributed, nor may any material be displayed to promote the commercial interest of a particular company or enterprise. If the cost of any presentation has been underwritten, a clear acknowledgement stating the source and support should be included. Statements made in the presentation are the sole responsibility of the author and should not be viewed as or considered representative of any formal stance or position taken on any product, subject or issue by MNRS.

Conference Registration

Registration information will be mailed to current MNRS members in December. Poster presenters must be registered for at least the day that they are presenting. Registration will also be available online at

MNRS Submission Information and Deadlines

  1. ALL student abstracts must be submitted on-line.The MNRS electronic submission site will open on November 4, 2013 and remain open until midnight on Monday, December 2, 2013. Students will receive instructions directly from MNRS staff regarding abstract submission to the online system.
  2. Abstracts submitted for this competitive student program cannot be submitted to the MNRS General Call for Abstracts.