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Presenter Guidelines

Congratulations on your acceptance to present at the APNA Annual Conference!

Please read the following guidelines, which provide crucial information for ensuring your presentation meets requirements for contact hours, then scroll down to confirm that you accept the offer to present by April 15.

Presentation of Your Content

Follow these principles as you craft your content into a presentation:

  • Be Current & Evidence-Based
    • Present current, clinically relevant, and evidence-based information to meet your educational outcome.
    • Support assertions and clinical studies, theories, models, etc. with current evidence-based references. As a presenter, you are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of references.
  • Be Objective & Person-Centered
  • Be Transparent When Discussing Drugs or Products
    • Disclose unlabeled use or potential of unlabeled use of drugs/products where applicable.
    • Discuss the safety and adverse effects of any drugs/products presented.
    • Inform APNA if you anticipate new applications or changes to the FDA status of a product that may impact your content.
  • Be Creative & Respect Copyright Laws
    • Include case studies as applicable.
    • Obtain permission to reproduce any copyrighted materials.Provide copies of correspondence granting permission for live and online use when you submit your program materials. Images not supported with permissions will be removed from slides.
      • This includes any materials that you have not created yourself: graphs, charts, logos (including hospital and university logos), photos, screenshots, cartoons, audio, movie clips, etc.

For more detailed information about different materials, when you can use them, what needs to be provided to APNA, and what needs to be listed in slides/on posters, see the Copyright Summary Chart below.

Ensure Your Presentation Does Not Violate Copyright Laws

Copyright protects original works of authorship – photographs, music, and even clip art! You cannot reproduce this content without permission from the content owner, including much of what you find in the public domain.

Requirements
  • Permission for content (images, logos, music, etc.) must be obtained for live presentation and for posting online.
  • If partial permission is obtained, indicate for which format permission is provided.
  • Permissions must be submitted with program materials by July 28, 2025 (podium presentations) or August 4, 2025 (poster presentations).

>>>Content not supported with permissions will be removed from slides and handouts or posters.

Item When you can use it What needs to be
provided to APNA		 What needs to be
listed in slides/on poster
Logo When permission is granted from your university or hospital Written permission from university or hospital (can be an email). No permission/citation needed.
Picture/Graphic/Image Copyright permission obtained for distribution live and online. Copies of correspondence granting permission for use (can be an email). Citation for the copyright holder with the image.
Video Clips Only with the permission of the author/ owner.  Copies of correspondence granting permission from author/owner for use (can be an email). Citation for the copyright holder with the video.
Quotes / Excerpts 250-word limit. n/a Citation with the quote and the source reference on the reference list.

Test Your Copyright Knowledge

Take the Quiz
Copyright Resources

Filter your searches to only content with a Creative Commons license, which provides everyone permission to use the author’s content as they wish:

APA Style Citation Guides

Poster Presenters, skip to the next section

Guidelines for Podium Presenters

Presenters presenting pre-conference, concurrent, or mini-concurrent sessions.

Presentation Requirements

The following requirements ensure that APNA can offer contact hours for your presentation:

  • Develop content to fill the entire presentation timeslot
  • Provide 2-3 takeaway points from your presentation (These points will be referenced in your session’s evaluation.)
  • Ensure your slides meet the requirements below, including citing graphs, charts, pictures, videos, etc. and obtaining permission for their live and online use.

Materials to Submit by July 25

These are the materials you must submit by July 25 in order to present. They are reviewed by an APNA nurse educator to ensure they meet requirements for nursing continuing professional development.

  • Presentation slides including disclosures, learning outcome, citations, and references. (See  full slide requirements below.)
  • Permissions for any logos, images, etc. used (See copyright info above.)
  • Educational design form
  • 2-3 key takeaway points for learners

Slide Requirements

  • Use ONLY the slides reviewed and approved by APNA.
  • On slide 1 or 2, state your disclosures, including any discussions of off-label uses of medications.
    • If you have none, use this text: “The speaker has no financial relationships to disclose. Discussions of off-label use of medication will not take place in this presentation.”
  • Include slides with your learning outcome and 2-3 key takeaway points
    • For help with writing an effective educational learning outcome, see Bloom’s Taxonomy Action Verbs.
    • Key takeaway points will be referenced in your session evaluation.
  • Include scientific references from within the last five years and citations for evidence-based content.
  • Cite all images (graphs, charts, pictures, etc.), videos, etc. and obtain permission for live and online use (see guidelines above)
  • Slide limits (not including title, disclosure, outcome, and reference slides):
    • 45-minute Concurrent Sessions: 20 slides of content
    • 20-minute Mini Concurrent Sessions: 10 slides of content
    • Pre-Conference Sessions: Approximately 1 slide for every 2 minutes of content

Slide Tips & Guidelines

  • Use an easily readable font and font size (ex: Arial size 20-24) and ensure charts/tables/graphs are easily readable for a large audience
  • Use the 6×6 or 7×7 rule (lines per slide x words per line)
  • Aim to use bulleted lists vs. complete sentences
  • Be mindful of plagiarism – quote and cite content that is not original
  • Use the tools available in PowerPoint such as spell check, grammar check, thesaurus, accessibility, etc.
Resources for Slide Font, Style, and Presentation

Podium Presenters, skip to important dates & deadlines

Guidelines for Poster Presenters

Poster Requirements

  • All logos, images, and photographs must have permission for use. Review the copyright summary above for a clear breakdown.
    • Posters without permissions cannot be posted in the online poster gallery.

The following must be on your poster:

  • Disclosures, including any discussions of off-label uses of medications.
    • If you have none, use this text: “The speaker has no financial relationships to disclose. Discussions of off-label use of medication will not take place in this presentation.”
  • Your learning outcome.
  • At least 3 evidence-based references from within the last 5 years.
    • Additional references can be submitted as a handout if needed.

Materials to Submit by August 4

You must submit these materials by August 4 to present and be included in the poster judging process. Your materials are reviewed by an APNA nurse educator to ensure they meet requirements for nursing continuing professional development.

  • PDF of your poster including disclosures, learning outcome, citations, and references.
  • Any additional references or handouts
  • Permissions for any logos, images, etc. used. Images without appropriate permissions will be removed from posters. (See copyright info above.)

Helpful Resources

2025 Presenter Dates & Deadlines

March 3

Abstract Submission Deadline for all presentation proposals.

April 9

Notifications emailed to all abstract submitters.

April 15

Deadline to submit below Presenter Confirmation Form for all accepted abstracts.

May

Podium presenters emailed their session’s placement in the schedule.

May 20

Podium Presenter Information Call at 1pm Eastern / 12pm Central / 11am Mountain / 10am Pacific

May 21

Poster Presenter Information Call at 1pm Eastern / 12pm Central / 11am Mountain / 10am Pacific

June

Conference Registration Opens
Primary presenters (podium &  poster) emailed their discount code.

June

Program materials submission instructions to the abstract submission site emailed to podium and poster presenters.

July 28

Podium Presentation Program Materials Deadline
Upload presentation slides, disclosures and permissions, educational design form, and key takeaway points for learners.

August 4

Poster Presentation Program Materials Deadline
Upload a PDF of your poster, references, and permissions for all images.

September 3

Early Bird Registration Deadline & Presenters Registration Deadline
All presenters (primary and co-presenters) must register by this date.

October 15-18

Travel to New Orleans and present at the in-person APNA 39th Annual Conference!

Confirm Your Presentation

Confirmation of Presentation Required by April 15, 2025

Fill out my online form.

Can’t see the form? Use this link: https://apna.wufoo.com/forms/x16x4vyl1rfwzmm

 

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