Focus on problem solving when you’re presenting
Fresh ideas, new angles, and solutions
Have you ever thought of presenting at a conference? Next time a call for presentations goes out, stop and evaluate the criteria for speakers because you may have something of value to offer.
"Consider if you have a topic or interest area that you think is fresh and new or particularly challenging that you could present your ideas or dialogue with your colleagues about," advises Zeena Engelke, RN, MS, patient education manager at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics in Madison.
To determine if you are doing something fresh and new, note what your colleagues are talking about and see if you have solved that problem. Often patient education managers don’t realize they have something worth sharing because it is part of practice and they think it is routine, says Engelke.
"I think we all know what some of the basic challenges are today. If you have solutions to some of those basic challenges, that may be worth sharing," says Engelke.
Or you may have a new angle to the problem that hasn’t been considered before, says Leah Kinnaird, EdD, RN, a consultant with Creative HealthCare Management in Minneapolis. However, before answering the call for presentations, consider if it is worth your time, she advises.
Read the packet for presentations carefully, says Sandra Cornett, RN, PhD, director of The Ohio State University Health Literacy Program in Columbus. It should have information about the major objectives and areas of focus for the conference that will help you decide if the conference would be of value to you because speakers generally are offered a reduced conference rate but nothing more to cover their expenses.
It may be a conference that would provide an opportunity to make many connections with colleagues that you could network with later. Or it may provide an opportunity for you to establish yourself in a particular field, she says.
There are many benefits to presenting. A good reason to present is to gain visibility for yourself or for your institution. "People have asked me to speak or consult because of the visibility I have acquired speaking at national conferences," says Cornett.
Some institutions encourage their employees to present and to publish. "It may also be a personal goal," says Engelke. However, it is wise to begin small because presentation skills are something that you develop with practice. Start with staff and local organizations, she advises.
Submitting the abstract
Once a decision has been made to submit an abstract, patient education managers need to know that they must sell their idea and themselves on paper. "The abstract you submit needs to be clear and concise," says Engelke. Don’t write long pages. Simply explain your topic and how you will present it. Also explain why you are the one to present that topic, because there may be similar abstracts, she says.
Write the abstract in a narrative format carefully following the guidelines, says Kinnaird. Make sure the objectives or the intentions of the presentation are included as well. "I ask myself what do I intend to do. What do I want people to gain."
Because there is always a time delay between the abstract submission and the actual presentation, Kinnaird makes the proposal general enough that she can add material at a later date should she want to add more to the presentation after it has been accepted.
It is important to tie your presentation into the conference theme or overall objectives, agrees Cornett. However, whether your topic fits the theme is not the only factor to consider when applying. Before writing the abstract, make sure that your topic can be presented in the time allowed.
It is possible to trim time from the presentation by focusing on one aspect of the topic, says Cornett. For example, if you are speaking about documenting patient education instead of covering everything that pertains to the topic, you could focus on one segment such as motivating nurses to document or creating documentation forms.
Whatever the focus, there are certain elements to a good presentation. Including a learning activity is key, says Cornett. She likes to include a small segment where people have a chance to participate either individually or in a group by practicing whatever technique she is teaching. (For tips on presenting see article, right.)
Try to motivate
For a quality presentation, the presenter should give a brief literature review or at least set the stage for the discussion, says Engelke. Also provide a current reference list, she says.
A mix of teaching techniques should be used as well. "We learn by all our senses, so having some visual support, some auditory kinds of things, getting the learners involved are important. We employ all those kinds of things directly with patients and we need to do that with larger groups as well," says Engelke.
A presentation in general tends to motivate, so it needs to be inspiring in some way. "I like to use stories," says Kinnaird. It also is important to target the needs of the audience.
Sources
For more information about answering calls for presentation, contact:
- Sandra Cornett, RN, PhD, Director, The Ohio State University Health Literacy Program, Office of Health Sciences, 218 Meiling Hall, 370 W. 9th Ave., Columbus, OH 43210. Telephone: (614) 688-5682 [in office on Tuesday and Thursday] or call (614) 292-0716. E-mail: [email protected].
- Zeena Engelke, RN, MS, Patient Education Manager, University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics, 3330 University Ave., Suite 300, Mailbox drop 9110, Madison, WI 53705. Telephone: (608) 263-8734. E-mail: [email protected].
- Leah Kinnaird, EdD, RN, Consultant, Creative HealthCare Management, Minneapolis, MN. Telephone: (800) 728-7766. E-mail: [email protected].
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