Poster exhibitions at conferences: are we doing it properly?

OBJECTIVE

Literature exploring the educational value and quality of conference poster presentation is scarce. The aim of this study was to identify and describe the variation in poster exhibitions across a spectrum of conferences attended by trainees.

DESIGN

Prospective observational assessment of conference posters was carried out across 7 variables at 4 conferences attended by surgical trainees in 2012. Posters were compared by individual variables and according to overall poster score combining all 7 variables examined. The number of authors listed was also compared.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

Random samples of consecutively numbered posters were examined at the exhibitions of 4 conferences, which included a UK national medical education conference (Association for the Study of Medical Education), a UK international surgical conference (Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland), a European oncology conference (European Society of Surgical Oncology), and a North American joint medical and surgical conference (Digestive Diseases Week).

RESULTS

Significant variation existed between conferences in posters and their presentation. The proportion of presenters failing to display their posters ranged from 3% to 26% (p < 0.0001). Adherence to size guidelines varied from 89% to 100% (p = 0.002). The inclusion of references ranged from 19% to 82% (p < 0.0001). The presence of a presenting author during the allocated session varied widely from 21% to 86% (p < 0.0001). No significant variation was observed in the proportion of posters that were formatted using aims, methods, results, and conclusion sections (81%-93%; p = 0.513) or in the proportion of posters that were identified as difficult to read (24%-28%; p = 0.919). Association for the Study of Medical Education outperformed each of the other exhibitions overall (p < 0.0001). Posters with greater than the median of 4 authors performed significantly better across all areas (p < 0.0001-0.042) except presenter attendance (p = 0.480).

CONCLUSIONS

Poster exhibitions varied widely, with room for improvement at all 4 conferences. Lessons can be learned by all conferences from each other to improve presenter engagement with and the educational value of poster exhibitions.