Kochis Michael, Ahle Samantha, Danko Melissa, Meier Andreas H, Petrulla Marina, Powell David, Robertson Jason O, Zendejas Benjamin, Henry Marion C, Frischer Jason
Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.
Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island.
J Surg Educ. 2025 Mar;82(3):103434. doi: 10.1016/j.jsurg.2025.103434. Epub 2025 Jan 16.
Presenting at academic conferences is an important means of disseminating research, networking, and building a professional reputation, but the quality of presentations at conferences is often suboptimal. This project describes the design, implementation, and evaluation of a presentation coaching program offered by an academic surgical society to presenters at its annual meeting.
Oral presenters were paired with a coach and encouraged to meet independently, yet coaching was unstructured. During the conference, program committee members rated all presentations. Afterwards, an online survey collected perspectives about the program from both participants and nonparticipants. Responses were analyzed with summary statistics and inductive coding. Presentation scores among participants and nonparticipants were compared via t-test.
This project occurred as part of the American Pediatric Surgical Association (APSA) 2024 Annual Meeting.
Senior APSA members were recruited to serve as coaches, and all presenters were invited to participate. Of 164 total presenters, 26 (15.9%) participated in the coaching program and were paired with 24 coaches.
Almost all participants (92.3%) were trainees, including students, residents or fellows. The survey had 38 responses (23.2% overall response rate), including 17 participants (65.4%) and 21 non-participants (15.2%). Most participants met with their coach once (58.8%) or twice (29.4%), usually via video call (82.4%). Presenters cited various motivations to participate in the program, and numerous benefits. Nearly all participants (94.1%) were extremely satisfied with their experience in the coaching program. The mean ± standard deviation presentation score among trainees who participated was 3.88 ± 0.45 of 5, compared to 3.79 ± 0.51 among trainees who did not (p = 0.49).
Having senior surgical society members serve as volunteer coaches is a feasible and well-regarded approach to help conference attendees, particularly trainees, prepare for their oral presentations. Participants especially appreciated the opportunity to meet senior society members.
在学术会议上进行展示是传播研究成果、建立人际关系网络以及树立专业声誉的重要途径，但会议展示的质量往往不尽人意。本项目描述了一个由学术外科学会为其年会的展示者提供的展示指导项目的设计、实施和评估。
口头展示者与一位教练配对，并被鼓励独立会面，但指导是无组织的。在会议期间，项目委员会成员对所有展示进行评分。会后，通过在线调查收集参与者和非参与者对该项目的看法。对回复进行汇总统计分析和归纳编码。通过t检验比较参与者和非参与者的展示得分。
本项目是美国小儿外科学会（APSA）2024年年会的一部分。
招募APSA资深成员担任教练，并邀请所有展示者参与。在总共164名展示者中，26名（15.9%）参与了指导项目，并与24名教练配对。
几乎所有参与者（92.3%）都是学员，包括学生、住院医师或研究员。该调查共收到38份回复（总体回复率为23.2%），其中17名参与者（65.4%）和21名非参与者（15.2%）。大多数参与者与教练会面一次（58.8%）或两次（29.4%），通常通过视频通话（82.4%）。展示者列举了参与该项目的各种动机和诸多益处。几乎所有参与者（94.1%）对他们在指导项目中的经历极其满意。参与的学员的展示平均得分±标准差为5分中的3.88±0.45分，而未参与的学员为3.79±0.51分（p = 0.49）。
让外科学会资深成员担任志愿教练是一种可行且广受认可的方法，可帮助会议参与者，尤其是学员，为他们的口头展示做好准备。参与者特别感激有机会结识学会资深成员。
