CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

** SUBMISSION DEADLINE: JUNE 16, 2008 **

Dear Fellow Members and Colleagues:

The 95th Annual Meeting of the North Pacific Surgical Association will be held in Seattle, WA on November 14-15, 2008, and will be hosted by the Seattle Caucus under the direction of this year’s president, Dr. Michael Hart. Dr. Marc Horton will serve as Program Chair, and Dr. Mike Florence will serve as Local Arrangements Chair.

You are invited to submit an abstract for presentation at the meeting. Abstract submission deadline is June 16, 2008. All abstracts must be electronically submitted to Association Secretary, Dr. Robert Sawin, at robert.sawin@seattlechildrens.org . A sample abstract form and instructions are provided below. The Program Committee will notify you of acceptance in mid-August. If accepted, the paper will be presented at the meeting and submitted to The American Journal of Surgery.

As you may recall, the bylaws of the North Pacific Surgical Association require submission of an abstract, presentation of a paper, or participation as a primary paper discussant at least every fourth year as a condition for active membership. Attendance at the annual meeting is required at least every third year. New members are strongly encouraged to submit abstracts and present at their first meeting.

Non-members may submit an abstract if they are invited to do so by the association president. An invitation is not necessary if the abstract is co-authored with a NPSA member.

The Program Committee is soliciting members to act as primary paper discussants. If you are interested, please signify this on the abstract form as well as your area of expertise.

Again this year there will be a $500 prize for the best paper submitted and presented by a surgical resident. Please note on the abstract if the paper is eligible for the resident paper competition.

Thank you in advance for your participation. The quality of the annual meeting is dependent on the quality and variety of the presentations. Please email your abstract prior to the June 16 deadline and join your fellow Northwest surgeons for an excellent meeting in Seattle.

Sincerely Yours,

Marc Horton, M.D.
Program Chair

Robert Sawin, M.D.
Secretary-Treasurer

ABSTRACT INSTRUCTIONS

** SUBMISSION DEADLINE JUNE 16, 2008 **

Download the abstract form here.

ELIGIBILITY
All members are encouraged to submit scientific papers based on clinical experience or experimental work for presentation at the annual meeting. Papers submitted by non-members will be considered if a member is a co-author. Single case reports will not be accepted. The work must not have been previously published or accepted for publication.

DEADLINE
E-mail your abstract, typed as a MS Word attachment to NPSA Secretary, Robert Sawin, MD, at robert.sawin@seattlechildrens.org. Download the abstract form above.

ABSTRACT
The abstract, typed single-spaced, must fit on one side of the Abstract Form (300 words maximum). Small data tables are acceptable but must conform to the size restrictions of the program.

The following format should be utilized:
a) Brief statement of the purpose and significance of the study
b) Method of study or experimental approach briefly and clearly defined including statistical methods employed
c) Summary of results
d) Conclusions
The abstract should include sufficient detail to support the conclusions.

The abstract must represent unpublished work.

A primary discussant, a member or guest from outside your community, must be suggested. (Note: the Program Committee reserves the right to select the discussant.)

NOTIFICATION
Acknowledgment of receipt of the abstract will be return e-mailed to the first author or correspondent submitting the abstract. The decision of the Program Committee will be forwarded in mid-August.

PRESENTATION
It is assumed that the first author will present the paper. If an author other than the first author will present the paper, the Secretary must be notified. If the presenter is not a member, a member-author (or guest author) must be present at the meeting and must close the discussion of the paper.

MANUSCRIPT
The completed manuscript is to be prepared according to the instructions for authors provided by The American Journal of Surgery. Further instructions regarding submission will be provided at the time of notification of acceptance of the abstract.