Teaching poster design to enhance research presentation quality at academic conferences: a guide for educators

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Scientific Communication

Background:

• Poster sessions are a common academic conference platform for research presentation.
• Suboptimal poster design and content selection often hinder effective knowledge transfer.
• Physician trainees may lack formal education in research poster construction.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a curriculum for resident physician trainees to acquire skills in designing high-quality research posters.
• To enhance the educational value and dissemination of research presented at academic conferences.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a flipped classroom model with pre-workshop video and poster preparation.
• Conducted a 1-hour workshop including a presentation on poster design and active learning.
• Incorporated think-pair-share activities, group poster evaluation, and peer feedback sessions.

Main Results:

• The curriculum aims to improve the quality of resident research posters.
• It has the potential to advance research education and improve knowledge dissemination.
• The lesson plan can guide poster design instruction across various specialties.

Conclusions:

• Integrating formal poster design training into residency curricula can enhance scientific communication.
• This curriculum provides a framework for improving resident research poster quality.
• Effective poster design is crucial for successful knowledge dissemination in academic communities.