Policies And Instructions On Abstract Submission

Western Orthopaedic Association
88th Annual Meeting
August 7-10, 2024
Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach
Huntington Beach, CA

Submission Deadline has passed.

(Please read all of the instructions below before clicking the link at the bottom of this page.) 

Policies Governing Accepted Submissions:

  1. Abstracts must be submitted online by January 15, 2024 to be eligible for review by the Program Committee.
  2. Submission of a corrected abstract is not allowed after January 15, 2024.
  3. Once an abstract is accepted, additional authors cannot be added.
  4. An orthopaedic surgeon, resident/fellow or a member of WOA must be listed as one of the authors. Presenters must be a medical student, resident/fellow or physician to present at the Annual Meeting.
  5. Acceptance or rejection letters and all future correspondence will be emailed to the Primary Author listed on the Abstract Submission Form. Notification of acceptance will be sent by April 2024 to the email address provided on the submission form. Failure to complete Presenter Forms by the date listed, will result in the presentation being removed from the program.
  6. Abstracts not accepted for a podium presentation may be accepted for an E-Poster presentation.
  7. The paper is to be original, unpublished work.
  8. All co-authors must complete a disclosure form, or your presentation will be eliminated from the meeting.
  9. A copy of the complete manuscript will be requested for award consideration as determined by the Program Committee. The stipend for the award paper is contingent on the Resident/Fellow author, listed as the Primary Author on the Abstract Submission Form, presenting the paper at the Annual Meeting.
  10. WOA reserves the right to publish the accepted abstracts in a medical journal. This will not preclude publishing the manuscript in another journal.
  11. The WOA reserves the right to withdraw a presentation at any time.
  12. Each person is limited to two abstract presentations on the WOA Scientific Program, including podium presentations and posters.

Instructions to complete abstract submission:

  1. TITLE: Make the title brief and clearly indicate the nature of the study/procedure. Do not use all caps. Please do not use similar titles for numerous submissions.
  2. CONTENT: The abstract must include four parts: INTRODUCTION should clearly state the problem and the purpose of the study; METHODS should provide a description of what was actually done; RESULTS should contain the findings of the study; DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION should be based upon the findings and relate to the stated purpose of the study and existing knowledge. Provide specific details about your research/study. A two-year minimum follow-up per patient is required for all results for reconstructive procedures and new or modified techniques as they relate to diagnosis, surgery, complications or other phases of orthopaedic surgical problems.
  3. LENGTH: The abstract should be typed on the form provided within space allotted (300 words max). Additional pages will not be accepted. Use English only.
  4. STYLE: Use title case for the entire title. DO NOT include company names, titles, appointments or addresses in the abstract. DO NOT use subtitles. Standard abbreviations may be used, when necessary. Do not cite references. Omit P values. No reference is to be made in your text as to authors, institutions, clinics, pharmaceutical companies, or specific manufacturers. Please check your work prior to submission. The Western Orthopaedic Association is not responsible for proofreading or accuracy.
  5. DRUG NAMES: Nonproprietary (generic) names of drugs are required and should be written in lower case. Proprietary names are capitalized.
  6. SUBMISSIONS: An Electronic Submission form is provided below for all submissions. The abstract submission deadline for WOA’s 2024 Annual Meeting is January 15, 2024.
  7. NOTIFICATION OF ACCEPTANCE: The Program Committee will review Abstracts. You will be notified of acceptance by email by April 2024. The Western Orthopaedic Association reserves the right to withdraw a paper at any time.
  8. REGISTRATION FEES: All presenters are required to register for the meeting and pay the registration fee. The registration fee does not apply to Resident/Fellow Award Winners. The Moderator/Presenter or Resident/Fellow registration fee must be paid by all other presenters.

MANUSCRIPT: The paper is to be original, unpublished work. Papers that have been previously published are ineligible. Papers that have been submitted for publication but will remain unpublished prior to the date of the Annual Meeting are eligible. If a paper is accepted but is subsequently found to have been published before the Annual Meeting, the Program Committee has the right to withdraw the paper.

Podium Presentation

Each Podium presentation will be approximately 4-8 minutes in length. Standard audiovisual equipment in the scientific session room includes an LCD projector and Windows Computer (not a Mac). Personal laptops will not be used for presentations.

E-Poster Presentation

E-Poster presentations will be shown for the entire meeting (3 days).

WOF Resident/Fellow and Young Investigator Awards

If your abstract has been identified by the Program Committee to be considered for an award, one copy of your full manuscript (without pictures, charts and graphs) will be requested after all of the abstracts submitted are reviewed. Award winners are required to be present at the Annual Meeting to receive their award, which will be presented at the Gala Dinner. (Exceptions for medical conditions are allowed with final discretion given to the Program Chair and a replacement presenter must attend the meeting and present the paper.)

WOA will recognize outstanding resident papers with the WOF Lloyd Taylor, Vernon Thompson, Harold & Nancy Willingham, Sanford & Darlene Anzel, and Clarence & Sherril Splithoff Awards, plus four additional unnamed Resident Awards. The top two resident award recipients will present their papers at the 2025 AAOS Annual Meeting! Early-in-career investigator submissions can be considered for one of the three Young Investigator Awards which include a WOF/OREF award. The combined amount of these awards is over $26,000.

See the Policies and Instructions above for additional information on award papers.

Grading Process

  • Abstracts will be read in a “blind” fashion. Your text should not reveal the authors or institutions of origin.
  • Graders are orthopaedic surgeons and are members of the Program Committee. Each abstract is reviewed and graded by at least four graders and the final grade is then averaged.
  • Grade is influenced by: significance of the study, content and clarity, specific number of cases or specimen studies, clinical or research data to support its conclusions, minimum follow-up of 2 years per patient for results describing reconstructive procedures, and new or modified techniques as they relate to diagnosis, surgery, complications or other phases of orthopaedic surgical problems

Nonmember Submission Fee

There is a $25 submission fee per abstract for non members. Current WOA Members can submit abstracts for free. Click here to join WOA and submit as many abstracts as you'd like for free