Advice on APNA Call for Abstracts from an Expert

January 2023

Patricia Mulvaney-Roth, DNP, MSN, APRN, PMHCNS-BC, AGCNS, Chair of the APNA Scholarly Review Committee, is headed into a busy time of year as submissions for the APNA Call for Abstracts come in.

But she’s ready! Mulvaney-Roth has served on the committee for more than 10 years – making her a go-to person to ask how to submit an abstract that impresses reviewers. (She’s also been a poster reviewer and judge for 10 years.)

“It is an honor to be involved in APNA in this way – reviewing and learning from the abstracts and poster/podium presentations for all these years,” she says.

The Call for Abstracts for the APNA 37th Annual Conference is open now through March 6. While Mulvaney-Roth has some tips for those working on their abstracts, she says there is one thing strong abstracts have in common: “Successful abstracts communicate succinctly what the author will present while being informative, interesting to read, and timely to the profession.”

“Successful abstracts communicate succinctly what the author will present while being informative, interesting to read, and timely to the profession.”

She has a few more tips for those working on abstracts:

Review the APNA Call for Abstracts

• What is this year’s conference theme? Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurses: Novel IDEAS Moving Whole Health Forward (Inclusion Diversity Equity Access de-Stigmatization)
• Who is the audience? PMH RNs and APRNs from across the spectrum of practice, administration, education, and research.
• What is the abstract format, including word limit? Approximately 250 words (So say more with less!)

Get familiar with the concepts found in a great abstract:

• Significance and novelty of the problem
• Clearly defined purpose
• Methods (design, setting, patient population, outcome measures, description of practice or protocol)
• Results or outcomes that answer the question with data
• A conclusion that interprets and has impact

Increase your chances of acceptance by:

• Asking yourself: What is an important question to my colleagues?
• Following directions exactly in the APNA Call for Abstracts
• Getting input from all authors and colleagues
• Proofreading several times, including asking others to do so
• Cutting out a few words each time you read it

How are abstracts evaluated?

• Immediate impact
• Informative
• Significant problem
• Clearly written abstract
• Data
• Striking conclusion

Remember, your abstract is the key to your work being accepted! Understand how the abstracts are evaluated. 

>>> Start your abstract for the APNA 37th Annual Conference at Disney Coronado Springs Resort today!

About APNA: The American Psychiatric Nurses Association is a national professional membership organization committed to the practice of psychiatric-mental health nursing and wellness promotion, prevention of mental health problems, and the care and treatment of persons with psychiatric disorders. APNA’s membership is inclusive of all psychiatric-mental health registered nurses including associate degree, baccalaureate, advanced practice (comprised of clinical nurse specialists and psychiatric nurse practitioners), and nurse scientists and academicians (PhD). APNA serves as a resource for psychiatric-mental health nurses to engage in networking, education, and the dissemination of evidence. The American Psychiatric Nurses Association is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.