Presenting your medical research poster is mostly science, but it’s also art.
That is one takeaway that medical students had after presenting their first posters during the AMA Poster Showcase that brought together medical student researchers to present their work across a wide array of topics.
For medical students looking to hone their research skills, the AMA offers resources and programs that bring you from the basics all the way to the AMA Research Challenge where you can compete for a $10,000 prize.
Tell a story
A poster board doesn’t need hard data to have an impact.
While volunteering at a shelter in Kalamazoo, Michigan, third-year Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine student Ravi Trived noticed that children in the facility were often left without enrichment activities. To address that, Trivedi and classmate Jeff Nosek created an after-school program at the facility aiming to educate students on basic science concepts, share foundational knowledge about how science and health are intertwined, and spark an interest in medicine. The program holds weekly sessions that draw parents and children.
“The reason we wanted to present this poster is because we wanted to reach out to other medical students and see if this is something they wanted to recreate in their communities,” said Trivedi, an AMA member. “We were able to set up this entire teaching program in a year. So far we’ve seen really good progress with the kids really liking it and the parents at the shelters saying it’s really beneficial for their kids’ education.”
“We didn’t have as much hard data as a lot of other posters,” said Trivedi of his presentation at the 2023 AMA Poster Showcase, held in November. “What we did do is tell our story and put a road map out there of our experiences.”
The AMA Research Challenge is the largest national, multispecialty medical research conference for medical students and residents to showcase and present research. AMA members have the opportunity to determine the winner of this year’s event by scoring the top-rated research posters at the virtual Research Challenge Poster Symposium and Semifinals, Nov. 7–9. Register (members only).
Dive deeper:
- 4 tips for medical students to get their start as researchers
- Medical student research FAQ: Get started, showcase your work
Seek expert input
Four years ago, The Ohio State University (OSU) College of Medicine Office of Global Health helped institute a neonatal resuscitation training program to reduce neonatal mortality in low-resourced settings such as Kenya. After sitting through a presentation on the program, Ellena Privitera asked a natural follow-up: How well did it work?
The poster presented by Privitera, a third-year medical student at OSU College of Medicine, detailed retention of educators and health care workers who trained in the Helping Babies Breathe program. The findings indicated that most use the lessons learned on a frequent basis and share the teachings with colleagues.
Privitera, an AMA member, is interested in global health, but as a first-time poster presenter she leaned on those who have demonstrated expertise in the field.
“I presented this to other global health researchers at Ohio State before doing this poster,” Privitera said. “There was some data that I chose to omit because they questioned the validity of it or they thought it might not fit with what our research objectives were. That feedback really helped me decide what to put on this poster.”
Dive deeper:
- AMA Research Challenge: How to prepare a research poster
- What you need to know to ace a poster abstract
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Keep it simple
While your research may be very in the weeds, your poster should be accessible.
Now a pediatrics resident at Phoenix Children’s Hospital, Leah Rotenbakh, presented her first poster as a fourth-year medical student at Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Her project investigated radiation therapy tolerance in the treatment of breast cancer among carriers of the ataxia-telangiectasia mutant gene.
“The hardest part is taking this very complex topic and simplifying it. You want everybody to understand it, not just experts in a field.
“It’s very important to make your poster succinct and attention grabbing,” said Rotenbakh, an AMA member. “Now that I’m here looking around at all the other posters, I realize how little time you have to make an impression. Because of that, I probably would have used more graphics to convey data if I did my poster again.”
Dive deeper:
- 1st-time poster presenters offer tips on medical student research
- Poster presentation 101: Make your work stand out at a conference
