Welcome to this issue of the American Heart Association's Council on Cardiovascular Nursing (CCVN) Department. This page is meant to foster the sharing of clinical and research endeavors related to cardiovascular nursing and to familiarize readers with Council activities.
How-to Session
How to Prepare a Podium Presentation for Scientific Sessions
* Most oral presentations are 10 to 12 minutes in length, with a 3- to 5-minute question and answer period. The time limit is usually very strict; therefore, planning and practicing are important.
* Plan about 1 slide per minute, not including the title slide. The order of presentation is usually: Background, Purpose, Study Aims, Methods, Results, Limitations, Conclusions, and Implications for Practice.
* Pointers for making slides:
* No more than 7 lines long and 7 words wide
* Use legible type, colors, and a variety of formats (word slides, graphs, tables) to maintain interest. Dark blue with white or yellow lettering is always safe. Don't mix backgrounds.
* Many organizations now require that slides be prepared on MS PowerPoint and mailed, e-mailed or otherwise downloaded ahead of the session.
* Visit the room where you will present your paper to familiarize yourself with the setting and AV equipment.
* The question and answer period. People remember bad answers more that the content of the talk. Be prepared!! Practice in front of colleagues. Answer in no more than 3 sentences. If you don't know the answer, restate the question or ask for clarification.
Scientific Sessions, November 2004
Congratulations to the 3 finalists for the 2004 Martha N. Hill New Investigator Award who presented their research at the Scientific Sessions in New Orleans in November. Dr Lorraine Evangelista (UCLA) presented her work titled "Physical Activity Patterns in Heart Transplant Women." Using actigraphs and patient self-report, the study assessed the relationship between physical activity, quality of life (QOL), and other relevant health indicators. She found that a majority of female transplant recipients remained sedentary and activity focused primarily around household tasks. Dr Wen-Wen Li (UCSF) reported on "Cultural Factors of Chinese Immigrants as Predictors of Hypertensive Medication Compliance." Among other things, she found that lower perceived susceptibility, higher perceived benefits of Chinese herbs, lower perceived benefits of Western medications, and longer length of stay in the United States were predictors of noncompliance. The winner of this year's award, Dr Philip Moons (Katholieke University of Leuven, Belgium), presented his study "Adults with Congenital Heart Disease Have a Better Quality of Life Than Healthy Counterparts." This study compared QOL and perceived health in adults with congenital heart disease with healthy matched controls. Interestingly, adults with congenital disease perceived their QOL to be better than healthy matched controls'; however, patients and controls perceived their health as being equivalent.
Featured Award: Early Career Clinical Nursing Award (Contributor: Carol Mason, RN, ANP)
At this year's Scientific Sessions, the CCVN was especially excited about the announcement of a new award titled "Early Career Clinical Nursing Award," which recognizes outstanding endeavors by clinical nurses who are in the first 5 years of practice. This award also promotes professional growth and recognizes innovation in clinical practice. The award includes free registration to the Scientific Sessions and tickets to the Council dinner along with $500 in cash and recognition at the Council dinner. While this award was not handed out this year, we anticipate a number of outstanding applicants next year (deadline early June 2005). If you, or someone you know, exemplifies the best in clinical nursing, please consider applying.
Interested applicants for this prestigious award must be a clinical nurse (RN) in the first 5 years of practice with a BS or equivalent, be members of AHA, and they must also be an active volunteer at the local, affiliate, or national level of the American Heart Association. Besides the application form, a clinical exemplar, with references, detailing a case presentation of no more than 5 pages is also required. A letter of sponsorship from the applicant's nurse manager or advanced practice nurse who is familiar with the applicant's clinical practice should be attached along with a curriculum vitae.
Information and applications can be found at http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3020682. It is now mandatory that applicants or nominees for this or any CCVN award submit an application form and all required elements in one PDF file through an electronic submission site on the AHA Web site. See Web site for details.
* Become a CCVN member. (http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=634).
* Read Council Connections Newsletter on the Web.
* Scan the CCVN home page for new announcements, events, and e-mail updates.
* Check out the CCVN committees and volunteer.
* Plan to attend the 2005 Scientific Sessions in Dallas.