International Paper Presentation

This topic has been revolving in my mind for almost 2 months already.  And it kept bugging me (yeah, I'm that neurotic).  I guess I just have to finally blog about it so it will get off my chest and I can concentrate on studying for my in-service exams.

I'm not an expert on this stuff and I'm writing this merely on my experiences.

So how can one resident from a developing country get to present a research paper in the international community?

Well first of all, you got to have a research paper, and have it approved by the ethics committee. I know having it approved is a pain and a challenge you have to hurdle, but it makes your life once your paper gets accepted for presentation more easier.

2nd is that you have to believe in your paper. Yup this emotion is important (at least in my opinion), you and your paper are in this together, and your paper needs your moral support too you know.  Have your paper checked also by others before submitting, especially your adviser/co-author. He/she may give you more insights to make it better and your wrong spellings will be corrected.  Be prepared also emotionally to be shouted upon at anytime of the day (yup, even at 1am) because of your errors and lousy writing.  Just keep in mind that both your adviser and you were aiming at the same thing, to have it accepted.

3rd, of course is that you have to look for the international convention.  Look for the international conventions and look at their requirements and deadlines.  Each convention has a different set of rules and regulations, and you have to follow them.  We don't want your paper getting rejected for mere technicality right?

4th, SUBMIT your paper with your adviser's approval before or on the deadline date.  During this time you will get negative thoughts actually, I'm just a mere resident, this might not even get accepted.  I had this when I was 1st yr, 2nd yr urology.  But eventually I told myself, "I'm just submitting anyways, if it gets accepted I'll be happy, if not, then there's nothing to lose." Yeah nothing to lose, only you will know actually, you'll receive an email if yo get rejected, and you can even not tell it to anyone else right? So what's there to be afraid of?

PS: Also another tip, when asking for your adviser's approval for submission.  Be sure to have it in writing, whether email, or text message and save it! My senior actually advised me regarding this, at first I thought it's impolite to inform your adviser of such important event just by texting or email, so I did inform them personally actually and they agreed, but eventually they forgot that they approved of it so you ended up with a punishment instead.  So I learned my lesson, I document my conversations with these things because you'll never know when they suddenly forget, and you'll have no way to defend yourself.  

5th, once you submitted, pray and wait for it.  The different conventions each have their own style of informing you.  Most of the time they'll write the date when the accepted abstracts will be released.  Either you'll receive the news through email, or you have to log-in to their respective websites.

And don't be discouraged, if you get a rejection letter.  Just think of it as your paper may not be what they think is appropriate for their convention. 

For the above paper that was rejected, I submitted that paper also to another convention and it was accepted for presentation.  So it doesn't mean that if one rejected your paper, it's trash already, you can try in another international convention. (After all only you know you got rejected right? And the international convention committee doesn't even know your face to remember you were rejected.)

Here's another example wherein you have to log-in to their website to know if your abstract was accepted. 

6th, once you got accepted and started jumping with joy for the acceptance.  You first inform of your joy with your loved ones, yup, your parents, your boyfriend/girlfriend, your husband/wife.  Then you inform your adviser.

7th, now comes the most difficult part.  Getting money to fund for your trip.  Each institution has their own set of rules, how to apply for grant, requirements etc.  Either you want to apply or not, that's your choice.  And the amount you'll receive also depends on the institution you're applying.  For me, this was the most difficult part, the money.  Most of the time presenting abroad, you're on your own financially, you ask help from parents, relatives etc.  Yeah, sad to say that's the reality of it, we're in a developing country and not everyone has the money to give to you to fund for your trip.  Although some international conventions actually give financial support for those residents presenting, one of my senior actually was granted funding for his research presentation in Australia.  So if the international convention has it, it doesn't hurt to apply anyways.  Also you have to compute for the registration, plane fare, the airbnb/hotel, plus your daily expenses for your food.  You have to compute for your budget on this one and decide if you could go or not. Be prepared to spend everything out of your pocket.

So yeah, getting accepted is just the easy part, getting there is the most difficult part.  Also before you decide to go, you have to ask permission also from your consultants. And as I said before, Document the approval. With the same reasons I've stated earlier.

PS: One way or another, you may have to turn down the opportunity of presenting internationally, either finances, not allowed, etc.  Sad as it may be, but always remember, your paper was accepted! And that mere fact, no one can ever grab from you, it will always be in your heart and mind as your personal achievement.

8th, you look at which type of presentation you got accepted.  There are different types of presentation, look into your convention information page on their specifics but usually these are the different types:

1. e-poster/unmoderated poster - here, you usually stand beside your poster and wait for people to read it and ask questions, sometimes, you get questions, sometimes you don't.  In my experience, most of the time I didn't get questions.  This is also the least stressful of all presentations. You need a poster also for this either printed or digital.

   

   Here's an example of eposter presentation

2. moderated poster presentation - here you're usually asked to present your paper in a specific time limitation, usually this involves powerpoint presentation with a panel of consultants who will ask you some questions.  Also the audience can ask questions as well. You need poster for this as well either printed or digital.

   

   Here the moderator asked me a question I couldn't answer!
   
   

   

   Here, you can see all those doctors, there were the assigned who will ask the questions.

3. Podium presentation - here, usually gives you longer time for presentation than the moderated poster. There's a moderator as well to ask you questions and the audience can ask you as well. Hm... I don't have a picture for this one since I haven't experienced presenting in a podium presentation.  Actually I have a picture of one of Filipino residents who did a podium presentation, I just have to look for it somewhere here in my phone.

9th Never forget to prepare for it right? You don't want getting embarrassed in front of the international audience! So study your piece! Ask your adviser if you need to undergo mock presentations with him or an audience before you go there. 

10th Enjoy the experience and ask someone to take a picture of you so that you'll have a souvenir for yourself and you have proof to your consultants that you didn't play around during the convention.  You did a job representing your institution in an international convention.  

11th, you talk to your research paper, and tell it, "Thank you, we've done this together! Job well done!"  I'm sure your research paper will tell you, "Thank you for believing in me." Then you look for your paper online, some conventions actually publish the abstracts, get the URL of it, screenshot it, download the pdf version and save it in your computer / laptop!

12th the last and most important of all, you thank through prayer.  Thank your parents, loved ones who supported you.  Thank your adviser/consultants who helped you prepare for your presentation.