2023 IDC Call for Proposals

The Conference Planning Committee is seeking proposals that empower interdisciplinary teams on the following topics:

Building Clinical Effectiveness
How is your clinical team…

• • • Reducing care variability?
    • Approaching clinical interventions using measured health outcomes?
    • Transforming clinical care teams?
    • Engaging patients in their care?
    • Developing networks and coordinating care across the continuum?
    • Leveraging the latest research to ensure clinicians are engaging in evidence-based practice?
    • Engaging with your community?
    • Updating care models based on DEI, social determinants of care, etc.?
    • Orienting those new to the hospice and palliative care field?

Creating a Culture of Safety
How is your interdisciplinary team…

• • • Reducing serious safety events and errors?
    • Eliminating health acquired conditions?
    • Using data to improve quality and safety outcomes?
    • Implementing safety measures in a variety of settings?
    • Improving care standardization and eliminating care variability across settings?
    • Empowering the caregiver to speak up?
    • Advancing patient, caregiver, and clinician engagement?
    • Effectively communicating to reduce patient harm?
    • Advocating for and investing in training on clinician safety?
    • Connecting quality, regulatory compliance, and value-based care?
    • Creating patient centered quality measures?
    • Balancing patient autonomy/right to self-determination with ensuring patient safety?
    • Establishing agency-wide standards for patient and clinician safety?

Fostering High Reliability Organizations
How is your organization…

• • • Developing an interdisciplinary team who embrace and model the work?
    • Creating a Just Culture of shared accountability?
    • Using design thinking to improve patient outcomes?
    • Achieving effective case management and highly reliable care?
    • Connecting compliance, ethics, and outcomes?
    • Monitoring and conducting self-assessments around quality outcomes?
    • Structuring and evaluating a compliant and effective QAPI Program?
    • Using the STAR rating system to improve quality?
    • Using PI tools, like FMEA, RCA, etc.?
    • Providing self-care for clinicians and support for caregivers?
    • Understanding the implications of future hospice audits?
    • Planning for use of HCI data to improve organizational operations?
    • Generating, tracking, and submitting data for the CMS’ HQRP?

Transforming the Health Care Delivery System
How is your clinical team preparing for the future by…

• • • Doing things differently and leveraging pandemic innovations?
    • Acknowledging the differences between and increasing diversity, inclusion, equity, and access?
    • Supporting patient and family mental and behavioral health?
    • Understanding the importance and impact of documentation?
    • Increasing value and efficiency of care related to risk adjustments?
    • Avoiding preventable financial loss by training the team about the effects of bedside efforts?
    • Collecting and analyzing claims data and internal reporting?
    • Providing effective and efficient care transitions?
    • Building community alliances and partnerships to better manage care?
    • Coordinating and collaborating with external healthcare partners?
    • Using measurements with social determinants of health?
    • Growing a quality culture that engages staff?
    • Maximizing the role of each member of the interdisciplinary team?

The audience for IDC23 is hospice and palliative care interdisciplinary teams and individuals. Proposals should be geared toward one or more of the following to encourage interdisciplinary learning and collaboration:

• • • Bereavement Professionals
    • Hospice or Palliative Care Novice
    • Integrative & Rehabilitation Therapies
    • Nurse or Nursing Assistant
    • Pediatric Professionals
    • Pharmacist
    • Physician or Advanced Practice Provider
    • Quality Professionals
    • Social Workers
    • Spiritual Caregivers
    • Volunteer Managers

Guidelines for Prospective Faculty:

• • • A maximum of two proposals will be selected per organization for the conference. Organizations may submit more proposals with the understanding the planning committee will select a maximum of two.
    • Where programs are direct providers of hospice and palliative care, preference will be given to members of NHPCO.
    • Individuals or organizations that are not providers of hospice or palliative care are encouraged to include a hospice and palliative care provider in their proposal.
    • Proposals submitted by individuals working for ineligible companies will only be accepted if:
      • • The content is not related to the business lines or products of their employer/company, or
        • The content is limited to basic science research, such as preclinical research and drug discovery, or the methodologies of research, and they do not make care recommendations.
        • The content is non-clinical, such as leadership or communication skills training.
        • To accompany the new framework and innovative topics of this conference, the planning committee is looking for diversity of thought to educate hospice and palliative care teams. Please consider including faculty from diverse backgrounds and leadership stages, as well as those who have not presented at a previous NHPCO conference.
        • Plan your submission in advance. We suggest that you first collect your thoughts for your proposal before going to the online form. Once you have your ideas and all necessary information together, go the online form. Download a Sample Form
        • Don’t underestimate the importance of instructional flow/design. Adult learning theory suggests that the best learning environments are those that are collaborative and utilize a problem-based approach.
        • Avoid all commercial bias. Sessions perceived by attendees as commercially biased in content (including use of client examples or proprietary tools/models) are unacceptable. Any submission that is not educational in nature, neutral and unbiased, replicable by attendees without the author’s assistance, and free of commercial motive/intent will not be accepted. If accepted, those in violation of this policy may forfeit future speaking opportunities.
        • All accepted faculty must register. Faculty received a reduced conference rate.

This outline describes the information required to successfully complete and submit a proposal. We recommend that you plan your submission in advance. To do so, we suggest that you download this Sample Form which mirrors the online abstract form. Once you have your ideas and all necessary information together, go the online form to submit your proposal.

To allow an independent evaluation of the relevance and potential effectiveness of the presentation and afford the planning committee the opportunity to provide or apply for continuing education credit for professional disciplines all fields must be completed. Please confirm information is correct and accurate.

Proposal information

30, 45, and 60-minute educational sessions and poster presentations may be submitted at this time.

Required fields are denoted with an asterisk (*). Also, word count restrictions or any other unique characteristics about a particular field are noted with “[  ].”

All proposals should be submitted online. Each proposal submitted must contain Presenter/Author information and a completed abstract.

Abstract information will be used in conference marketing materials and the conference website to describe your presentation and what attendees will learn.

Presentations should demonstrate measurable impact and results. Your emphasis should be on the application of the concept or solution presented using simulations, exercises and tools that enhance the learning experience. Conference participant feedback indicates that attendees are looking for “real-world” examples of what works and “how-to” suggestions to implement new ideas and programs.

Faculty Information

Review and update contact information.

Faculty Agreement [checkbox: I agree…*]

You will be asked to read and accept the faculty agreements to submit your proposal.

Faculty Biography*

You will be asked to submit a short professional biography.

Faculty Headshot/Photo

You will be asked to upload your headshot/photo.

Proposal Title* [limit – 55 characters – special characters are discouraged]

Provide a catchy title that summarizes the essence of the proposal or illustrates what attendees will take away from the presentation.

Presentation Type* [select one]

The conference will include a combination of live online and on-demand education sessions, as well as posters. How do you prefer to deliver this presentation or are you submitting a poster?

• • • Live Online
    • On-Demand
    • Either Live Online or On-Demand
    • Online Poster

Interactive Components* [limit – 50 words]

Since you chose to present live online, please describe all discussion, experiential, or participatory aspects of the session.

Session Length* [select one]

There will be live, online blocks for various session lengths, please select the session lengths you are willing to present. Please be advised that depending on the schedule, you may be asked to shorten or extend your session. On-demand sessions must be a minimum of 30 minutes.

• • • Shorter session, either 30- or 45-minute session
    • Longer session, either 45- or 60-minute session

Teaching Strategies* [select one or more]

• • • Audio/Video Clips
    • Case Study
    • Demonstration
    • Discussion/Breakout Rooms
    • Experiential Activities
    • Lecture with Slides
    • Lessons Learned
    • Panel
    • Patient Perspective

Conference Topic (Track)* [select one]

The following areas of emphasis will be featured in proposals at this conference. Select the one that best fits your proposal content. For more guidance on the areas of emphasis, please reference conference topics above.

• • • Building Clinical Effectiveness
    • Creating a Culture of Safety
    • Fostering High Reliability Organizations
    • Transforming the Health Care Delivery System

Audience* [select only one to three]

The target audience for this conference are hospice and palliative care teams and individuals. Please select only one to three interdisciplinary team member(s) that your proposal is geared to:

• • • Bereavement Professionals
    • Hospice or Palliative Care Novice
    • Integrative & Rehabilitation Therapies
    • Nurse or Nursing Assistants
    • Pediatric Professionals
    • Pharmacist
    • Physician or Advanced Practice Provider
    • Quality Professionals
    • Social Workers
    • Spiritual Care Givers
    • Volunteer Managers

Proposal Description* [limit – 75 words]

Please provide a brief synopsis of your proposal describing the initiative, project, or discussion topic. The description will be shared with conference attendees to market your session or poster. Please spell out all abbreviations.

Knowledge Gaps* [limit – 50 words]

Describe the gap(s) in knowledge, practice or outcomes that underlies the need for this session or poster. What do participants need to change or improve?

Learning Outcomes* [limit – 25 words ea]

Two measurable learning outcomes written from the perspective of what participants will learn rather than what faculty will teach (for sessions) or what the poster will present (for posters).

Learning outcomes must describe what participants will be able to do as a result of attending the session or viewing the poster. Learning outcomes must be stated as observable behaviors, completing the sentence "After completing this activity, participants will be able to..." Verbs denoting mental states such as "know," "understand," and "appreciate" should be avoided. Instead, use action verbs such as "describe," "discuss," and "explain."

• • • Outcomes 1* [limit – 25 words]
    • Outcomes 2* [limit – 25 words]

Interdisciplinary Team Impact* [limit – 50 words]

Provide details on how this proposal advances and supports the interdisciplinary team in relation to quality and safety issues.

Detailed Content Outline* [limit – 1 page]

Identify all major topics that will be covered in the presentation. Describe all discussion, experiential or participatory aspects of the session. Make sure to include how this presentation is innovative and addresses quality and safety relevant to the interdisciplinary team. This information helps abstract reviewers discern whether the session will have broad interest, appeal, applicability.

References and Citations*

Provide at least two references (professional publications, books and/or research from the past five years) that support and document the evidence-base or content validity of the proposal.

The Conference Program Committee values strong references and good proposals may be declined because of insufficient references.

Team Discussion* [limit – 75 words]

Faculty will be asked to add a Team Discussion Guide to the end of their presentation. What key points do you want attendees to discuss and communicate with their team? What key points would you want someone new to hospice to take away from your presentation?

Has this proposal been featured at other national conference(s)?* [select Y or N]

If yes, please list the past conferences where this information has been presented.

If selected, would this be your first time presenting at an NHPCO conference? [select Y or N]

If no, would you consider inviting a co-presenter/mentee/mentor figure who would be a first-time faculty?

Are you a vendor?* [select Y or N]

If yes, please consider inviting a provider to present with you as this will increase your chances of being selected to present. If unable to do this, consider incorporating a case study about a provider in your session.

Financial Relationship Disclosure* Updated for 2022

Do you have any financial relationships with ineligible companies in the past 24 months? [select Y or N]

Please review carefully as the Financial Disclosure requirements have changed and confirm whether your organization is an eligible company.

As a prospective faculty member, NHPCO would like to ask for your help in protecting our learning environment from industry influence.

NHPCO endorses the ACCME Standards for Integrity and Independence for Continuing Medical Education with the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), which requires that we disqualify individuals who refuse to provide this information from involvement in the planning and implementation of accredited continuing education.

Please disclose all financial relationships that you have had in the past 24 months with ineligible companies (see definition below). There is no minimum financial threshold; we ask that you disclose all financial relationships, regardless of the amount, with ineligible companies. You should disclose all financial relationships regardless of the potential relevance of each relationship to the education.

An ineligible company is any entity whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients. For specific examples of ineligible companies visit accme.org/standards.

Examples of financial relationships include employee, researcher, consultant, advisor, speaker, independent contractor (including contracted research), royalties or patent beneficiary, executive role, and ownership interest. Individual stocks and stock options should be disclosed; diversified mutual funds do not need to be disclosed. Research funding from ineligible companies should be disclosed by the principal or named investigator even if that individual’s institution receives the research grant and manages the funds.

If you selected “Yes” above, please disclose your financial relationships below.

For each financial relationship, enter the name of the ineligible company, the nature of the financial relationship(s), and whether the relationship has ended.

There is no minimum financial threshold; we ask that you disclose all financial relationships, regardless of the amount, with ineligible companies. You should disclose all financial relationships regardless of the potential relevance of each relationship to the education.

Comments to NHPCO Staff [limit – 50 words]

Proposal authors will receive an email notification after the selection of proposals is complete. Proposals will be accepted (live virtual, pre-recorded on-demand, or poster presentation), declined, contingent until cleared the financial disclosure mitigation process or, placed in a “tentative” group that are awaiting an opening in the conference program. If the tentative proposal moves to accepted, faculty will be notified approximately four to six weeks prior to the conference. We receive many excellent proposal submissions, please understand that it is a difficult and highly selective process.

Faculty of accepted proposals will be directed to a conference faculty webpage where requirements and deadlines will be detailed, and questions addressed.

NHPCO’s proposal review process is conducted by members of the Conference Planning Committee, which ensures a rigorous review of every proposal. This Committees consist of members from the Professional Education Committee, representatives from professional disciplines for which NHPCO offers continuing education credit, the MyNHPCO communities, NHPCO Committees and Councils, NHPCO staff and other hospice and palliative care professionals.

Proposals are selected based on information submitted. Faculty substitutions, deletions, or additions must be approved by NHPCO. NHPCO reserves the right to edit accepted presentations for publication on NHPCO’s website and in conference marketing and informational materials.

Presentations are selected through this Call for Proposals. NHPCO is looking for diversity of thought from faculty. A detailed description of each faculty member’s education, qualifications, familiarity with the audience and presentation experience is required. Proposals are reviewed and rated based on the following criteria.

• • • Relevance/Interest: Is the proposal timely and relevant to the interdisciplinary team? Is the topic related to the conference topics above? What is the likelihood of significant interest and appeal to the interdisciplinary team for this session?
    • Impactful: Does the proposal share practical information: tools, tips, practices, etc., that attendees will be able to implement and utilize following the presentation?
    • Innovation: Will the proposal share unique or innovative strategies to address a common challenge for the conference audience?
    • Faculty: Does the faculty have the appropriate and relevant experience? If multiple presenters, is there diversity of thought or experience? Is the reference information relevant?
    • Program Design: Is the presentation outline well organized, with interactive components to engage leaders to learn from each other? Are the learning outcomes measurable and achievable?

Where programs are direct providers of hospice and palliative care, preference will be given to members of NHPCO. Proposals submitted by individuals working for ineligible companies will be considered contingent until they have cleared the mitigation process and will only be accepted if:

• • • The content is not related to the business lines or products of their employer/company, or
    • The content is limited to basic science research, such as preclinical research and drug discovery, or the methodologies of research, and they do not make care recommendations.
    • The content is non-clinical, such as leadership or communication skills training.

The Conference Planning Committee may provide feedback and recommendations to proposal authors. The feedback and recommendations ensure that program content is timely, relevant, and optimally targeting attendee needs. At times, proposal acceptance is contingent upon addressing Committee feedback, in these instances, feedback is relayed prior to the final selection phase. In general, feedback is provided to strengthen the session and NHPCO staff will relay feedback and recommendations during the faculty prep calls.

Submit Your Proposal Today!

Questions: education@nhpco.org