Call for Presentation Proposals

NHPCOÂ’s 16th Clinical Team Conference and Pediatric Intensive:
Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center, Grapevine, Texas

October 13 � 14, 2015: Hospice Manager Development Program Foundational Course and Pediatric Palliative Care Training
October 14, 2015: Preconference Seminars
October 15 � 17, 2015: Clinical Team Conference and Pediatric Intensive

Presentation Proposal Deadline: Monday, March 2, 2015, 11:59 pm ET

"You can always amend a big plan, but you can never expand a little one. I don't believe in little plans. I believe in plans big enough to meet a situation which we can't possibly foresee now."
Harry S. Truman (1884 � 1972)

NHPCO's 16th Clinical Team Conference and Pediatric Intensive (CTC) will gather innovators, visionaries, dedicated practitioners and all committed to the continued development and expansion of hospice and palliative care. The field demands "plans big enough to meet a situation which we can't possibly foresee now;" thus the conference will focus on "expanding the mission" to ensure that the right care is provided at the right time to all eligible and appropriate patients and families.

Whether you provide care to patients and families directly through interdisciplinary practice, manage interdisciplinary team staff, lead quality efforts or are responsible for related practices and processes, you need to keep pace with evidence-based practice, adapt and respond to impending changes in the field, work in partnership with your community to meet patient and family needs across the care continuum and ensure that every component of the care and services you provide is excellent. The CTC will help you do just that!

NHPCO's 16th Clinical Team Conference and Pediatric Intensive will offer extensive and intensive basic, intermediate and advanced educational sessions that will address a wide variety of topics. The Conference Planning Committee is particularly interested in receiving proposals for advanced (for the expert) and intermediate (for the proficient) topics that will help participants to realize these objectives:

  • Expand care provided in diverse settings to diverse populations;
  • Improve the function and practice of interdisciplinary teams;
  • Enhance the quality of evidence-based, ethical, effective and efficient care at the end of life;
  • Highlight innovative and advanced approaches for medical, psychosocial, spiritual and bereavement care;
  • Improve the assessment of patient, family and community needs;
  • Champion new approaches that increase access to care;
  • Measure the quality of care, services and the systems that provide it;
  • Ensure regulatory compliance;
  • Expand pediatric palliative and hospice care for children and their families;
  • Participate in self-care opportunities;
  • Strengthen networking, discussion and sharing among hospice and palliative care professionals.

You are invited to submit a proposal that demonstrates significant work and achievement in meeting one or more of the conference objectives identified above. Although all professional disciplines will be represented in the educational content and interdisciplinary team practice is a key focal area, psychosocial and spiritual topics in particular are being sought. Help ensure that hospice and palliative care professionals have the knowledge, skill and competency to ensure the provision of excellence in care now and into the future.

The 16th Clinical Team Conference and Pediatric Intensive will provide an array of offerings through numerous venues to help individuals and organizations pursue innovation and excellence and to facilitate professional networking and sharing, including:

  • Pediatric Palliative Care Training (preconference seminar ) and Pediatric Intensive
  • Hospice Manager Development Program
  • Preconference Seminars
  • Concurrent sessions (60 minutes)
  • Workshops (limited number of 90 minute sessions)
  • Memorial Service
  • Reflection Room and Self-care learning opportunities

Steps and Instructions:

  1. Proposal Notification

    The status of your proposal will be sent to you in May; your proposal will be accepted, rejected or, in some cases, tentatively accepted (i.e. awaiting an opening in the conference schedule of educational sessions so that it can be accepted/scheduled).

  2. Target Audience

    Over 1,000 people are expected to attend the 16th Clinical Team Conference and Pediatric Intensive including all members of the hospice/palliative care team and community stakeholders, administrators, bereavement professionals, counselors, educators, managers, nurse practitioners, nurses, pharmacists, physicians, researchers, social workers, spiritual caregivers, team leaders, volunteers , volunteer leaders and managers and others working to promote innovation and excellence.

  3. Selection of Conference Faculty

    Preconference and plenary faculty are invited by NHPCO staff. Concurrent and workshop presentations are selected through this Call for Presentation Proposals. Preference is given to those with significant expertise and experience presenting at national, state and community events, and a detailed description of the presenter�s education, qualifications and presentation experience is required. In addition, each faculty member is required to disclose any relevant financial relationships he/she may have with commercial companies (see Disclosure of Relevant Financial Relationships with Commercial Companies below).

    NHPCO seeks proposals from a wide variety of professionals involved in end-of-life care; however preference is given to those who are affiliated with an NHPCO member (if applicable).

  4. Required Information

    The Conference Planning Committee has asked that we stress the importance of completing all requested information for each prospective presenter, which includes educational background, qualifications, professional and presentation experience and disclosure. Conference Planning Committee members review all proposals submitted and their reviews help determine whether a proposal is selected for the conference. Inadequate and/or incomplete information is not viewed favorably by reviewers and directly affects the acceptance of proposals. To ensure your proposal is given serious consideration, provide all requested information in the online submission format and ensure that any co-presenters complete required information before proposals enter the review process (generally within one week of the deadline date for the Call for Proposals).

  5. Types of Presentations

    The Conference Planning Committee is seeking proposals in the following categories:
    • 90 Minute Workshops (must include participant involvement in the learning experience): Workshops and/or skill-building sessions that present an in-depth exploration of a new model, theory or program or research topic and/or teach new approaches or skills to the audience. Note: Very few workshops will be selected for this conference; make sure your proposal for a 90 minute session meets the criteria.
    • 60 Minute Concurrent Sessions: Concurrent sessions provide an overview of an innovative program or project, presentation of findings from a research project or quality improvement initiative, review of regulatory changes or highlight industry trends and include a brief Q & A period.
  6. Disclosure of Relevant Financial Relationships with Commercial Companies

    NHPCO endorses the Standards of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the American Nurses Credentialing Commission (ANCC) and other professional bodies which specify that sponsors (i.e. NHPCO) of continuing medical education/continuing education activities disclose relevant financial relationships* with commercial interests* whose products or services are discussed in educational presentations.

    NHPCO has implemented a process where everyone who is in a position to control the content of an educational activity must disclose all relevant financial relationships they have with any commercial interest. (This includes NHPCO, as we disclose all educational grants we receive for our conferences.)

    If it is determined that a conflict of interest* exists as a result of a financial relationship faculty has, NHPCO will work with the faculty to resolve the conflict prior to the conference. In the event a conflict cannot be resolved or for any faculty who refuse to disclose relevant financial relationships, faculty will be disqualified from presenting at this conference.

    Under no circumstances should NHPCO�s national conference be used as a place for promotion of a faculty member�s product, service or monetary self-interest. NHPCO takes the responsibility for ensuring that conferences are free from commercial bias very seriously, and may decline all future proposals from a presenter who does not abide by this policy.

    * See below for a glossary of terms.

  7. Presentation Expectations

    All presentations made at NHPCO conferences must adhere to content validation value statements. Specifically, all suggestions or recommendations involving clinical medicine and practice must be based upon evidence that is accepted within the medical profession.

    In addition, all scientific research referred to, reported or used in a conference session must conform to the generally accepted standards of experimental design, data collection and analysis.

    NHPCO faculty is expected to refrain from overt statements, harsh language or pointed humor that disparages the rightful dignity and social equity of any individual or group.

    All materials provided in conference sessions must be reviewed by NHPCO prior to the conference. As a result, deadlines for PowerPoint slides and/or handouts are scheduled well in advance of the conference. Materials not submitted to NHPCO for review in advance will not be available to conference attendees until after the conference; generally two weeks later.

  8. Conference Schedule

    To achieve a balanced conference program, NHPCO will determine the days and times that sessions are scheduled. Presenters must be able to speak on the day assigned. NHPCO reserves the right to change the length of any session; faculty will be notified and asked to adjust their content outline accordingly.

  9. Areas of Emphasis and Topic Ideas

    Key areas of emphasis have been identified for this conference; you will be asked to select one of the areas of emphasis below when you submit your proposal.

    You will be asked to select one of the Areas of Emphasis identified below when submitting your proposal. The list of topic ideas, however, is not exclusive; it is meant to stimulate your thinking. The Conference Planning Committee is particularly interested in proposals that address the conference theme from individual, organizational, community, state, regional or national perspectives.

    Area of Emphasis Examples of Topic Ideas
    Access and Outreach Access to services in rural settings
    Caregiver outreach and education
    Increasing access to eligible patients with specific, non-traditional diagnoses
    Increasing access to underserved populations and communities
    Innovative approaches to community outreach and education
    Successes in providing care in diverse settings
    Successes in VeteransÂ’ services and outreach
    Advances in Pain and Symptom Management Advanced pain and/or symptom management
    Case-based presentations
    Compassionate home extubation
    Innovations in pharmacological and non-pharmacological pain and symptom management
    Managing complex cases
    Pain management and addiction
    Palliative sedation – clinical and ethical implications
    Utilization of complementary therapies to address pain
    Bereavement Advanced bereavement concepts and approaches
    Community outreach through bereavement services
    Evaluating bereavement services/support/ efficacy
    Group, individual and family counseling approaches
    Innovative bereavement services for children, teens and families
    Measuring client adaptation to significant loss
    New risk assessment models and hospiceÂ’s role in responding to complicated bereavement
    Responding to trauma and disaster
    Successes in novel bereavement services to specific populations (i.e. men, teens, children, families, elders, diverse populations, etc.)
    Care Continuum ACO collaborations
    Adult day programs and collaborations
    Chronic care or other models
    Collaborative and/or partnership models
    Solutions to gaps in continuity of care
    Transitions programs that facilitate discussion re: goals of care (curative to palliative)
    Clinical/Medical Care Addressing restlessness at the end of life
    Advances in clinical and/or medical care at the end of life
    Case-based presentations
    Clinical care of the pediatric palliative care/hospice patient
    Communication strategies for clinicians
    Dementia management
    Innovative clinical protocols
    Integration of complementary therapies into interdisciplinary care
    Management of AlzheimerÂ’s
    Management of dyspnea
    Managing the nutrition/GI/GU system
    New approaches to disease management
    New models of assessment and care planning
    Providing quality care during disaster
    Wound care – advanced approaches
    Education Collaboration with universities
    Creative approaches to mentoring and preceptoring
    Developing and utilizing clinical competencies
    Educational program models to prepare for and respond to disaster
    Effective educational programs for staff in long-term care facilities
    Intern and practicum placement successes
    Radically new orientation models
    Skills development for educators and speakers
    Successes in integrating distance/e-learning modalities to train staff, volunteers, family caregivers
    Understanding and educating todayÂ’s workforce
    Ethics Approaches to resolving ethical dilemmas (all ages)
    Case-based ethical discussions and resolutions
    Creating dynamic and effective ethics committees
    Patient autonomy challenges
    Review of new/pressing ethical issues
    Understanding ethics in end-of-life care for the novice (beginner)
    Interdisciplinary Team Advanced practice nurses in the IDT
    Advancing interdisciplinary function and practice
    Demonstrated successes in team leadership
    Dynamic models for team meetings
    Ensuring the provision of patient/family-centered care
    Interdisciplinary best practices
    Interdisciplinary care - Intermediate and advanced practice
    Interdisciplinary cultural competence – working effectively with diverse patients/families
    Innovative models of interdisciplinary care at the end of life
    Radically new team structures or service delivery models
    Staff morale and stress management strategies
    Team function, practice and success during disaster
    Palliative Care Case studies in palliative care
    Clinical issues in palliative care
    Current research in palliative care
    Encouraging physician referrals to palliative care
    Home/community-based palliative care – best practices
    Innovative models of palliative care
    Interdisciplinary team-based approaches to palliative care
    Non-pharmacological interventions in palliative care
    Palliative care partnerships
    Palliative care quality metrics
    Patient/community palliative care marketing strategies
    Poly-pharmacy and palliative care
    Psychosocial and spiritual issues in palliative care
    The financial case for palliative care
    Transitional palliative care programs
    Pediatric Palliative and End-of-Life Care Concurrent care and Waiver program
    Home-based pediatric care for children and their families
    Innovative approaches to working with families coping with a childÂ’s serious illness
    Ethical considerations and challenges in pediatric palliative care
    New approaches to pediatric palliative care
    Pediatric pain and symptom management protocols
    Program design strategies for starting or expanding a pediatric program
    Bereavement services for children, teens and families
    Psychosocial care of pediatric patients and their families
    Residential pediatric palliative care models
    Selected typical trajectories for life-limiting pediatric diseases
    Spiritual care of pediatric patients and their families
    Successes in clinical care protocols for pediatric populations
    Transitioning care for children who survive to adulthood
    Psychosocial Care Addressing the needs of caregivers
    Advocacy success models (community, interdisciplinary, community)
    Effective counseling models for end-of-life care
    Interdisciplinary models of psychosocial care
    Psychosocial care – Intermediate and advanced practice
    Psychosocial assessment best practices
    Systems perspectives in psychosocial care
    Trauma and disaster interventions
    Working within family systems, beliefs and values to achieve pain and symptom control
    Quality Assessment/Performance Improvement Demonstrated clinical outcomes in performance improvement
    Demonstrated quality and outcomes in clinical practice
    Implementing organizational approaches to performance improvement
    Innovative models of quality clinical care
    Lessons from programs that have survived disasters
    Quality Partner demonstration projects in clinical areas
    Quality collaborative successes in clinical services
    Quality and performance improvement in facility-based programs
    Successes in clinical performance improvement projects
    Successes in implementation of organizational change
    Regulatory/Compliance Advances in clinical documentation
    Care plan management
    Documenting eligibility in non-cancer diagnoses
    Effectively managing and documenting revocations, transfers and discharges
    General inpatient care
    Meeting and exceeding regulatory requirements – CoPs, CR5567, etc.
    Managing Medicare audits and denials
    Research Research related to:
    Access and outreach
    Advanced pain and symptom management
    Bereavement
    Clinical/medical care
    Education
    Ethics
    Facility-based care
    Hospice and palliative care for dialysis patients
    Innovative service delivery
    Interdisciplinary team
    Palliative Care
    Pediatric palliative and end-of-life care
    Performance improvement
    Psychosocial care
    Putting research into practice
    Quality
    Regulatory/compliance
    Spiritual care
    Volunteer services
    Spiritual Care Challenges in spiritual caregiving – case based exploration
    Effective spiritual care models for end-of-life care
    Engaging community clergy in end-of-life care
    Interdisciplinary models of spiritual care
    Near-death experiences and other non-traditional spiritual phenomena
    Spiritual care- Intermediate and advanced practice
    Spiritual assessment advances
    Successes in working with diverse religions, traditions and practices
    Systems perspectives in spiritual care
    Volunteer Management and Leadership Creative approaches to volunteerism in end-of-life care settings
    Elder volunteers
    From volunteer manager to volunteer leaders and catalysts for organizational change
    Increasing the diversity of volunteers
    Innovations in recruitment, retention and recognition
    Managing challenging volunteers
    Quality assessment/performance improvement for volunteer programs
    Risk management
    Teen volunteers
    Understanding and complying with the Medicare Hospice
    Conditions of Participation
    Utilizing professional volunteers
    Utilizing skills and talents of volunteers
    Volunteer competency development and measurement/evaluation

    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. Feedback received from previous conferences indicates that attendees are looking for "real-world" examples of what works and "how-to" suggestions to implement new ideas and programs.

  10. Proposal Submission Guidelines

    In order to allow an independent evaluation of the relevance and potential effectiveness of the presentation and to afford us the opportunity to apply for continuing education credit for professional disciplines, submissions must include the following:

    • Presentation type (60-minute concurrent session or 90-minute workshop)
    • Title/Overview
      • A title for the presentation that informs the reviewer of the subject matter
      • Submitter's e-mail address
      • Presentation level (novice, competent or expert)
      • Area of emphasis (you will be asked to select a key topic area for your proposal from a drop-down menu)
    • Presenter(s)
      • A completed �Presenter Profile� for each presenter, which includes the presenter's:
        • Current position
        • Current contact information with email address
        • Highest degree earned and institutions attended
        • Experience
    • Disclosure for each faculty
    • A 2-3 sentence description of the session (to enable attendees to determine their interest in attending)
    • Objectives, Strategies, Gaps and References
      • Three measurable learning objectives (written from the perspective of what participants will learn rather than what the faculty will teach);
      • Identification of teaching strategies
      • Description of what gap in knowledge, practice or outcomes underlies the need for this session
      • Three to five references (professional publications, books and/or research from the past 5 years) that support and document the evidence-base or content validity of the proposal
    • Detailed content outline
      • Identification of all major topics that will be covered in the presentation
      • Detailed description of all discussion, experiential or participatory aspects of the session
      • Adequate information to enable proposal reviewers to discern whether the session will have broad interest, appeal, applicability and whether it will meet one or more of the conference objectives.

    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. Feedback received from previous conferences indicates that attendees are looking for �real-world� examples of what works and �how-to� suggestions to implement new ideas and programs.

  11. Proposal Review and Selection Process

    NHPCO�s proposal review process is conducted by members of the Conference Planning Committee, which ensures a rigorous review of every proposal. This Committee is comprised of hospice and palliative care professionals from NHPCO�s Professional Education Committee, National Council of Hospice and Palliative Professionals (NCHPP), Council of States, NHPCO committees and other hospice palliative care professionals with demonstrated successes and/or knowledge of the hospice interdisciplinary team, clinical, psychosocial, spiritual and bereavement aspects of care and quality/regulatory issues.

    Proposals are reviewed carefully based on the following criteria:

    • Topic is innovative, relevant and/or related to the conference theme, objectives and goals;
    • Time allocation and presentation content are well organized, with an accurate presentation level;
    • Presenter has appropriate and relevant expertise and experience in the topic area;
    • Learning objectives are measurable and achievable, (view sample);
    • Likelihood of significant interest, appeal, and applicability in the setting;
    • Quality of practical information: tools, tips, practices, etc. that attendees will be able to implement and/or utilize following the presentation;
    • Identification of relevant professional practice gaps;
    • Relevant reference information.

    The Conference Planning Committee encourages proposals from companies and organizations representing diverse points of view. Proposals are selected on the basis of information submitted. Faculty, session titles, and content are expected to correspond to the proposal. Any 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 materials.

    All materials provided in conference sessions must be reviewed by NHPCO prior to the conference. As a result, deadlines for session handouts and slides are scheduled well in advance of the conference. Materials not submitted to NHPCO for review in advance may not be shown or provided in conference sessions.

    Should you be selected to speak at this NHPCO conference, we ask that you view the opportunity as an important commitment and ensure that you meet all requests and deadlines, and that you deliver the presentation as scheduled. By sharing your expertise, you make a valuable contribution to the end-of-life care field.

  12. Electronic Communications

    All potential faculty who submit a proposal will receive e-mail notification of their proposal�s status. Once the selection of proposals is complete a confirmation email and other information will be provided to faculty. An electronic message will be sent to all presenters whose proposals were accepted with a link to the Conference Faculty website. This website will include all deadlines and required information needed for the conference. The majority of communication with faculty is electronic.

  13. Faculty Registration Discount

    As a nonprofit association, NHPCO does not provide honoraria for concurrent session presentations. Faculty must cover all of their individual travel and living expenses. All faculty attending the full conference receive a discount on the conference registration fee. NHPCO does not reimburse faculty for travel, lodging or other expenses.

  14. Audio Visual Equipment

    NHPCO provides laptop computers and standard audio-visual equipment for all presentations. Additional information will be provided on the Faculty website.

  15. Glossary of Terms

    Commercial Interest
    A "commercial interest" is any proprietary entity producing health care goods or services, with the exemption of non-profit or government organizations and non-health care related companies.

    Financial relationships

    Financial relationships are those relationships in which the individual benefits by receiving a salary, royalty, intellectual property rights, consulting fee, honoraria, ownership interest (e.g., stocks, stock options or other ownership interest, excluding diversified mutual funds), or other financial benefit. Financial benefits are usually associated with roles such as employment, management position, independent contractor (including contracted research), consulting, speaking and teaching, membership on advisory committees or review panels, board membership, and other activities from which remuneration is received, or expected. NHPCO considers relationships of the person involved in the CME activity to include financial relationships of a spouse or partner and over the past 12 months.

    Relevant financial relationships

    NHPCO focuses on financial relationships with commercial interests in the 12-month period preceding the time that the individual is being asked to assume a role controlling content of the CME activity. There is not set a minimal dollar amount for relationships to be significant. Inherent in any amount is the incentive to maintain or increase the value of the relationship. "'Relevant' financial relationships" are financial relationships in any amount occurring within the past 12 months that create a conflict of interest.

    Conflict of Interest

    Circumstances create a conflict of interest when an individual has an opportunity to affect CME content about products or services of a commercial interest with which he/she has a financial relationship.

  16. Technical Support

    For help in submitting an abstract online, email Tech Support.

Begin a submission to the following:

SIXTY | 60-MINUTE SESSION
New Submissions Closed

WORKSHOP | 90-MINUTE WORKSHOP
New Submissions Closed

For more information on our Call for Proposals process or to be notified when future Call for Proposals open, contact Wanda Allen at wallen@nhpco.org or 703-647-5178.