The format for your abstract should follow that for submission of a paper for publication. It is a concise structured summary, no more than 250 words (excluding your Title), and follow set headers. The purpose of the abstract is to capture the interest of the reader, while accurately reflecting the content of the intended presentation, poster or publication.

Title

Precise and attention catching, describe what you are writing about

Objectives

What is the question that is being asked /answered?

Method

What is the type of study? What is the study population? How was the data analysed?

Results

What were the findings?

Impact/ Clinical Significance

What are the implications and for whom? Brief explanation of the impact of the work on small animal primary care or referral clinical practice.

Funding/ Conflicts of Interest

Clinical Abstracts may be in the form of an oral or poster presentation. Some types of presentation, such as those that require large data tables or multiple figures, or single case reports, are more suitable for posters.

Oral Presentation

Allow for a short 13–14-minute oral presentation of the material in the submitted abstract plus 1-2 minutes for questions including handover. Presenters are reminded that it is very important to stick within the time limit. 

The oral presentations will be recorded in Manchester, and made available to attendees post-event via the Congress platform in the BSAVA Library.

Poster Presentation

The poster must contain title, authors, affiliations, references, and details of funding and conflicts of interest, where these exist; in addition to the headings covered in the abstract, The figures, tables etc. must be presented within the dimensions given, and the poster must be written in UK English and SI units.

You must bring your poster in the correct orientation and dimension (size A0 1.189m x 0.841m in portrait format) with you to the event, printed and ready to display.

Before you prepare and submit your abstract, ensure you have followed all rules and ethics/code of conduct. 

• DO NOT submit an abstract on behalf of another person.
• Abstracts must be submitted using the abstract template which includes the headers: Objectives, Methods, Results, and Impact Statement.
• The abstract must be submitted by the presenting author.
• Abstracts must not exceed 250 words (excluding title and declarations of interest and author details).
• The authors, and their place of work, should not be identified in the main text of the abstract.
• The assessment process is blind and the abstracts must be anonymised on submission.
• Abstracts submitted for consideration should not have been presented at other Congresses, nor published in journals before Congress. They can have been shown at local CPD events.
• Abstracts must be written in U.K. English and using SI units.
• All research presented must comply with UK legislation pertaining to animal welfare, ethics and data protection. Work performed outside the UK must still comply with the UK Veterinary Surgeons Act or should reasonably be expected NOT to require a UK Home Office license if performed in the UK. See information on ethics below.
• Use of Trade names is not permitted in the abstract.
• As a rule of thumb, diagrams and references are not acceptable in the abstract.
• It’s the author’s responsibility to ensure that they have obtained permission for use of any copyright images or materials.

Clinical abstracts will be rejected without further scrutiny if they fail to comply with the submission rules or if they:

• Are received after the closing date.
• Do not follow the structured summary as detailed above.
• Are considered too preliminary in nature or are deemed to be of low scientific quality.
• Are not relevant to small animal veterinary practice or clinical science
• Do not meet the ethical guidelines outlined above and/or do not have satisfactory ethical approval from the relevant regulatory bodies or are deemed to have caused unnecessary pain, distress, suffering, or lasting harm to animals.

Presentation rules

• Submitting author should be first author.
• First author must be presenting author.
• The presentation must concentrate on the information contained in the abstract and in answering the questioned detailed in the table above.
• Specific advertising of products by presenters must not occur.

Ethics 

• All Clinical abstracts submitted should comply with UK legislation pertaining to animal welfare, ethics and data protection.
• Clinical abstracts reporting any intervention on animals will only be accepted if they would not require Home Office Licensing under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/research-and-testing-using-animals). That is:
  • Procedures carried out as part of Recognised Veterinary Practice (nonexperimental clinical practice) (https://www.rcvs.org.uk/setting-standards/advice-and-guidance/code-of-professional-conduct-for-veterinary-surgeons/supporting-guidance/recognised-veterinary-practice/)
  • Veterinary clinical trials
  • Recognised husbandry practices

Authors may find the RCVS / BVA Ethical Review Working Party Report helpful in fulfilling these requirements Authors are advised to consult Helen Field (h.field@bsava.com) if they are unsure about any of these regulations.

When you have prepared your summary, upload your abstract via our dedicated online portal when submission opens Monday 9 September 2024 (closes 8am 2 December 2024).

Successful first authors will be expected to present their abstract at Congress and Expo in Manchester, 20-22 March 2025.

All abstracts will be presented in designated feature zones within the exhibition hall, providing the opportunity for you to present right in the heart of the event. Posters will be displayed on poster boards, whilst oral presentations take place in a purpose built lecture room - open to everyone attending the event!

Presenters are eligible for discounted tickets for Congress and will be able to purchase in February 2025, once they have been invited to present:

• £50 +VAT Day Pass or
• £99 +VAT for 3-Day Pass

A special Poster Reception will take place at Congress and presenters will be invited to join in the festivities.

Presentations will be judged at Congress, with prizes awarded for the best:

• Practitioner presentation
• Student presentation
• Medicine presentation
• Surgery presentation
• VN presentation
• Poster presentation.

Check out what our previous winners have to say about their experience, and what presenting at Congress meant to them.