The Nobel Prize winner of Physiology or Medicine Albert Szent-Györgyi defined research as “to see what everybody else has seen, and to think what nobody else has thought.” As trainees, these words have special meaning in our daily clinical activities and research lives. Let me discuss with you the importance and the significance of submitting an abstract as trainee, especially to a global GI conference like Digestive Disease Week® (DDW) 2022.
Be Proud of Your Achievement
You are on the abstract submission section of the DDW website, and you start thinking of all the steps you took to get to this point. As a trainee, you spent a vast amount of your time caring for and learning from patients every day, but you have also been looking for gaps in the medical literature and potential research ideas. After a literature review, you realized that your research idea could contribute to the GI medical community. You developed a research protocol and submitted it to the Institutional Review Board. After approval, you started collecting your data, cleaned and analyzed your data, discussed the results with the statistician and your mentor, and communicated your findings through an abstract.
Now, before submitting your abstract, think of how much you have already accomplished to have gotten to this point — the amount time that you have invested in it, and how much the results of your study can benefit future patients. Be proud of your achievement!
The Benefits of Submitting an Abstract
Below, I’ve shared a few of the ways submitting an abstract to DDW can help your future career:
- Studies have shown that trainees exposed to research develop critical thinking skills, improve clinical performance and become strong academics.
- Presenting your abstract at DDW would allow you to explore new research ideas and establish relationships with different investigators for future collaboration.
- A GI fellowship has historically been a competitive fellowship. Submitting your abstract as a trainee may open multiple doors that could potentially benefit your fellowship application, such as:
- Strengthening your resume.
- Creating more networking opportunities.
- Providing a tangible way to express your passion for and genuine interest in GI.
P.S. Several of DDW’s sponsoring societies offer grants and awards specifically for trainee authors. Be sure to check them out on the DDW website.
Don’t let indecision get to you — be confident in your achievements as a trainee and submit an abstract to DDW. Don’t forget that all abstracts are due by 21:00 Eastern time (UTC -5) on Thursday, Dec. 2.
