Important: Please read the following guidelines before submitting an abstract to the BADS ASM

Font: use Times New Roman font size 10

Title	Use a title which is fairly short but as descriptive as possible. Use capital letters for all major words, in the same style as the Journal of One-day Surgery.
Authors	List all authors. Use initials (not first names) followed by surnames. Put a space between initials and surname, but DO NOT put spaces between initials. Separate all authors by a comma. Do not include qualifications or job titles. Follow the same format as in the sample abstract.
Affiliation	Provide only the name of the main hospital in which the work was done.
Main text	The body of the abstract should be divided into separate paragraphs, which would normally be for introduction, methods, results and conclusions. Start each paragraph with the appropriate label, followed by a colon. Continue the text after a space, but DO NOT start a new line.
References	You may include a maximum of 3 references. Cite references in the text in square brackets. The reference list should be headed. Provide only first author, journal, year, volume and abbreviated page range (Follow the same format as in the sample abstract).

Sample Abstract:

An Audit of Patient Satisfaction after Day Case Laparoscopy

AB Smith, G Brown, CD Jones

University Hospital of North Manchester, Weatherfield

Introduction: Briefly describe why you chose to undertake this project. Use this section to set your work in context.

Methods: Describe the methods used, being as informative as possible. Provide the key aspects of what was done, so that others could reproduce your work. Describe the data collected [1], including when and how, define any key endpoints and provide details of any new or unusual techniques.

Results: Summarise the results of your findings. Try to provide as much data as possible. For example, if you are comparing pain after two different techniques, try to quantify the pain in each group [2,3], either by providing average pain scores or the numbers of patients with mild / moderate or severe pain, rather than simply reporting that there was more or less pain in one group. Tables and or graphs can be an efficient way of presenting key data.

Conclusions: Provide a paragraph summarising your main findings and setting these in context.

References (maximum of 3, if required)
1. Bloggs J, et al. Journal of Pain Medicine 2005;60:323–33
2. Jones P. Anaesthesia 2000;45:12–4
3. Green Y, et al. Journal of One-day Surgery 2006;16:28–30

 

Abstract Length

Your abstract is limited to 3400 characters which is about 500 words. You can use the entry form to advise you how many characters you have used or you can use Microsoft Word to do this if you are preparing your abstract in Word.

Using the Abstract Entry form

When you are ready to submit your abstract, please use the Abstract Entry form (follow the link at the bottom of this page)

Please fill all the boxes carefully. There are two ways of entering the main text of your abstract. You can either type directly into the box or you can copy and paste the text from another text editor such as Microsoft Word.

Method 1: Using the Text Editor

Please type your abstract in the white area below the tool bar. Please do not exceed the visible area or your abstract will be truncated if we publish it in the abstracts book.

The icons on the tool bar can be used to help you format the text of your abstract and put in simple tables if you wish.

The following table shows what the icons on the tool bar do:

Icon	What it Does
	Bold italic or underline the highlighted text.
	Insert symbols & special characters.
	Superscript or subscript the highlighted text.
	Alignment of highlighted text.
	Add numbering or bullets to highlighted text lines.
	Insert table. Number of columns or rows, and table width, height, borders, & alignment can also be set.
	Undo or redo the most recent action taken.

Method 2: Pasting from Microsoft Word

If you prefer you can prepare your abstract in a text editor such as Microsoft Word and then Copy and Paste it into the text area on the form.

Simple tables created in Word should paste OK but pictures or graphs will not. If you want to submit a graphic, please send your abstract by email as a Word document in addition to filling in your details on the entry form to the email address below.

Abstracts Deadline

Abstracts must be submitted by 5pm on Tuesday, April 03, 2012

Abstract Entry Form (click here:)

Further help

If you experience difficulties please contact BADS by email:

abstracts@bads.co.uk