2025 FUTURE Poster Submission

Dates to Remember

June 3, 2025 – Notification to applicants

July 31–August 2, 2025 – FUTURE

Poster Guidelines and Sample Abstracts

Download the following PDF files.

• 2025 Poster Guidelines and Tips
• Sample: Applicant Verification Letter
• Sample: Short Abstracts
• Sample Full Abstract: Clinical Inquiry
• Sample Full Abstract: Community Project and Educational Program
• Sample Full Abstract: Research

Application Process

The application submission process has closed.

 An abstract of the poster and an art file must accompany the application. The primary author must also submit a verification letter from their institution to validate their expected graduation date. See the Instructions for Submission section for details. Incomplete or ineligible applications will not be considered. Applicants will be notified on June 3. 

Eligibility Requirements

The submitter must be considered the primary author and must be the person to present onsite, if selected. They must also be:

• Eligible to attend FUTURE
• Willing to pay for and attend the conference
• Member in good standing of the American Academy of Family Physicians

Not a member? Join now. New or lapsed memberships may take one week to process. Please plan accordingly, as late applications will not be accepted.

Poster Categories

• Research – Summarize the results of a well-defined basic or clinical research project, including a hypothesis, dependent and independent variables, tests for measures of association, succinct discussion of data, etc. All work should be original. Projects may involve observational or interventional studies. If project involves human subjects, documentation of approval or exemption from an institutional review board (IRB) is required. This is the only category eligible for onsite peer review.
  
• Clinical Inquiry – Present a clinical scenario with discussion of an actual patient presentation or review of current evidence-based recommendations for a clinical topic. A clinical case presentation must include an introduction, case description, discussion of current practice guidelines for management of the patient, and conclusions. An evidence-based review need not be based on an actual patient presentation but must provide a systematic review of the current best research evidence to answer a clinical question. The presentation should provide an evidence-based answer on a topic relevant to family medicine and common in everyday practice and include an evidence summary, recommendations from others, and clinical commentary. 
• Community Project – Describe personal experience working on a community-based initiative to improve the health of a specific population (e.g. providing adolescent AIDS education, working with school nurses to develop asthma action plans, establishing a health care program for the homeless, etc.) Student/resident applicant(s) must have served in a leadership role in the planning and execution of the project. The description should include an evaluation of the project. If project involves human subjects, documentation of approval or exemption from an institutional review board (IRB) is required.
• Educational Program – Describe an educational program or curricular innovation that has been evaluated for its impact on medical student or resident training. Student/resident applicant(s) must have played a substantive role in the creation, implementation, and/or evaluation of the target program. This may have been done in collaboration with faculty. Applicant needs to state specifically the role played in the program. If project involves human subjects, documentation of approval or exemption from an institutional review board (IRB) is required.

Submission Requirements

• Only one poster application per primary author is permitted.
• The subject of the poster must be of value to family medicine and within the scope of family medicine.
• All projects must be complete at the time of application. Incomplete projects will not be considered.
• The project or research described in the application must reflect work done while applicant was a medical student or resident.
• The subject of the poster presentation may be based on coursework or an extracurricular activity.
• Entries may not be taken from previously published papers. Those that are currently under review or will be submitted for publication in the future are acceptable.
• Authors of accepted entries must be AAFP resident or student members. The primary author of each accepted poster must be willing to pay for and attend FUTURE 2025.

Instructions for Submission

The application submission process has closed.

1. Log in to the AAFP submission website.
   Members may log in using their AAFP ID. Not a member? Join now. New or lapsed memberships may take one week to process. Please plan accordingly as late applications will not be accepted.
   
   
2. Enter proposal information.
   It is recommended you have all items listed below ready and in the required format before starting your online application. Required information and attachments include:   
   • Poster title
   • Authors (up to four student and resident authors can be listed in official communications)
   • Short abstract (not to exceed 200 words) See examples.
   • Full abstract as an attached document (not to exceed five pages, excluding Reference page for Clinical Inquiry entries) See requirements.
   • IRB approval/exemption as an attached document (required if project involves human subjects) Find out more about IRB. If you have any questions related to IRB, you must contact your institution, not the AAFP.
   • FINAL version of poster as an attached document (PPT slide sized 48 inches x 36 inches) Please review the guidelines for important information on creating a successful poster, including how to ensure it is correctly sized for submission. You will not be allowed to submit an updated poster file after submission or acceptance.
   • Signed verification letter for the submitter/primary author as an attached document (See example)
     • A requirement that needs advance preparation is a verification letter from your institution validating your expected graduation date. You will be responsible for uploading the letter at the time of application. If it is submitted incomplete, your application will be classified as such and will not be considered. The letter must:
       • Be submitted on letterhead of the medical school or residency program that you are attending
       • Include your full name, medical school or residency program name, and expected graduation date
       • Be signed and dated by the Dean of the medical school or the Registrar’s Office (if a student) or by the Program Director of the residency program (if a resident); must include the professional title of the signer and be dated between November 1, 2024, and April 1, 2025.

Full Abstract Requirements

Applicants must include all information outlined for each category below — five-page maximum, excluding the Reference page for Clinical Inquiry entries. Please bold each section header in your abstract for easier reading.

Research (See example)

• Project description
• Objectives/purpose
• Methodology
• Applicant’s role in project
• Results
• Conclusions/discussion

Clinical Inquiry (See example)

• Introduction
• Case description
• Discussion of practice guidelines
• Conclusions/discussion
• References (Reference page may be in addition to the five-page maximum)

Community Project and Educational Program (See example)

• Project/program description
• Objectives/purpose
• Methodology
• Applicant’s role in project/program
• Results
• Conclusions/discussion

Judging Criteria

Poster judging is a two-tier process.

1.    First-Round Judging

• Applications will be peer reviewed and judged on the following criteria
  • Relevance to family medicine
  • Originality/innovative nature of project or question
  • Project description/statement of purpose and goals
  • Evidence-based nature of content
  • Validity of conclusions
  • Impact on future work
  • Visual appeal   
• Based on scores from first-round judging, 38 posters will be selected for display only.
• In addition, 12 posters from the Research category will be selected to present their poster onsite.
   

2.     Onsite Poster Presentation (Research only)

• Onsite judging for the top 12 Research posters will be held on Friday, August 1. Authors will have three minutes to present their poster and will be evaluated on the following criteria:
  • Relevance to family medicine
  • Design
  • Display
  • Presenter’s skills
• Primary author of the top 12 Research posters will be required to staff their display during select hours on August 1 at FUTURE.

Posters on Display

Posters will be printed by the AAFP and displayed on easels in a designated area at FUTURE. The top 12 Research poster authors will be invited to give a brief oral presentation onsite for peer review.

The 38 display-only poster authors will be invited to participate in an optional 45-minute staffing opportunity in the afternoon on Friday, August 1.