DNP 852B Module 2 The Project Poster: One Message, One Figure Example

More Than Half, Up From a Fifth: Designing a Conference Poster Around One Message and One Figure

Student Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice Program, Aspen University

DNP 852B: Project Dissemination

Instructor Name

Month Day, Year

More Than Half, Up From a Fifth: Designing a Conference Poster Around One Message and One Figure

A conference poster has perhaps a minute of a passing reader's attention. In that minute it has to deliver one message clearly enough that the reader stops, and then support that message with just enough detail to earn a conversation. This paper presents the poster for my DNP project, a pediatric asthma visit led by clinic nurses, and explains the choices behind it: the single message, the text of each panel, the one figure, the layout and color, a test with readers and the plan for presenting it.

Choosing the One Message

The project produced several findings, but a poster that tries to carry all of them carries none. The message chosen was this: after a bilingual nurse visit with a written plan and coached inhaler technique, well-controlled asthma had become the norm for most children rather than one in five. That finding answers the project's main question, is easy to picture and invites the questions the author most wants to discuss, such as how the visit worked and what it cost. Other findings, including acute care, run chart results and technique, appear in smaller type as support.

The Poster Text

The table gives the text of each panel. The whole poster holds about 400 words; practical guidance on academic posters treats them as a summary of the project rather than a copy of it, which argues for brevity (Gundogan et al., 2016).

The One Figure

Two figures competed for the center. The clinic-level run chart shows action plan coverage rising above its baseline median, and it is the stronger evidence of change in routine practice (Perla et al., 2011). But a run chart needs explanation, and a passing reader would not know what the median line meant. The bar chart of well-controlled asthma before and after is less sophisticated but readable in two seconds, and it carries the main message directly. The run chart was kept as a small inset in the supporting panel, labeled in plain words as the share of all registry children with a current plan.

What Was Left Off

Much of the project did not make it onto the poster. The mean score changes on the two age-specific tests, the p values, the early and late cohort comparison, the implementation log and the six adaptations in detail were all cut. So were the theoretical framework and most of the literature, apart from one line on what the guidelines recommend. Each cut was tested against a simple question: would a nurse deciding whether to try this program need it in the first minute? If not, it went into the handout. The handout carries the full results table and the reference list, so that anyone who wants the detail can take it away.

Layout and Color

The poster reads in three columns, left to right, with the central figure in the middle column at eye level. Text sits in short blocks with generous margins, and the smallest type is large enough to read at about two meters. Two colors are used: a dark blue for text and a single orange for the after bar in the figure and for the key numbers, so that the eye lands on the change. The clinic's name and logo do not appear, since permission was given to describe the setting but not to name it.

Testing the Poster

A draft was printed at full size and placed on a wall. Five nurses from another department each walked past it and were then asked what the poster said. Four repeated the central message; the fifth remembered the school link. Two found the first title too long, and it was shortened. One asked what well-controlled meant, and a four-word definition was added under the figure. Survey respondents in a study of poster authors reported that imagery draws attention before content and that posters work best with their author present (Rowe & Ilic, 2009), and the test bore out the first point: every nurse looked first at the figure.

Presenting at the Session

The author will stand beside the poster for the whole session with a 60-second spoken summary ready: the gap, the visit, the central result and one lesson about reinforcing technique. Printed copies of the plan template and technique checklist will be available, along with a small card linking to the project summary. Questions will be noted afterward, because they show which parts of the project other nurses find most useful and will shape the journal article.

A colleague will cover breaks.

Conclusion

The poster carries one message, that more children had well-controlled asthma after the nurse visit, supported by one readable figure, about 400 words and a stated limitation. Testing with readers sharpened the title and the definition, and the author's presence at the session will do what the poster cannot.

References

Gundogan, B., Koshy, K., Kurar, L., & Whitehurst, K. (2016). How to make an academic poster. Annals of Medicine and Surgery, 11, 69-71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amsu.2016.09.001

Perla, R. J., Provost, L. P., & Murray, S. K. (2011). The run chart: A simple analytical tool for learning from variation in healthcare processes. BMJ Quality & Safety, 20(1), 46-51. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjqs.2009.037895

Rowe, N., & Ilic, D. (2009). What impact do posters have on academic knowledge transfer? A pilot survey on author attitudes and experiences. BMC Medical Education, 9, Article 71. https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6920-9-71