Discussant Guidelines

STRUCTURE OF THE DISCUSSANT PRESENTATION

As the Discussant, you should receive the slides, talking points, and/or the exact verbal presentation from the AOS member presenter at least six (6) weeks prior to the meeting. Violations of this rule should be reported immediately to the Chair of the Committee on Programs or the Executive Vice President.

Discussions are no longer published in the Transactions of the AOS, so you do not need to provide the Editor with your written comments.

Discussants should critique the results and conclusions of the presentation, identify significant limitations or qualifications of the study, provide comments about contradictory literature, and indicate if the authors’ conclusions are directly supported by the data. The author should be criticized for any excessive generalization and undue speculation. Emphasize both the positive and negative findings of the study. The Discussant might also state whether additional studies are required, what those additional studies may be, and conclude by stating the implications supported by the study.

If your presentation will include a discussion of an unlabeled use of a commercial product, or an investigational use not yet approved for any purpose, you are required to disclose that the product is not labeled for the use under discussion or that it is still investigational.

THE PRESENTATION AT THE AOS MEETING

The podium presentation by the Discussant must be in PowerPoint, Keynote, or Prezi format, and must be uploaded to the media management system prior to the meeting. Alternatively, the Discussant may present a verbal presentation without slides (except for the disclosure slide—see below).

The AOS follows ACCME disclosure guidelines. The first slide of your Discussion must provide financial disclosures that are relevant to the presentation related to any commercial ophthalmic company over the previous twelve (12) months. This slide is required even if you have only a verbal presentation without slides. You should indicate verbally how these involvements relate to your discussion. A financial disclosure slide template is available should you need one. The same slide should indicate whether you will discuss off-label usage (very common in presentations).

Discussion presentations are strictly limited to three (3) minutes. The authors are reminded to seek objectivity, use best available evidence, avoid using commercial slides, and be aware that the learners in their evaluations of this activity will be asked if commercial bias was present.

Revised 11.16.20