The International Association of Medical Science Educators (IAMSE) is pleased to announce the call for abstracts for Lightning Talk presentations for the fifth IAMSE Virtual Forum to be held October 20-22, 2026. The IAMSE Virtual Forum is an entirely virtual synchronous event offering opportunities for faculty and student development and networking, bringing together health sciences and health professions education across the continuum of global healthcare education.
The theme for the 2026 Virtual Forum is “Cultivating Growth in Health Professions Education: Advancing Learner Success Through Feedback, Mentorship, Inclusion, and Second Chances.” Join us at the IAMSE 2026 Virtual Forum as we reframe educational success, moving beyond single metrics toward a holistic interpretation of learner and educator growth. Together, we will explore the transformative power of second chances, reframing failure and remediation as compassionate “on-ramps” and “off-ramps” for professional development. This requires designing holistic programs centered on growth-oriented assessment, feedback, and proactive learner support. Ultimately, we will examine what it means to redefine competence—building the professional identity, collaborative learning, and resilience needed to thrive in an AI-shaped world.
Lightning Talks are short 7-minute live presentations followed by 7 minutes of questions and answers that will provide presenters a chance to share their work, including works in process. All healthcare professions education associated abstracts are welcome, including topics such as curriculum, assessment, evaluation, learner experiences, and faculty development! Abstracts for Lightning Talks will be submitted in the format requested through the online abstract submission site.
The submission deadline is July 31, 2026, at 11:59 PM EDT.
There is no limit on the number of abstracts you may submit, but it is unlikely that more than one presentation per presenter can be accepted due to scheduling complexities. Abstract acceptance notifications will be returned in September 2026. Please contact support@iamse.org for any questions about your submission.
Looking forward to seeing you virtually this October!
Thank you,
Amy Stone, PhD
2026 Virtual Forum Program Chair
On behalf of the Virtual Forum Program Committee