In-Person Moderator Instructions

In-Person Moderator Instructions

This article outlines the instructions for moderators for in-person sessions.

If you are a speaker or moderator for an in-person session, but you are attending the meeting virtually, see Virtual Speaker and Moderator Instructions.

Before the Meeting

  1. Activate your account for the meeting website 
  2. Update your profile 
  3. Become familiar with the meeting website and app 
  4. Find your session(s) and add them to My Agenda 
  5. View all session details and speaker biographies in the meeting website, app, or faculty portal
  6. Write one or two questions for the speaker in case the attendees do not submit enough questions

Before the Session

  1. Pick up your badge at Registration
  2. Go to your meeting room one hour before the session start time
  3. Introduce yourself to the speaker(s) and verify their introduction biography information 
  4. Introduce the speaker(s) to the audio/visual technician
  5. Verify the correct presentation is ready to display
    1. Review the presentation for potential policy violations; see the Policy Enforcement section at the bottom of this page for more information
  6. Go to your assigned laptop and open the session so you can monitor incoming questions from attendees
    1. Access the meeting website
      1. If the laptop has not been logged in to the website, login credentials will be provided
    2. Find the session and click on it
    3. Access the session's "backend" by clicking the Manage button
      1. If you do not see this button, tell your ACR staff liaison right away or email facultymanagement@rheumatology.org
      2. We recommend you use the backend because it will be easier to see and manage the questions submitted by attendees, and it will automatically turn off the video
    4. Click the Polls tab
      1. This is where you will see the questions submitted by attendees
    5. In the "Questions for the speaker" section, click Full-Screen Results
      1. This page will be easier to read
  7. Two-three minutes before the session starts, make the following housekeeping announcements:
    1. "If you are standing, please try to find an empty seat. DO NOT block the entrances or aisles as this is fire hazard and could cause the session to be shut down by the fire marshals.”
    2. "If you are using wi-fi, please limit access to only one device. Bandwidth is limited, and we’d like all audience members to be able to access wi-fi throughout the session.”
    3. “Place all electronic devices in silent or vibrate mode.”
    4. “Make sure any livestreaming video related to the meeting is stopped to prevent any double audio distractions.”
    5. “Please respect the speaker’s request regarding photography. Do not attempt to take photos of the presentations if it is not permitted by the speaker.”
    6. “As a friendly reminder, all 2022 ACR Education Exchange recordings will be available on demand in the Education Exchange meeting app and website until August 31, 2022.”  
    7. “All questions from in-person and virtual attendees may be submitted at any time during today’s presentation via the meeting app and website.  Popular submitted questions may be upvoted by attendees to ensure they are addressed.”
    8. “At this time, please allow me to review how to submit your questions using the meeting app.” 
      Note: we will only have lav mics available, rather than podium mics, to ensure you will be heard by the onsite and virtual attendees. 


During the Session

  1. At the beginning of the session:
    1. Begin with a brief introduction of the session, including the session title, and introduce yourself as the moderator -include your full name, title, and institution/affiliation
    2. Introduce speakers before their talk as follows: 
      1. Introduce in the order listed in the program
      2. Physicians: say the speaker's professional prefix (if applicable), full name, affiliation, and presentation, title; please be sure to introduce both male and female speakers by their professional titles.
        1. Example: Dr. John Smith from the University of Rheumatology will now present on [TALK TITLE]
      3. Non-physicians: say the speaker's full name, affiliation, and presentation title
  2. During the presentation(s):
    1. Use the timer provided to make sure presentations remain within the allotted time
    2. Monitor the incoming questions from attendees to prepare for the Q&A portion of the session
    3. Take note of any potential policy violations and report them to facultymanagement@rheumatology.org; see the Policy Enforcement section at the bottom of this page for more information
    4. Notify your room attendant or floor staff person immediately of any unmanageable disruptive behavior
  3. After the presentation(s), begin the Q&A portion of the session:
    1. “We are about to begin our Q&A portion of today’s session. All questions, from in-person and virtual attendees may be submitted in the meeting app and website by opening the session's page and clicking on the Q&A and Polls tab. If you have not already done so, please submit your questions at this time. Popular questions may be upvoted by attendees to ensure they are addressed.”


After the Session

  1. Make the following announcements:
    1. “Thank you to our speakers and audience members joining us today.”
    2. “As a friendly reminder,  instructions for claiming credits are in the meeting website and app under the Program dropdown menu."
    3. “We encourage you to provide feedback to today's speaker(s) by clicking the Session Evaluation button on the session's page. Take a quick moment to complete it now while the information is fresh in your mind.  Additionally,  you can access the overall meeting evaluation on the meeting website and app under the Program menu dropdown.”


Policy Enforcement

As moderator, you will need to inform an ACR staff member immediately of any policy violations. Either speak to the ACR staff liaison in the room or email facultymanagement@rheumatology.org.

Disclosures
  1. Speakers should include their final disclosure statement on the second slide of their presentation. Disclosure statements should list all financial relationships with ineligible companies within the prior 24 months to the specific talk. In compliance with the ACCME Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education, Standard 3, ‘Disclosure’ must never include the use of a trade name or product-group message.

Content Integrity
  1. In compliance with ACCME Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education, Standard 5, educational materials that are part of accredited education (such as slide, abstracts, handouts, evaluation mechanisms, or disclosure information) must not contain any marketing produced by or for an ineligible company, including corporate or product logos, trade names, or product group messages.
  2. Product/brand names and logos are not allowed in the body of the presentation. However, institution logos (i.e., non PhRMA related logos such as school names, associations and government agencies) are allowed in the body of the presentation.

WMA Declaration of Helsinki Policy
  1. Any work with human or animal subjects reported in submitted abstracts must comply with the guiding principles for experimental procedures found in the Declaration of Helsinki of the World Medical Association.
  2. If work involved human or animal subjects, the abstract authors were required to check a box during the submission process to attest that they complied with the guiding principles for experimental procedures.

ACR Code of Conduct
  1. The ACR works to promote a welcoming environment at the ACR Education Exchange that is safe, collaborative, supportive, and productive for all attendees. All attendees are expected to abide by the ACR Educational Meeting Code of Conduct. Notify your room attendant or floor staff person immediately of any unmanageable disruptive behavior.  



If you have questions, please contact us at facultymanagement@rheumatology.org.