General

The Walter Marget Workshop (WMW) is a 1.5-day learning event for trainees held every year in the days leading upto the ESPID Annual Meeting. The workshop is dedicated to the memory of Professor Walter Marget, who was a founding member of ESPID (1983). Professor Marget was a renowned paediatric infectious diseases clinician at the University Hospitals of Freiburg, Tubingen and Munich and was an influential mentor for many young paediatricians.

Why should I attend the WMW?

This clinically-oriented educational workshop focuses on the diagnosis and management of infectious diseases in children. There are four talks by well-known experts, as well as small-group interactive case discussions with close interactions between trainees and faculty.

Who is eligible to participate in the WMW?

Participation in the WMW is limited to a maximum of 50 pre-selected registered trainees. Themes for the workshop are posted in advance (see below) and trainees are invited to submit, in advance, an abstract of a case that they wish to present. The best 16 cases submitted will be selected for presentation at the meeting and prizes are awarded for the best clinical presentations.

In the case of over-registration for the workshop, the following priorities for a place have been set:

1. Quality of the abstract submitted
2. ESPID members who are in training
3. 1st-time attendance
4. Balance of trainees to ensure representation of different countries
5. Age less than 40 years

 Participating trainees will be offered waived registration to the ESPID Annual Meeting.

Faculty

• Invited speakers – paediatric infectious disease specialists who are outstanding clinicians and educators selected by the ESPID Committee for Education for the WMW each year.
• Members of the ESPID education committee will chair small clinical case discussion sessions in which delegates present cases according to the themes of the workshop.

How do I apply?

• All applications for WMW are submitted via the online submission system, where you will also be invited to submit your abstract for the case presentation (see below) and apply for a participation award.
• WMW application submission deadline late-February 2021 (TBA).
• All applicants will be notified whether they have a place to attend the WMW and whether their case has been selected for presentation.

What are the topics for WMW this year?

The four topics chosen for the Virtual WMW 2021:

1. Congenital Infections
2. Brain Infections
3. Antimicrobial and Diagnostic Stewardship
4. COVID Related Dilemmas

How do I submit an abstract?

• Case presentation abstracts for WMW are submitted via the online submission system, during the application process
• The case must ‘fit’ into one of the four chosen WMW topics, and be of educational value
• The same abstract should not have been submitted to another stream of the current or past ESPID meetings, however, it is acceptable that the abstract has been presented elsewhere
• Abstract guidelines:
  • Word limit 300 words
    • Background (2-3 sentences)
    • Case presentation summary (main body of abstract)
    • Learning points (can limit this to the 1-2 most important educational conclusions)
  • Please do not reveal the diagnosis in the title of the case 🙂

How do I prepare my case for a presentation at WMW?

• If your case abstract is selected for oral presentation, please follow the following presentation guidelines:

1. Time: you will only be allowed to speak for a maximum of 8 minutes to allow enough time for interruptions/questions and discussion (each case is allocated 15 minutes in total)
2. Number of slides: maximum 8 slides (extra slides for educational images allowed)
3. Structure:
   • Clinical presentation (history, examination & initial investigations): 1-4 slides
   • Differential diagnosis: 1 slide
   • Further investigations & final diagnosis: 1 slide
   • Management and outcome: 1 slide
   • Discussion (brief literature review & learning points): 1 slide
4. General tips on doing an effective WMW case presentation:
   • Try to be as interactive as possible and ask questions to the audience before revealing diagnosis and management.
   • Please incorporate at least 2 questions for the audience in your presentation.
   • These questions should appear at the end of the slide, below the necessary clinical information to allow the audience to review the facts and think. Useful to be able to see investigation results with normal ranges as appropriate.
   • Do not read out your slides. Best to keep the text on slides brief, and use only as a prompt to keep the audience focused on what you are saying. This means you need to practice your talk (which will also help you ensure that you only speak for 8 minutes or less)