2026 Urgent Care Convention

Call for Proposals, Call for Research Posters

The Urgent Care Convention is the largest gathering of Urgent Care professionals in the United States and home to the Urgent Care medicine conference. Our convention drives change throughout the industry by providing comprehensive learning that enables every professional to improve their skills, expand their knowledge, explore innovative ideas, solve problems, and meet new colleagues. Join us and share your expertise!

2026 Theme: Amplify

Urgent Care is doing exceptional work—every day, in every community. From delivering timely, high-quality treatment to enhancing patient experiences and filling critical gaps in the healthcare continuum, this field is a powerhouse of impact. In 2026, we invite you to amplify that work.

This year’s theme calls on presenters to spotlight the excellence already happening in Urgent Care—and to share strategies that help it grow.

Whether you’re a clinician advancing care at the bedside or an operator driving innovation behind the scenes, your voice matters. From clinical excellence and evidence-based practices to scalable leadership, onboarding strategies, and marketing that elevates your message — this is the place to teach, inspire, and lead. Let’s honor the work—and amplify it.

Location: Chicago, IL

Dates: April 11-14, 2026

Who should apply?

  • If people always come to you for advice, you should apply.
  • If you’ve created a process that others duplicate, you should apply.
  • If you’re an innovator and thought leader, you should apply.
  • If you’ve led a research project and gained valuable learning through the results, you should apply.

We have opportunities for educational sessions and research posters — read through our WWW’s below BEFORE submitting an application.

Decisions will be emailed by 11/30/2025. If you have not heard back from us regarding your proposal please contact learning@urgentcareassociation.org

Continuing education is best accomplished in a setting that encourages dialogue, discussion, and debate. Speakers should offer real-world examples, “war stories”, case studies, successes and failures, examples of actual tools and working papers used, situational context, and insights on emerging issues.  

In addition to lectures, sessions should be designed to encourage interactive audience participation by including small group discussions, exercises, and other activities. 

Speakers are encouraged to provide additional resources such as bibliographies, white papers, relevant articles, tools, guides, sample programs and other information that extends the learning beyond the session and adds value to the event. 

Proposals from a team or a panel are also encouraged to share multiple perspectives on a topic. 

Topic Areas of Focus for 2026

Clinical:

  • Allergic Reactions
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Asthma and COPD
  • Clinical Burnout
  • Dermatology
  • Early Identification of Critical Illness
  • EKG Interpretation
  • Emergencies
  • ENT
  • Fractures
  • Infection Roundup
  • Neck and Back Pain
  • Neurological Urgencies and Emergencies
  • Occupational Medicine
  • Ophthalmology
  • Orthopedics
  • Physicals – Sports, School, Other
  • POCUS
  • Preventing an ED visit
  • Radiology
  • Stewardship Principles
  • Urgent Care practice in other countries

Operational/Other

  • Advocating for Urgent Care
  • Artificial Intelligence (AI)
  • Change Management
  • Creating Influencers
  • Cybersecurity
  • Data for Decision Making
  • Growth
  • Healthcare Continuum
  • Increasing Revenue
  • Leadership Development
  • Marketing
  • Revenue Cycle Management
  • Scaling (models, processes)
  • Staffing Models (Managing Patient Flow)
  • Staff Retention
  • Training Approaches

Each proposals is reviewed by the Learning Experience team and evaluated on the following criteria: 

  • Topic is timely for the field of Urgent Care and will attract attendees. 
  • Title and description of the session demonstrates the intent concisely. 
  • Alignment with our theme.
  • Learning objectives are well-defined. 
  • Attendees will be able to relate to the content and apply what they’ve learned in their roles. 
  • Context of the issues including real-world case studies, examples, and stories. 
  • Speaker is knowledgeable, engaging and experienced on the topic submitted. 
  • Education focus is devoid of overt and covert commercialism. 

To ensure a successful and impactful session, all presenters and speakers are expected to:

  • Complete all assigned tasks on time, including presentation development and submission.
  • Participate in a required content development webinar, designed to support your delivery and elevate your session experience.
  • Register for the Urgent Care Convention — registration is required for all presenters and speakers.

All presentations and supplemental materials are subject to quality review by the Learning Experience team to ensure alignment with our standards and goals.

Please note: Timely completion of tasks is essential to the success of your session. If key deadlines are missed, your session may be subject to cancellation to maintain the quality and consistency of the overall convention experience.

UCA is a not-for-profit organization serving the field of Urgent Care medicine. Most speakers and their companies recognize the importance of being part of UCA’s educational events and embrace a philanthropic spirit by funding travel and lodgings.  In appreciation for all the hard work and effort, we offer various honoraria and discounts. Vendors of the industry are not eligible for honoraria or registration.

All speakers and presenters are required to register (as attendees or exhibitors) – discounts and honoraria are below:

Main Speakers receive

  • complimentary registration ($1900 value)
  • $350 honoraria for each session
  • eligible for speaker prep CME

 

Co-Speakers and Procedure Instructors receive 

  • $500 discount on registration

 

Board Member (UCA/CUCM/UCCOP) Speakers receive

  • complimentary registration
  • $125 honoraria for each session

 

Moderators/Facilitators/Panelists

  • $250 discount on registration

 

UC Cafe Table Hosts receive

  • $50 honoraria for each session

 

Vendors

  • Are not eligible for honoraria and other registration discounts.
  • If you are an exhibiting vendor you do not need to pay additional registration fees.

 

For all presenters there is no reimbursement for any travel and/or hotel expense incurred by speakers.

You will be asked for the following information in your submission:

  • Name
  • Credentials
  • Organization
  • Role/Job Title
  • Email
  • LinkedIn Profile
  • Type of Session
  • Title of Session
  • Short Description of Session
  • Alignment to Theme
  • Learning Objectives
  • Previous Speaking Experience
  • Video Introduction Link

Video Introductions are required, as they help us get to know you and your presentation style.

Instructions:

  • Use a smart phone to record a brief video, production quality is not graded.
  • No more than 3 minutes in length.
  • Save the video in an online shareable drive (such as Google drive or YouTube).

What to include:

  • Who you are.
  • A little about your background and expertise.
  • A little about your session and why you feel it’s relevant to our audience.
  • A little about how you interact and engage the audience.

Decisions will be emailed between 11/30/25 and 2/28/26. If you have not heard back from us regarding your poster proposal please contact learning@urgentcareassociation.org.

Research posters provide an excellent learning opportunity for attendees. We encourage posters on any completed research within the field of Urgent Care including, but not limited to innovation(s) in patient care or clinical processes.

Clinical posters should include the following sections:

  • Introduction/Background
  • Abstract/Summary
  • Method/Procedure
  • Data/Results
  • Discussion
  • Conclusion/Take-Home Points

Non-clinical posters should be organized into understandable sections to facilitate attendee engagement and understanding.

Creating and printing the poster is the responsibility of the presenter. 

Posters should be printed on thick poster paper.

The maximum size of a poster is 4′ x 5′. 

All posters will be on display for the entirety of the convention.

Please note: each poster presenter will be assigned a time to share their findings with attendees in a conversational setting.

To ensure a successful and impactful session, all presenters are expected to:

  • Complete all assigned tasks on time, including poster development and submission.
  • Register for the Urgent Care Convention — registration is required for all presenters and speakers.

All posters and supplemental materials are subject to quality review by the Learning Experience team to ensure alignment with our standards and goals.

Please note: Timely completion of tasks is essential to the success of your session. If key deadlines are missed, your poster may be subject to cancellation to maintain the quality and consistency of the overall convention experience.

UCA is a not-for-profit organization serving the field of Urgent Care medicine. Most poster presenters and their companies recognize the importance of being part of UCA’s educational events and embrace a philanthropic spirit by funding travel and lodgings.  In appreciation for all the hard work and effort, we offer various honoraria and discounts.

Vendors of the industry are not eligible for honoraria or registration.

All speakers and presenters are required to register (as attendees or exhibitors) – discounts and honoraria are below:

Main Poster Presenters receive
  • complimentary registration ($1900 value)
  • $250 honoraria for each poster
  • recognition in event materials
  • reprint in the Urgent Caring Publication

 

Other Poster Contributors (authors) receive

  • $250 discount on registration
  • recognition in event materials
  • reprint in the Urgent Caring Publication

Vendor Presenters

Vendors are not eligible for honoraria and other registration discounts. If you are an exhibiting vendor you do not need to pay additional registration fees.

A display board with pins is made available to each poster presenter. 

You will be asked for the following information in your submission:

  • Name
  • Credentials
  • Organization
  • Role/Job Title
  • Email
  • LinkedIn Profile
  • Topic
  • Type of Poster
  • Title of Poster
  • Any additional poster contributors (names, email addresses)
  • Poster Abstract
  • Alignment to Theme
  • Learning Objectives