We surveyed physicians presenting abstracts at the 1995 Society of Gen
eral Internal Medicine annual meeting to determine whether the oral or
poster format better achieved their presentation goals. Poster presen
tations better met respondents' objectives for feedback and criticism
and for networking and developing collaborative projects, while oral p
resentations better met their objectives for national visibility and s
haring knowledge within one's field. Sixty-nine percent of respondents
preferred to present oral abstracts. The majority of these presenters
preferred to present their research in an oral format although poster
presentations still played an important role for them, particularly a
s a venue for feedback on their work. As meeting size increases, diffe
rent presentation formats should be explored that best meet the needs
of the academic community.