May launch of online surveys of the
College membership:a new initiative to improve
dialogue, and inform action
The College will shortly be launching
an online survey initiative to improve dialogue with the membership
on key policy and practice issues. Beginning in late May, College
members will be invited via email to join an online panel of
psychiatrists who will be asked to occasionally share their
opinions and perspectives on a range of issues.
It is hoped that by opening up an
online dialogue with the membership, that the College will be able
to develop an improved understanding of the beliefs, practices and
experiences of members. This includes those members who are unable
to participate in activities such as the Annual Meeting, or in
College committees, as well as those who already have an active
presence. Further, soliciting members’ perspectives through the use
of online surveys also provides an opportunity for the College to
rapidly ascertain a view from the membership on key issues of the
day, as well as running surveys which provide more focused or
longitudinal perspectives.
We believe that the membership will
support this initiative to improve dialogue, and share the
College’s view that this will facilitate both an improved
understanding of the views and needs of psychiatrists, and a more
authoritative public voice. We will, however, be inviting the
membership to opt-in to the initiative (to avoid unwanted email
communication), and will also restrict the number of surveys each
member will receive in a year (to avoid saturation). Further, an
attractive series of incentives will also be offered to those
members who participate.
Improving the dialogue between the
College and membership, and using this learning to inform action,
underpins the move towards using online surveys. As with the
already existing mechanisms for discussion and consultation, we
trust that the membership will equally engage and share this online
vision for knowledge for action.
For further details:
Chris Fitch
College Research Fellow,
cfitch@cru.rcpsych.ac.uk