A cornerstone of CPNP has been the willingness of members to share their time, resources and experiences with each other to improve patient care across the country. Some have done this by contributing as part of a committee, but a growing database of information has amassed from members sharing directly with other members through the unmoderated communities.
The main email list (list@cpnp.org) maintains messages archives within the General Community, and each other community has its own email list to allow more targeted discussions of hot topics. Across all of the community email lists, members exchange 110+ emails per month to discuss practice, clinical and academic issues. Members are often able to find others who have experienced many of the same challenges they currently face themselves. To email a community, browse to the specific community page (under “Member Resources” in the menu) and then click the “Email the community” button.
In addition to asking for real-time feedback, the discussions are archived online so all members can search for old discussions. Over the last year, 2600+ archived messages were viewed a total of 6600+ times. Emailing a community allows you to tap into a vast reservoir of knowledge and experience, and responding to emails allows you to contribute back what you have learned. To search the email archives, you can either browse to a specific community or simply use the site search (always available in the menu at the top of the page). When using the site search, simply filter by type of content: “Email List Archive.”
While the email lists provide a forum for lively discussion, the community shared resources allows each member to upload documents, reference lists, and links that they think would be valuable to other CPNP members. With hundreds of members accessing the resources every month, this is an excellent way for members to expand their impact on patient care by sharing tools that have impacted their own practice. To share a resource with a community, browse to the specific community page (under “Member Resources” in the menu) and click “Share a Resource.”
Some of the resources most accessed by members over the last year included:
Next time you encounter a challenge, remember to search cpnp.org to see what sharing really means. The site search allows you to find CE, resources shared by members, and email list discussions all in one place. You can search by keyword by default, but you can filter by type of content or even by general topic (everything from “Sleep disorders” to “Research Tools”).