Posted by Sarah Myers on October 05, 2015
About 50 small groups of clinicians/patients/parents brainstorming how to surmount 14 barriers to care #icncc15f
We are just over one week out from the Fall 2015 ImproveCareNow Community Conference (#ICNCC15F). Everyone is getting caught up, re-organized, and starting to set priorities for their improvement work in the coming months.
For the past several community conferences, we concluded by polling participants to assess the sense of community that we are all creating together. We asked participants to rate the extent to which they agreed with the following statements: 1) I am leaving feeling like I have a role in this Learning Health System; 2) If there is a problem in this community, members can get it solved; 3) I have influence over what this community is like; 4) I feel hopeful about the future of this community. These were adapted from the Sense of Community Index 2 (SCI-2) - a great, free resource:
The poll responses tell us that we are doing very well. As always, there are opportunities to continue to learn about how to strengthen the ImproveCareNow community. It’s great that so many are invested in getting us there together. We’re eager to hear the ideas that you all have.
We are feeling hopeful about the future of this community for many reasons; most importantly because we are seeing the community gather in our virtual commons—the ICN Exchange—keeping the connection, momentum, and sense of community going. Here is one example that shows us that when our community has a need, our community responds:
Last week, one experienced ImproveCareNow center asked this:
And shortly after, several, including a patient partner, responded with their examples and new ideas:
Then, just two days later, a brand new center shared this:
Communities organized around a place have gathering spaces. They may be coffee shops, parks, or community centers. When we created the Exchange, we set out to create a space for the ImproveCareNow community to gather and learn together when we’re not together. And it’s gratifying to see clinicians, parents, and patients make it their space in ways we didn’t expect.
Why do you feel hopeful about the future of this community? Let us know in the comments section or write your own brief LOOP post to tell us your story.
[Author's note: This post was co-written with Peter Margolis, Executive Scientific Director for ImproveCareNow. Having both watched ImproveCareNow evolve and grow over the past eight years, we continue to delight in the generous sharing and collaboration becoming more visible in the community each day.]