The recent focus of the Membership and Communication Committee has been on publicizing and clarifying the SPS member benefits, both for individual members and for institutional members. In particular, we hope to improve communication with our Platinum-level institutional members. A task force within our committee is soliciting content for a new, improved Member resources tab on the SPS website. For example, for individual members, we plan to have a link to a Mentor Program survey that will enable members to request a mentor relationship by filling out an on-line application. We also want to make it simple for our members to join and participate in our committees. For institutional members, we hope to make it easier to understand how to connect with the Pediatric Sedation Research Consortium, with “how-to” instructions for data entry and review. For Platinum institutional members, the task force seeks to more clearly delineate the process for requesting an SPS expert consult visit, as well as the process for accessing the instructional resources of the SPS Provider Course.
Another recent initiative of our committee is that of expanding our international presence, including reaching out to potential members in resource-poor countries. One important component of this effort is to create a dues structure that facilitates participation, based on World Bank rankings (countries are classified into four tiers based on their economic status). These dues adjustments would be applied both to individual and institutional members.
If you have an interest in improving communication among our membership, an interest in increasing our international presence, or you’re just a “people person” who wants to help improve communication among our members, please contact me at membershipcommittee@pedsedation.org. We will find a role for you.