Posted by Lonely on March 3, 2005, at 16:47:21
In reply to Re: dates and voting, posted by vwoolf on March 3, 2005, at 13:04:20
You've really on target here, I'd say! Yes!
I get the feeling that this website is really something of a venture ... I haven't run into anything else exactly like it although there are other message boards that I visit and have found helpful. Perhaps in part it's due to the academic & psychiatric backing. (???) So, making an event out of it helps to solidify or point up the value of e-care or the value of care in cyber space.
A couple years ago I developed a course for a hospital client to do with customer service. One of the points that came out (I intended it to) was that physicians and nurses often feel that they are giving good care. And many times they are. Yet, patients, when surveyed, often indicate that they find their best help online at message boards or other types of online support. i.e., answers are often incomplete or too brief in a clinical setting. That was more aimed at the physical side but I think there's something to be said for the psychiatric self-help community too.
The thing about getting people to come out and talk about the value it brings them and their experiences is probably one of the tougher issues. I would not myself be willing to put my real name & location out there along with my face! But, would be willing to give limited info about myself and a shadowed or otherwise protected interview.
This might be a good year to think big and start small. I think you've made a really good point.
> You know, I'm too far away to be any use, but my feeling is that you have to think bigger here.
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> You need to create an event, invite sponsors (pharmaceutical companies etc)and turn this into something exciting that no-one else is doing. PB is very unique, as far as I can see, and could generate enough interest to set this in motion. You would need to provide a forum where people with psychiatric issues are comfortable to talk openly and come together for a meeting/conference around issues that concern them vitally. There is no event like that around - everyone is too busy hiding.
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> We need to be aware that we are a large and potentially powerful interest group - we probably consume more medicines than any other group of people, and certainly make more use of professionals. I doubt that any other group of patients see their specialists up to five times a week for many years. I am sure that it would not be too difficult to set up, and would, apart from anything else, generate enough income for PB to self-fund itself for a year. The event could be moved somewhere else the following year, to another city or abroad - why not?
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poster:Lonely
thread:5509
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20050219/msgs/466077.html