Abstract
Mr Andrew C. Peters
As a membership-based organisation, it goes without saying that the College’s 4500 members are its lifeblood and that your involvement, engagement and satisfaction with the College are paramount to everything that we do.
‘Enhancing the value of College membership’ has been identified as one of six core objectives and strategic priorities in the RANZCP’s Strategic Plan 2012–2014. The College’s Membership Services department has recently developed a detailed membership blueprint document for the consideration of General Council, which outlines strategies to enhance engagement and service development for members. The blueprint is based around the key principles of maintaining and growing membership, maximising value for members, improving communication and engagement, increasing member satisfaction and developing new initiatives of relevance and value to members.
A dedicated Membership Services function was established within the College in 2007 and, during the past five years, College membership has been enhanced through the introduction of new member benefits including online journal access, CPD modules and conference presentations, and an expanded external benefits program. The College’s branches, faculties, sections and special interest groups have been strengthened and developed via dedicated administrative services, as have our conferences/events, CPD, membership administration and website/communications functions.
The College is committed to enhancing the value of membership, in particular through the provision of relevant services and resources to address the specific practice, professional and educational needs of members.
Current services and benefits available to RANZCP members include the CPD Program, print and online access to the RANZCP’s two scientific journals, access to a variety of other international psychiatry journals, discounted rates to the PEP-WEB psychoanalytic journal package, educational modules and podcasts via RANZCP CPD Online, local CME events and conference activities throughout the year, membership of faculties, sections, and special interest groups, regular book discounts, College awards, grants and prizes, online resources and enrolment in the RANZCP’s Member Advantage program.
There are also many more less-tangible benefits to College membership, beyond just having access to these services and programs. As the membership organisation representing the medical specialty of psychiatry in Australia and New Zealand, the College serves as the peak professional body and provides influence and leadership across the mental health sector. The College President and I frequently meet with government and key external groups to represent psychiatry and contribute to mental health policy; Branch Committee Chairs and other senior Fellows also regularly represent the College membership at local levels and on select external committees.
Further benefits of College membership include being kept informed on pertinent matters via regular communications, networking, collegiality and ‘belonging’ to the professional body, contributing to the training and examination of psychiatry trainees, and having opportunities to provide input into policy development and getting involved with College affairs, including via formal committees.
The RANZCP website has recently been upgraded to enable new online services such as recording CPD activities and updating of personal details (including practice information included in the Fellows’ Referral Directory). Future potential developments include hosting of online discussion forums and document sharing, online fee payments, real-time updates to the Referral Directory and access to a College members’ listing.
A trial of a one-year subscription to MEDLINE with Full Text and the Psychology and Behavioural Sciences Collection via EBSCOhost has recently been made available to members and will enable access to a wide range of medical publications.
The College’s Membership Services department is also undertaking work to develop specific initiatives to support younger members, provide additional educational modules and webinars to members, and introduce an improved member recognition program. We intend to seek more regular feedback and ideas from members through surveys and polls, and I also encourage you to make direct contact with Jon Cullum, the College’s Manager, Membership Services on