Communications Committee Report  2001

Since the last annual meeting in Quebec, the relatively small Communications Committee has been fairly busy. We have been fortunate to have the assistance of the staff at the CAPM&R to help us out significantly during this time. Computers and the Internet have helped change the way people communicate and do business over the past few years and we have tried to take advantage of these powerful tools in reshaping the way the members of the CAPM&R communicate.

The main developments over the past year have been:

1) Changes to the Website

a. A Members-only section
b. Job advertisements
c. A members directory
d. Links to other sites
e. Assistance negotiating the maze that is MOCOMP

2) Bulk mailings via email rather then snail mail.

3) The use of the Internet to register for the annual meeting and to submit abstracts.

4) And, perhaps the largest change, the development and unveiling of the fully electronic newsletter.

Over the coming months and years, plans include:

1) The development of formal listserves for committees, the board, etc..

2) A further decrease in the use of paper communication and increased electronic communication to help:

a. Decrease costs
b. Improve efficiency
c. Increase centralization
d. Be environmentally friendly

3) Further links via our website to:
a. Departments and divisions across the country

b. Residency programs and CARMS

4) Improved tracking of members’ publications and ongoing research projects (in conjunction with the Research Committee)

5) Investigate the possibility of developing an ejournal, similar to BioMedCentral, for the rapid dissemination of original research, opinion pieces and case reports in an open forum. There is some argument that such a method of publication, with constructive criticism of the posted articles, may become the way of the future.

We are excited about the developments over the past year and the opportunities that await us.