We’ve been absolutely thrilled at the enthusiasm and messages of support we have received since starting @WeAHPs last weekend. In this launch blog we’re hoping to set out our vision for the community - the why, what, when and how of #WeAHPs, as well as how you can get involved and help shape the community over the next few months and beyond.
Why #WeAHPs?
Twitter offers such fantastic opportunities for health and care professionals to learn, share and network to improve services for patients, service-users and the public. It can also help to give us a collective voice to influence colleagues and decision-makers by demonstrating the evidence for what we do and the difference we make to people’s lives. The ‘We’ Family of twitter communities offers such an amazing space for inter-professional collaboration so as 2015 gets going and Spring arrives we thought now is the right time for new beginnings and for AHPs to join the WeCommunities family.
What?
We want #WeAHPs to be a vibrant, inclusive space for AHPs as well as people who work with AHPs or who are interested in finding out more about what we do. With this in mind here are some guiding principles for the community:
• Broad appeal – multiprofessional and international; across health, public health, social care, NHS, private, and third sector as well as for patients, service-users and the public.
• Inclusive – encouraging and respecting a range of views, experiences and backgrounds.
• Digital leadership – helping AHPs to use social media positively and professionally, and keep the people we provide care, support and services for at the centre of our discussions.
• Raising awareness of who AHPs are, what we do, how and why.
• Responsive to the needs of the AHP community, listening to suggestions and sharing news, policies, evidence, events, blogs and information with the community.
When?
Our first tweet chat will be on Thursday 26th March at 8pm on ‘AHPs: today, tomorrow and us’ and we’ll be posting more information in the next week. After that #WeAHPs will run monthly tweet chats at 8pm on the last Thursday of the month. Prechat information will be
available from here at least 2 weeks before each chat and there will be a
transcript and summary after the chat for people who can’t join in on the night, or if you would like read through and reflect, or connect with participants after the chat. You can also use the hashtag #WeAHPs to ask for or share information and connect with other AHPs 24 hours a day.
How
There’s lots of fantastic information of how this all works from WeCommunities, so whether you’re new to twitter and tweet chats, or an experienced tweeter, here are some resources to help:
Get involved
We’re keen to make sure the community supports you, so tweet us your ideas and feedback at
@WeAHPs and let us know if you have any ideas for chat topics or themed weeks. We look forward to hearing from you!
