New Online-Communities Foster Connections, Knowledge Sharing Among Society Members

The Endocrine Society’s new Special Interest Groups (SIGs) are member-led communities created to facilitate online interactions and in-person networking opportunities at Society meetings.

SIGs can be topic focused, based on career level, or other areas of interest to members. The inaugural SIGs were chosen by strong member interest and represent the broad scope of the Society. They are: Adrenal and Pituitary, Early Career, Entrepreneurship, and Transgender Research and Medicine.

“The SIGs provide a direct opportunity for member-initiated activity focused on key areas of endocrinology that are timely and impactful. They were developed to meet member needs, enable networking through an on-line community platform, and to provide opportunities for leadership and other aspects of career development, meeting programing, and advocacy,” explains Steve Rosenthal, MD, co-chair of the task force that launched these communities. “The SIGs are designed to be valuable for members at all stages of their careers.”

The SIGs provide a direct opportunity for member-initiated activity focused on key areas of endocrinology that are timely and impactful.

The Transgender SIG has been off to a quick start, setting advocacy as a key priority and educating physicians and researchers on recent advances in care through new online courses and Transitions of Care documents. The work of the Transgender SIG is especially important during Pride month when many organizations are advocating and raising awareness around access to care for these individuals.

“The Transgender Research and Medicine Special Interest Group brings together both national and international providers who have an interest in healthcare for transgender and gender diverse people. Our goal is to collaborate with healthcare workers in the fields of research and clinical practice and to provide opportunities for member and trainee education,” says Caroline Davidge-Pitts, MBBCH, co-chair of the group.

“In addition, we strive to become a trusted resource for patients and their families through close collaboration with the Hormone Health Network and beyond,” adds Sean Iwamoto, MD, the other co-chair of the Transgender SIG.

The other three Special Interest Groups have also been hard at work. The Early Career SIG is currently hosting webinars on negotiation and communication skills, and the Entrepreneurship SIG is surveying entrepreneurs from different backgrounds on a variety of topics to pursue. The Adrenal and Pituitary SIG just started a session titled “The Paper that Changed my Practice,” which members can access in the online community.

…We strive to become a trusted resource for patients and their families through close collaboration with the Hormone Health Network and beyond.

“The SIGs allow members to engage with the Endocrine Society year-round. They provide an opportunity to meet members not only once a year during the ENDO meeting, but continuously through an online community platform. This can lead to new opportunities for collaboration, teaching, and mentoring,” says Jenny Visser, PhD, another co-chair of the task force behind this initiative.

For a quick tutorial of the platform, check out endocrine.org/our-community/special-interest-groups and explore the different ways to engage with your colleagues including sharing and commenting on resources, posting videos, uploading articles, and participating in discussion boards.

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