Note from the ACDIS Editor: Committees offer platform for collaboration, networking, friendship

by Linnea Archibald

The ACDIS conference is a busy place, filled with education, networking, and fun. It’s easy for it to fly by in the blink of an eye. No matter how hectic the event becomes, one thing I’ll always make time for is meeting with the committee members I work with throughout the year. It’s one of my favorite parts of the conference. We coordinate schedules over email, use the conference app to communicate on site, and finally meet in person at the ACDIS booth.

Over the past three years, I’ve had the privilege of working closely with a host of wonderful CDI professionals through CDI Journal articles and on social media platforms, but the folks I get to know the best are those serving on a committee I coordinator. In my time with ACDIS, I’ve coordinated the CDI Week Committee, the Practice Guidelines Committee, the Forms & Tools Library Committee, and the newly minted ACDIS CDI Scholarship Committee. Each group of diverse professionals brings something different to the table and has been a joy to get to know.

Talking to these individuals on a regular basis means I’ve come to count them as friends. The committee members also get to know each other through their volunteer service, often reaching out for non-committee related questions and advice long after their terms have ended. These burgeoning friendships reflect the environment ACDIS seeks to foster as a whole—a place where CDI professionals can meet, learn, network, and collaborate with peers near and far.

That’s why that brief meeting at the conference is so wonderful. It’s one of the only times the committee members get to meet face-to-face. It’s always a party.

If you’ve been on the fence about committee service, I urge you to apply. We’re calling for applicants for the ACDIS Advisory Board, the ACDIS Symposium: Outpatient CDI Committee, the Chapter Advisory Board, and the CCDS Certification Committee. The deadline to apply is tomorrow, January 31. We’d love to have you on the team. I think you’ll find immense value in the committee experience and come away with friends and peers for years to come.

Click here to fill out the application today.

Editor’s note: Archibald is the editor for ACDIS. Contact her at larchibald@acdis.org.