Wanted: DAFNE Graduate user representatives to join DAFNE Executive Board

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Peter DUAG Committee Member
University College London Hospitals (UCLH)
109 posts

The DAFNE Executive Board has decided to increase the graduate membership from 2 to 7 to give equality with the number of doctors and of nurses/dieticians. This will allow the Executive Board to access both a broader perspective from the DAFNE graduate community and a wider range of skills and backgrounds thereby achieving both increased participation and partnership.

As a result, an election is now being planned to select 5 additional DAFNE graduates to supplement the 2 graduate representatives who are already members of the Board.

At this stage, we are looking for expressions of interest in the roles. Further details of the role plus the application and election processes will be issued in February.

The overall responsibilities of the DAFNE Executive Board are:
• to have delegated responsibility for the setting and the achievement of the strategic and operational objectives of the Central DAFNE Team (CDT) [see note1].
• the approval of the annual budget for the CDT and agreeing how any surplus will be used for the development of the DAFNE programme for the benefit of the Members.
• ensuring the quality of the DAFNE programme healthcare professional and patient training resources and materials and that these reflect current best practice.
• ensuring the competencies of DAFNE Educators, doctors and advisors at the point of DAFNE certification and registration.

Nominations for the additional graduate representative roles are open to DAFNE graduates who are DAFNE Graduate Group (DGG) members [see note 2].

Board membership requires attendance at 4 Board meetings per year, and involvement in delegated activities between meetings which will typically use e-mail correspondence. Two of the Board meetings each year are usually held in January and May by teleconference, each typically lasting half a day. There is an annual 2-day face-to-face meeting (usually held in October near Newcastle-upon-Tyne) which covers strategic and business matters. Board members are also invited to attend the 1-day annual DAFNE Collaborative meeting (typically in Manchester in June) which is for DAFNE healthcare professional development.

The graduate members will be expected to participate in all aspects of the work of the Board, alongside the clinical members e.g. reviewing proposed changes to the DAFNE programme. Those involved in delegated activities between meetings will be chosen according to individual availability plus experience and/or interest in the subject area. In this way graduate members will be able to choose where they have a greater level of participation. Expertise in social media, business and marketing skills would be particularly welcome.

In total it is anticipated that the role will require 4-11 days activity per year, most of which can be undertaken at evenings and/or weekends.

The roles are voluntary and unpaid, although costs for travel, hotel and reasonable expenses will be provided in line with the NHS rules on reimbursement.

It is expected that the election process will commence in mid-February. On completion of the election, the successful representatives will be invited to an introductory meeting during June with representatives of the Board, including both existing graduate members, before joining the 2-day full Executive meeting on 16th & 17th October.

Full details of these roles and an application pack will be sent to all DGG members in mid-February. If you are a DAFNE Graduate and are interested in receiving more details, but are not currently a member of the DGG [see note 3], please send an e-mail to ][email protected] and the information will be sent when available. Alternatively, the information will be downloadable from the DAFNE website (http://www.dafne.uk.com/) from mid-February.

[Note 1] The CDT is a dedicated centralised resource responsible for the delivery of the programme core operational objectives and provides support to the Trusts providing DAFNE. The CDT also initiates, implements and manages a common development strategy for DAFNE.
[Note 2] If you need to join the DGG please firstly create a dafneonline account at https://www.dafneonline.co.uk/signup?to=%252F. You will then need to contact your DAFNE course Educator to request a DAFNE Centre code. This should be added to your dafneonline account along with selecting the “Subscribe to DGG email list” option on the Signup page. This will both complete your membership of the DGG and allow you to access the latest DAFNE Handbook through the dafneonline site.
[Note 3]Membership of the DGG will be required prior to making an application. See footnote #2.