I am sure most of you if not all have heard of Networking. I have attended quite a few of these; mostly run by the Chamber of Commerce and a few others but I have yet to meet any doctors at these events.

It got me thinking that if I had difficulty letting the medical profession know I am here, how do newly qualified Consultants that wish to start-up in private practice go about it. Obviously GP’s know the regular Consultants to refer to, but for them to consider referring a patient to a new Consultant may take time and some effort on the Consultant’s part.

The usual form of interaction is to write to GP’s in the area and let them know where and when your private practice is held or maybe even a newsletter a couple of times a year. However is that enough or could you do more?

One thought may be for Consultants to hold a networking evening. A few Consultants may consider getting together and holding a social evening for GP’s and Practice Nurses either at the local private hospital or hire a conference room in a hotel. It need only be a couple of hours at the most and light refreshments could be arranged to make it more enjoyable.

It could be run as a social interactive evening and also an educational one. If there were a few Consultants they could give a 5-10 minute talk on their specialty and some of the problems that GP’s may face in the community when diagnosing patients with specific problems, and when to make referrals etc. There could also be a short discussion or Q&A time at the end. Most of the evening could be socialising so that you can meet the GP’s in person and interact with them, but also if there was a specific interest for GP’s surely they are more likely to attend.

This may be more worthwhile than sending out a mailing or newsletter:-

* You get to meet the GP’s in person and interact with them

* You make it a social evening and enjoyable setting so hopefully they more are likely to attend

*  You provide information that may be helpful or educational to them in specific specialties

Personal interaction and socializing with possible informative/educational benefit surely outweighs a letter of notification which probably gets filed and forgotten. This way you meet the GP’s personally and they will remember the evening and more importantly you; it gets your name out there and GP’s get to know who you are and your specialty. If it works well then maybe holding a Networking evening a few times a year may be beneficial to all concerned. It gives a chance for GP’s, Practice Nurses and Consultants to get together and interact in a relaxed social setting.