WASHINGTON -- An online communications tool designed for enlisted service members in medical fields will be brought live October 1, 2008, as planned.
“This is only a start,” said Enlisted Portal Coordinator Sgt. 1st Class Helen Gillespie. “As each area of the portal grows, and with a consistent need for updated news, the portal must maintain an ongoing stream of up-to-date and usable information.”
In preparation for the portal going live, Gillespie has managed the publication and data analysis of a questionnaire published on the Military Health System Web site. The questionnaire received over 500 responses with comments ranging from cautions of misuse to excited expressions anticipating an ideal way to share information.
“Lessons learned” topped the portal wish list with 74 percent of respondents marking it as the number one desired feature, according to Gillespie. Over 65 percent of respondents illustrated a desire for a forum with a variety of military subjects. The chat room feature received less than 20 percent which made it the feature with the lowest desirability.
The information Gillespie gathered from the MHS sampling led to the current portal design, which features an “open to the public” portal landing page and a link to access a forum that will be restricted to registered enlisted members. Upon entering the forum, users will register with basic information about themselves and their position in their military service. When making forum posts, they will have the choice of using their real names or an alias.
The most requested tool, Lessons Learned, will be accessed by a special link to the DoD-wide Joint Lessons Learned Information System. Before posting a Lessons Learned item into the system, users will be able to vet their submission in a forum area, according to Gillespie.
Other sections on the main portal page will include pages to praise fellow comrades, post calendar events, search educational opportunities, and submit jokes or amusing stories from the field of medicine.
“The entire project is all about the needs of enlisted members,” said Gillespie. “We will start with a handful of links on the portal page and forum topic areas and then expand as participation increases and preferences are expressed.”
Portal users will first be asked to help choose a name for the portal in an online poll. The name suggestions available in the poll were submitted during the initial questionnaire.
Leaders of the Military Health System stress that the portal’s forum is a candid way for enlisted service members to respectfully express themselves or ask questions without fear of retribution.
Medical Enlisted Portal landing page (open to the public).