Meeting Software

[crbetts]

I'm a new RN as of May at a small rural hospital in Missouri. I live 25 miles from the hospital, and I have to drive in frequently on my days off to go to training and policy meetings. This annoys me. I thought today that some sort of web based meeting software would be of benefit to me and other nurses in my organization so that we could attend these meetings at home. Of course, we would have to go in if it were "hands-on" stuff; but it frequently isn't. It's almost always just some person standing up talking his or her way through a powerpoint presentation. Is anyone out there using any meeting software? If so, what are the pros and cons? I think this is a fabulous idea, and I'd like to approach my management with it with as much information as I can gain. Thanks for any advice or experiences you can share.

[rninformatics, DNP, RN]

Sure there are plenty of remote meeting apps out there. My first thoughts are those that are less or no cost - what about using your organization's teleconferencing equipment (or even just a plane phone with a speaker phone and or conference lines) and calling into the meeting? Your boss could then e-mail you the presentation or you could utilize desktop sharing software to "share" the presentation online. Or what about using Free Conference Call.com and having your boss or the presenter e-mail the Power Point presentation out to each attendee?

Some vendors/presenters don't like sharing their slides. Many organizations that use Microsoft Outlook can also utilize online meeting via Microsoft Office Communicator. There is also Go To Meeting.com. Both these allow the person hosting the meeting to control slide presentation without actually distributing the content/copy written material.

Why don't you do an Internet search to see what else is out there?

There is no lack of low-tech options to accomplish remote meetings, is it possible that there is a lack of incentive on yor manager's or your organization's part to do so?

[rickyaliasgar]

Web meetings software are of two types. Hosted services such as WebEx, GoMeetNow, gotomeeting etc. or software package like Microsoft Lynch and appliance based web conferencing solutions such as RHUB appliances. You can select the web conferencing technology as per your requirements. All of them are good.

[InformaticsRN.MA]

Do you get paid when you go to the hospital for training? If so, they may not want to pay you if you are watching a webex in your pajamas at home - just a thought:-)