We’ve been running Q’s ‘Randomised Coffee Trials’ (RCTs) since April 2016. Many members have found these conversations really enjoyable and often very helpful to their improvement work too, as you can see from the 6 member comments collected below.
How do RCTs work?
Every member who signs up will be sent the name of another randomly-chosen member every month.
Each pair can arrange a brief informal meet-up at a time that suits both parties – be it a Skype call, Google Hangout, phone call or even a coffee in person (perhaps at a Q event).
The 30-minute call I had with a Nurse from Morecambe was one of the most inspiring conversations I’ve had throughout my career – really inspiring stuff
We run RCTs every month, giving you an opportunity to meet and connect with a different Q member each time. There are no rules here – RCTs should be viewed as an informal opportunity to connect with peers, however if scheduling means that you can’t meet that month then it’s ok.
This section of the page is for Q members only. If you are already a member please log in, and if not, find out more about joining Q.
What members say about Q’s Randomised Coffee Trials
Hesham Abdalla
Consultant Paediatrician Senior Lecturer in Healthcare Management and Leadership, Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust
The Q community has been a bit of a lifeline for me: I’ve found my tribe
“The 30-minute call I had with a Nurse from Morecambe was one of the most inspiring conversations I’ve had throughout my career – really inspiring stuff.
The Q Community has been a bit of a lifeline for me: I’ve found my tribe.”
Sarah Leng
Programme Improvement Manager, Kent Surrey and Sussex Academic Health Science Network
“I have been an active participant and have found the calls extremely useful. For me the value of the RCT is that you don’t know who you are going to talk to!
We often do active networking – and we seek those we feel have a common interest or who can potentially help us with something. What has been so interesting is being linked with a Q Member I know nothing about – and chatting for about an hour – and really gaining useful insights or knowledge that I would not have got through any other meeting.
For example, one RCT was with a patient rep Q member. Through chatting with her, we have remained in touch, she came and did a talk at our Improvers Network event and helped us with our recent Q recruitment, assessing some of our applications. So you could say RCT lead to random acts of kindness!”
Bill Taylor
Clinical Lead Quality Improvement, Clinical Innovation and Research Centre, Royal College of General Practitioners
“RCTs for me are a refreshing part of the day. A phone call to a fellow Q participant allows me to keep my enthusiasm for QI burning brightly.
I hear of different ways of implementing QI and how barriers have been overcome. It also allows me to share information on the RCGP QI work.”
Helen Lee
Head of Quality Improvement and Experience, Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust
“I love the opportunity that RCTs bring 🙂
It’s a fantastic and easy way to meet and network with improvement focused colleagues. Every month I have the opportunity to catch up with someone from the Q community to share our improvement journey so far.
I love the opportunity that RCTs bring 🙂
Over a coffee we are able to learn together and regularly swap ideas and top tips which are so valuable. RCTs are a great way to connect, get new ideas and be inspired and challenged to think differently.”
Lesley Goodburn
Freelance Patient Experience Consultant
“RCTs have given me the opportunity to talk to people who work in areas that I don’t usually come across in my day to day work.
I have created relationships that have seen collaborations on improving end of life care and developing approaches to asset-based community development.”
LINKS
This section of the page is for Q members only. If you are already a member please log in, and if not, find out more about joining Q.
- Knowledge Management pioneer David Gurteen first introduced me to RCTs. He has a page about RCTs.
Comments
Gill Phillips 18 Aug 2021
I have loved all the various RCT conversations I've had - always good to meet new people, hear their stories and find out what they are passionate about!
Dr Mary Salama and I recently launched #IntentionalCoffee which takes out the random element. Mary and I first met briefly at a Q event, really hit it off but then went our separate ways.
The idea of #IntentionalCoffee is to be a bit bolder and follow up these chance meetings (or perhaps make the effort to link people you know will get on like wildfire) and set up a coffee chat with no specific agenda, just see where it goes ... :)
Mary and I came back together when we were each invited to present at the #CoLab21 coproduction conference, spent ages plotting and planning together and ended up co-presenting.
Matthew Mezey 19 Aug 2021
That's fabulous Gill - I'd spotted some great chat about #IntentionalCoffee on Twitter too.
Interestingly, there's also a sort of 50 intentional coffees adventurebook unfinished draft floating around....! It would be great to get it over the line so the world can start using it to deepen their coffees - generating more learning and change from them. Perhaps it could become an optional handbook for your intentional coffees? Or or Q's RCTs. Or anyone doing anything along these lines...?
If you want me to put you in touch with the coffee evangelist author, let me know.
Oddly enough, a Icelandic woman I knew during a summer job just got in touch after 30 years or so. She's now some kind of global-travelling coffee guru. Maybe she'll have another piece of the puzzle... ;-)