Note from the ACDIS Editor: Website improvements you need to know about

By Linnea Archibald

Even though ACDIS is considering changing the “I” from “improvement” to “integrity,” that doesn’t mean we’re done improving things around here. As ACDIS has grown over the past 12-plus years, we’ve added all sorts of resources, information, and activities to the website. At times, however, those new items have piled up and put on shelves where they only loosely fit. This in turn can make it difficult for those visiting the website to find what they’re looking for.

We’ve recently done some house cleaning and made a few organizational changes to the ACDIS website that we hope will bring greater clarity to our offerings and help you find the resources you’re looking for with ease.

While I encourage you to poke around and see what’s what with the new menu layout, I’ve also put together a brief tour of the website, tab by tab (left to right), to help you navigate as you get up to speed:

• Membership: Under this tab, you’ll find all things related to your membership, from benefits, to ACDIS’ mission statement, to leadership, boards, committees, the Code of Ethics, and FAQs. If you have a question about your membership specifically, this is where to look.
• Certifications: As it would suggest, this tab covers all things related to the CCDS and CCDS-O certification process. There’s also a section for the ACDIS CDI Apprenticeship program for brand-new CDI professionals.
• Publications: ACDIS has three editorial publications, all of which can be found under this tab. If you click on the top level “Publications” rather than one of the dropdowns, you’ll see every article ACDIS has published, organized by date. Each of the pages under this section has a custom search bar at the bottom of the left-hand menu which will search within that subgroup/individual publication. This is a great way to narrow your search for a particular topic or article. The three publications are: the CDI Journal, CDI Strategies, and the CDI Blog.
• Resources: Under this tab you’ll find all the items donated by ACDIS members (educational tools, sample queries, policies and procedures, and job descriptions), as well as the ACDIS Podcast archive, videos, and free and sponsored materials. 
• NEW! Thought Leadership: This brand-new tab includes many items previously housed in the Resource Library, including ACDIS position papers, white papers, surveys, insight from our CDI Regulatory Committee, and information and resources related to the new ACDIS Leadership Council.
• NEW! Networking: Those familiar with our previous website menu will remember that “Networking” and “Events” were categorized under the same heading. Now, to encompass more of ACDIS’ resources accurately, we’ve split them into two. Under this tab, you’ll find all the ways you can connect with other CDI professionals and ACDIS, from the Forum, to local chapters, to PROPEL CDI (our CDI advisory services), and social media.
• NEW! Events & Education: Most of the items under this tab previously lived with the networking items listed above. Under this tab, you’ll find information on, and materials from, the national conference and the ACDIS Symposium, CDI Week materials, information on, and recordings of, the quarterly membership conference calls, and details about our upcoming Boot Camps and webinars.
• Career Center: This tab is exactly what it sounds like. ACDIS members get two free job postings per year and discounts after that. Members and non-members alike can also search open CDI positions here any time.

Though this menu redesign is a good first step, the ACDIS team is planning to make some additional changes to the website in the coming months to make it easier to navigate and digest. As always, stay tuned to CDI Strategies and our social media accounts for any updates you need to be aware of.

And, if you have any questions or suggestions, don’t hesitate to contact me.

Editor’s note: Archibald is the editor at ACDIS. Contact her at larchibald@acdis.org.