Communities of Practice (Healthcare)

Owned by Darlene Edgar
Nov 23, 2023
2 min read

Summary of "Communities of Practice in Alberta Health: Advancing a Learning Organization"Auer, A., Hanson, P., Brady-Fryer, B., Alati-it, J., & Johnson, A. (2020). Communities of practice in Alberta Health: Advancing a learning organization. Health Research Policy and Systems, 18(86), 1- 12. https://discovery.ebsco.com/c/4ax45t/viewer/html/af4msvzyjv 

  • Alberta Health Services:

    • Canada's first and largest fully integrated healthcare system.

    • Formed by amalgamating nine regional health authorities and three provincial services.

  • Communities of Practice (CoPs):

    • Regularly meet to learn from each other and improve healthcare services.

    • Embody the principles of a learning organization, focusing on team learning.

  • Five Disciplines of Learning Organization:

    • Systems thinking, personal mastery, mental models, building shared vision, team learning.

    • Team learning is central, and CoPs exemplify this.

  • Functions and Structures of CoPs:

    • Practice domain/expertise, focus, membership boundaries, attendance methods, sphere of influence.

    • Provide meaningful interactions, build information pathways, and enhance capacity for patient care.

  • Meaningful Interactions:

    • Improve staff engagement, create a safe space for idea sharing, connect professionals, address geographic isolation, and strengthen professional identity.

  • Building Information Pathways:

    • Enhance information flow, transcend organizational boundaries, and promote timely knowledge sharing.

  • Capacity to Address Patient Needs:

    • Implement change at the point of care, utilize frontline knowledge, and address patient needs effectively.

  • CoPs and Systems Change:

    • Impact innovation, employee retention, process standardization, risk management, psychological health, talent management, professional development, and workload management.

  • Challenges and Perspectives:

    • Seen as time-consuming; supervisors may view CoP activities as non-designated work priorities.

    • CoPs enable connections, create pathways for information sharing, spark innovation, and spot issues early.

  • Systems Thinking in CoPs:

    • Helps members understand how their actions disrupt standard operating patterns to create change in the larger system.

  • Shifting Stance on CoP Structure:

    • No evidence that CoPs can be deliberately cultivated.

    • Membership boundaries defined by subject matter expertise, practice, role, and geographic considerations.

  • Boundary Spanning:

    • Required for CoPs to influence beyond local boundaries.

    • Informational boundary spanning is powerful for communication within and outside the organization.

  • Legitimate Peripheral Participation:

    • Individuals can benefit from CoPs even without active participation; listening and learning are valuable.

  • Suddman's Fire Principle:

    • CoPs allow issues to be identified and addressed early.

  • Visibility of CoPs:

    • Participants express disappointment that the value of CoPs is not well understood across organizations.

    • The value is more visible at the macro or collective level, rather than at the micro level.