Communities of Practice (Healthcare)

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.