Action research: a process for developing professional capacity within a community of practice

Abstract

Learning within a community of practice is a common approach for competency development in the healthcare field. Despite the strengths of situated learning, hegemony can inhibit learning. This case study illustrates how action research was used to examine and challenge an entrenched training practice within the ultrasound community of practice. The action research process also resulted in an unintentional shift in the professional identities of two co-researchers. This case study examines action research as an existential process and concludes that action research can increase organisational capacity through the development of individual professional identity.Keywords: autoethnography; communities of practice; existential action research; knowledge management; ultrasonography.Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Docherty, M.A. (2017) 'Action research: a process for developing professional capacity within a community of practice', Int.