Building Virtual Communities of Practice

Nagy, Paul; Kahn, Charles Η.; Boonn, William W.; Siddiqui, K.; Meenan, C.; Knight, Nicola; Safdar, Nabile M.

doi:10.1016/j.jacr.2006.06.005

Cited by 22 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Almost every study in this review commented on leadership, facilitation or moderation [21,23-38]. Previous studies have commented on the lack of clarity around these terms in virtual communities of practice [21].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This role may arise in several ways. The originator of the group may end up being the initial leader and facilitator [23]. The facilitator may be appointed by the originators of the group [24-26] or the facilitators of the group may arise spontaneously [24].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…If they arise spontaneously, then these moderators or facilitators tend to be part of the ‘core group’ which also characterises these virtual communities [23]. The ‘core group’ consists of a minority of active users, whilst often the majority is passive [25,26].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The tasks of the facilitator and moderator are, as Probst described, to improve collaboration [27,28], but can also include making sure the rules of engagement are clear, keeping discussions focussed and processing memberships [23,26,27,29]. …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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General practice training and virtual communities of practice - a review of the literature

et al. 2012

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BackgroundGood General Practice is essential for an effective health system. Good General Practice training is essential to sustain the workforce, however training for General Practice can be hampered by a number of pressures, including professional, structural and social isolation. General Practice trainees may be under more pressure than fully registered General Practitioners, and yet isolation can lead doctors to reduce hours and move away from rural practice. Virtual communities of practice (VCoPs) in business have been shown to be effective in improving knowledge sharing, thus reducing professional and structural isolation. This literature review will critically examine the current evidence relevant to virtual communities of practice in General Practice training, identify evidence-based principles that might guide their construction and suggest further avenues for research.MethodsMajor online databases Scopus, Psychlit and Pubmed were searched for the terms “Community of Practice” (CoP) AND (Online OR Virtual OR Electronic) AND (health OR healthcare OR medicine OR “Allied Health”). Only peer-reviewed journal articles in English were selected. A total of 76 articles were identified, with 23 meeting the inclusion criteria. There were no studies on CoP or VCoP in General Practice training. The review was structured using a framework of six themes for establishing communities of practice, derived from a key study from the business literature. This framework has been used to analyse the literature to determine whether similar themes are present in the health literature and to identify evidence in support of virtual communities of practice for General Practice training.ResultsThe framework developed by Probst is mirrored in the health literature, albeit with some variations. In particular the roles of facilitator or moderator and leader whilst overlapping, are different. VCoPs are usually collaborations between stakeholders rather than single company VCoPs. Specific goals are important, but in specialised health fields sometimes less important than in business. Boundary spanning can involve the interactions of different professional groups, as well as using external experts seen in business VCoPs. There was less use of measurement in health VCoPs. Environments must be supportive as well as risk free. Additional findings were that ease of use of technology is paramount and it is desirable for VCoPs to blend online and face-to-face involvement.ConclusionsThe business themes of leadership, sponsorship, objectives and goals, boundary spanning, risk-free environment and measurements become, in the health literature, facilitation, champion and support, objectives and goals, a broad church, supportive environment, measurement benchmarking and feedback, and technology and community.General Practice training is under pressure from isolation and virtual communities of practice may be a way of overcoming isolation. The health literature supports, with some variation, the business CoP framework developed by Probst. Further re...

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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General practice training and virtual communities of practice - a review of the literature

et al. 2012

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“…12 In these virtual communities of practice, the lines between "learner" and "educator" are blurred, and members come together in a digital shared space to develop, discuss, and disseminate education resources. [13][14][15][16] Although this movement was inspired to improve learning, it has also created an environment of scholarship, as educators discover the power of the virtual community to facilitate efforts to collaboratively produce, peer review, and disseminate innovations.…”

Section: Embrace the Virtual Communitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiple Wins: Embracing Technology to Increase Efficiency and Maximize Efforts

Gottlieb

Chan

Sherbino

et al. 2017

AEM Education and Training

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Clinician educators (CEs) are challenged to produce meaningful scholarship while balancing various clinical and administrative roles. The increasing availability of technology provides new opportunities for scholarly output and dissemination. This article proposes three strategies for utilizing technology to enhance scholarly output for the busy CE. The strategies are supported by real examples of these techniques, followed by a discussion of potential limitations and future directions.

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Electronic communities of practice: Guidelines from a project

Jarvis-Selinger

Norman

et al. 2010

Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions

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The timely incorporation of health research into the routine practice of individual health practitioners and interprofessional teams is a widely recognized and ongoing challenge. Health professional engagement and learning is an important cog in the wheel of knowledge translation; passive dissemination of evidence through journals and clinical practice guidelines is inadequate when used alone as an intervention to change the practices of the health professionals.An evolving body of research suggests that communities of practice can be effective in facilitating the uptake of best practices by individual health professionals and teams. Modern information technologies can extend the boundaries and reach of these communities, forming electronic communities of practice (eCoP) that can be used to promote intra- and interprofessional continuing professional development (CPD) and team-based, patient-centered care. However, examples of eCoPs and examination of their characteristics are lacking in the literature. In this paper, we discuss guidelines for developing eCoP. These guidelines will be helpful for others considering the use of the eCoP model in interprofessional learning and practice.

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Building Virtual Communities of Practice

Cited by 22 publications

References 20 publications

General practice training and virtual communities of practice - a review of the literature

General practice training and virtual communities of practice - a review of the literature

Multiple Wins: Embracing Technology to Increase Efficiency and Maximize Efforts

Electronic communities of practice: Guidelines from a project

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