scholarly journals Quantifying Use of a Health Virtual Community of Practice for General Practitioners’ Continuing Professional Development: A Novel Methodology and Pilot Evaluation

10.2196/14545 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (11) ◽  
pp. e14545 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdulaziz Murad ◽  
Natalie Hyde ◽  
Shanton Chang ◽  
Reeva Lederman ◽  
Rachelle Bosua ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Community Of Practice ◽  
General Practitioners ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Continuing Professional Development ◽  
Discussion Forum ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Virtual Community Of Practice

Background Health care practitioners (HPs), in particular general practitioners (GPs), are increasingly adopting Web-based social media platforms for continuing professional development (CPD). As GPs are restricted by time, distance, and demanding workloads, a health virtual community of practice (HVCoP) is an ideal solution to replace face-to-face CPD with Web-based CPD. However, barriers such as time and work schedules may limit participation in an HVCoP. Furthermore, it is difficult to gauge whether GPs engage actively or passively in HVCoP knowledge-acquisition for Web-based CPD, as GPs’ competencies are usually measured with pre- and posttests. Objective This study investigated a method for measuring the engagement features needed for an HVCoP (the Community Fracture Capture [CFC] Learning Hub) for learning and knowledge sharing among GPs for their CPD activity. Methods A prototype CFC Learning Hub was developed using an Igloo Web-based social media software platform and involved a convenience sample of GPs interested in bone health topics. This Hub, a secure Web-based community site, included 2 key components: an online discussion forum and a knowledge repository (the Knowledge Hub). The discussion forum contained anonymized case studies (contributed by GP participants) and topical discussions (topics that were not case studies). Using 2 complementary tools (Google Analytics and Igloo Statistical Tool), we characterized individual participating GPs’ engagement with the Hub. We measured the GP participants’ behavior by quantifying the number of online sessions of the participants, activities undertaken within these online sessions, written posts made per learning topic, and their time spent per topic. We calculated time spent in both active and passive engagement for each topic. Results Seven GPs participated in the CFC Learning Hub HVCoP from September to November 2017. The complementary tools successfully captured the GP participants’ engagement in the Hub. GPs were more active in topics in the discussion forum that had direct clinical application as opposed to didactic, evidence-based discussion topics (ie, topical discussions). From our knowledge hub, About Osteoporosis and Prevention were the most engaging topics, whereas shared decision making was the least active topic. Conclusions We showcased a novel complementary analysis method that allowed us to quantify the CFC Learning Hub’s usage data into (1) sessions, (2) activities, (3) active or passive time spent, and (4) posts made to evaluate the potential engagement features needed for an HVCoP focused on GP participants’ CPD process. Our design and evaluation methods for ongoing use and engagement in this Hub may be useful to evaluate future learning and knowledge-sharing projects for GPs and may allow for extension to other HPs’ environments. However, owing to the limited number of GP participants in this study, we suggest that further research with a larger cohort should be performed to validate and extend these findings.

Designing, Setting Up, and Facilitating a Knowledge Sharing Virtual Community of Practice, between Social Work Lecturers in the UK and India

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 22-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabel Williams
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Action Research ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Community Of Practice ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Online Discussions ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Virtual Community Of Practice ◽  
One Year ◽  
The Uk

The purpose of this research is to evaluate the effectiveness of a virtual Community of Practice (vCoP) which was developed between social work lecturers in two University settings – one in the UK and the other in India. The design and methodology draws on qualitative data collected from online discussions and semi-structured questionnaires arising from the involvement of twelve participants over a one year period. An Action Research method was adopted which allowed the shift of power from the designer to the participants over the year. This paper illustrates how a vCoP can be an ideal tool to aid communication and knowledge sharing between universities within an international context. It adds value by increasing the knowledge of participant lecturers to more than local perspectives and gives a greater understanding of social work from an international, cross-country, perspective. Although one of the limitations is that this is a small scale study, it does raise important considerations necessary for ensuring the success for vCoP’s and offers a model to aid successful online collaboration as well as important messages for those who are developing online courses and teaching within an international environment. It further gives insight into adopting Action Research as a research methodology that can be usefully used for online collaborative research.

scholarly journals Professional development of school library staff in Trinidad and Tobago

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simone J. Primus
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Trinidad And Tobago ◽  
Community Of Practice ◽  
School Library ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Development Program ◽  
Collaborative Problem Solving ◽  
Virtual Community Of Practice ◽  
Library Staff ◽  
The Impact

Using a qualitative case study approach, this study explored the impact of participation in a virtual community of practice on the professional development of secondary school library staff in Trinidad and Tobago. Participants engaged in forum discussions, Web meetings, and online collaborative problem solving over a 12-week period. Preliminary findings suggest that participation in a virtual community of practice impacted participants in four areas: technical, social, cognitive, and tangible. School library practitioners and administrators could use this research to help them develop an informal ongoing professional development program.

scholarly journals Knowledge sharing by entrepreneurs in a virtual community of practice (VCoP)

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 405-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khalid Hafeez ◽  
Fathalla M. Alghatas ◽  
Pantea Foroudi ◽  
Bang Nguyen ◽  
Suraksha Gupta
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Community Of Practice ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Online Discourse ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Message Length ◽  
Virtual Community Of Practice ◽  
Effective Interventions ◽  
Start Up

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine how entrepreneurs engage in a virtual community of practice (VCoP) to share knowledge. Intensity of engagement is taken as a proxy to measure the strength of knowledge sharing.Design/methodology/approachThe archival data spanning over a three-year period from “Start-up-Nation©” (a VCoP purposefully setup for entrepreneurs) are used for analysis. A set of indices are introduced to measure participants’ intensity of engagement in terms of message length, message frequency and reciprocity in the knowledge sharing process. Content analysis is employed to test a sample of “highly engaged”, “moderately engaged”, “low engaged” and “not engaged” discussion topics as part of the online discourse.FindingsThe authors find that entrepreneurs normally use short (fewer than 100 words) or medium (fewer than 250 words) message size to contribute to the discussions. In addition, the authors find that senior members and discussion moderators play important roles in igniting the “reciprocity” behaviour in stimulating the interest of the community with the topic discussion. The authors also find that highly engaged topics usually lead to further discussion threads.Originality/valueThis is the first study of its kind to explore how entrepreneurs engage in a VCoP to share their knowledge and experiences. The set of measurement indices tested here provide a tool for the owner, designer and moderator of the VCoP to measure the utility of their website in terms of its members’ participation. In addition, the set of textual and subjective interventions identified here enables the moderator (administrator) of a VCoP to design effective interventions to facilitate online discourse and augments the knowledge sharing process amongst its community members.

P166: The chief resident incubator - a virtual community of practice

CJEM ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (S1) ◽  
pp. S116-S116
Author(s):  
F. Zaver ◽  
M. Gisondi ◽  
A. Chou ◽  
M. Sheehy ◽  
M. Lin
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Emergency Medicine ◽  
Medical Education ◽  
Community Of Practice ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Chief Resident ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Health Professions ◽  
Grand Round ◽  
Virtual Community Of Practice

Introduction: The Emergency Medicine Chief Resident Incubator is a year-long curriculum for chief residents that aims to provide participants with a virtual community of practice, formal administrative training, mentorship, and opportunities for scholarship. Methods: The Chief Resident Incubator was designed by Academic Life in Emergency Medicine (ALiEM; www.aliem.com) a digital health professions education organization in 2015, following a needs assessment in emergency medicine. A 12-month curriculum was created using constructivist social learning theory, with specific learning objectives that reflected 11 key administrative or professional development domains deemed important to chief residents. The topics covered included interviewing skills, contract negotiations, leadership, coaching, branding, conflict resolution, and ended with a focus on wellness and career longevity. A Core Leadership Team and Virtual Mentors were recruited to lead each annual iteration of the curriculum. The Incubator was implemented as a virtual community of practice using Slack©, a messaging and digital communication platform. Ancillary technology such as Google Hangout on Air© and Mailchimp© were used to facilitate learner engagement with the curriculum. Three in person networking events were hosted at three large emergency medicine and education conferences with special medical education guests. Outcomes include chief resident participation rates, Slack© activity, Google Hangout© web analytics, newsletter email engagement, and scholarship. We also incorporated a hidden curriculum throughout the year with multiple online publications, competitions for guest grand round presentations, and incorporation of digital technologies in medical education. Results: A total of 584 chief residents have participated over the first 3 years of the Chief Resident Incubator; this includes chief residents from over 212 residency programs across North America. Over 27,000 messages have been shared on Slack© (median 214 per week). A total of 32 Google Hangouts© have occurred over the course of the inaugural Incubator including faculty mentorship from Dr. Rob Rogers, Dr. Dara Kass and Dr. Amal Mattu. A monthly newsletter was distributed to the participants with an opening rate of 59%. Scholarship included 26 published academic blog posts, 2 open access In-Training exam prepbooks, a senior level online curriculum with 9 published modules and 3 book club reviews. Conclusion: The Chief Resident Incubator is a virtual community of practice that provides longitudinal training and mentorship for chief residents. This Incubator framework may be used to design similar professional development curricula across various health professions using an online digital platform.

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