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Electronic communities of practice: Guidelines from a project

Ho, Kendall MD, FRCPC^1,8; Jarvis-Selinger, Sandra PhD^2,9; Norman, Cameron D. PhD^3,10; Li, Linda C. PT, PhD^4,10; Olatunbosun, Tunde BComm^5,11; Cressman, Céline MSc^6,12; Nguyen, Anne PharmD^7,13

Author Information

¹ Department of Emergency Medicine, Director, eHealth Strategy Office, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia

² eHealth Strategy Office, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia

³ Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto

⁴ Department of Physical Therapy, University of British Columbia

⁵ Division of Continuing Professional Development, University of British Columbia

⁶ Department of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto

⁷ University of British Columbia

⁸ Associate Professor

⁹ Assistant Professor and Associate Director

¹⁰ Assistant Professor

¹¹ Project Manager

¹² PhD student

¹³ Clinical Associate Professor

Email: [email protected]

eHealth Strategy Office, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, 855 West 10th Avenue, Vancouver, British Columbia, V5Z 1L7, Canada

Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions 30(2):p 139-143, Spring 2010. | DOI: 10.1002/chp.20071

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Abstract

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.