Learning across Communities of Practice: An Examination of Multidisciplinary Work

Abstract

Communities of practice (CoPs) have been identified as important sites of learning. Novices learn from masters whilst participating in situated practice and becoming more central members of the community. Empirical studies highlight the difficulty of learning across CoPs, although few studies specifically examine how learning develops in such a multidisciplinary context. We examine the processes of learning occurring when members of different CoPs, in this case various cancer specialists, are required to meet together as a formally constituted multidisciplinary team, and to establish multidisciplinary collaboration as a basis for decision making and action. Our paper highlights that while learning in CoPs develops through repetition, gaining legitimacy and achieving mastery, learning across CoPs in multidisciplinary contexts emphasizes key boundary processes to negotiate and broaden meaning. As such, multidisciplinary collaboration is not so much to learn from each others' talk, but to learn to talk in this new arena. We identify three practices which facilitate learning across CoPs: organizing discussions, acknowledging other perspectives and challenging assumptions. We also discuss the boundary processes which are promoted through brokers and the use of boundary objects in facilitating multidisciplinary work.

Advancing patient engagement: youth and family participation in health research communities of practice

“…The building of shared identities relating to health research CoPs (i.e., feeling of belonging and being welcomed in the community) is also important, and creates the ability to transcend ways of communicating (i.e., disciplinary, cultural, generational, etc. ), acknowledging other’s perspectives, and challenging assumptions [23]. Much of this communication is facilitated through the use of highly flexible interview schedules, as well as the creation of a safe space established as a result of the implementation of Youth Advisory Councils (YACs) and Family Advisory Councils (FACs).…”

Unity in Diversity: Electronic Patient Record Use in Multidisciplinary Practice

“…Medical specialization contributes to advanced treatments for complex diseases such as cancer, but it also makes delivery of cost-efficient and coordinated care to individual patients difficult. As a result, healthcare policies increasingly call for coordination of care and multidisciplinary teams to bring diverse specialists together on behalf of the patient (Oborn and Dawson 2010).…”

“…Two approaches to fostering coordinated, multidisciplinary care involve enhanced communication, interaction, and coordination among specialists (Oborn and Dawson 2010). One is organizational, where multiple specialists are housed together in care units or departments or assigned to work jointly in care teams.…”

Valoração do conhecimento: significação e identidade na ação organizacional

“…Trata-se de como a realidade é interpretada e significada pelos indivíduos para trabalhar naquele ambiente (WEICK, 1995). De todo modo, verificou-se certo efeito reducionista e limitante que se processa nos indivíduos quanto à utilização de seus conhecimentos no trabalho, em consonância com os estudos de Antonacopoulou (2006), Contu e Willmott (2003), Nag e outros (2007), Oborn e Dawson (2010), Harman (2012), que trataram dessa questão sob a óti-ca de poder. Pode-se inferir que, dificilmente, novos conhecimentos possam surgir, se estabelecer ou ser incorporados nas práticas organizacionais, caso não estejam alinhados àqueles conhecimentos considerados importantes pela organização, alta gestão ou grupos dominantes na organização.…”