Build It and They Shall Come: Medical Education Communities of Practice

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Diana J Kelm, Mayo Clinic; Anna Neumeier, University of Colorado Denver; Laura J Hinkle, Indiana University; Rosemary Adamson, University of Washington; Janae K Heath, University of Pennsylvania; Nancy H Stewart, University of Kansas; Abesh Niroula, Emory University; Jared Chiarchiaro, Oregon Health & Science University; Joshua L Denson, Tulane University; Van K Holden, University of Maryland; Morgan Soffler, Westchester Medical Center, Valhalla; W. Graham Carlos, Indiana University
• Language: English
• Date: 2023-01-01
• Publisher: American Thoracic Society
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2023 by the American Thoracic Society
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.34197/ats-scholar.2022-0124IN
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: ATS Scholar
• Volume: 4
• Issue: 2
• Start Page: 207
• End Page: 215
• Keywords: multi-institutional; education scholarship; communities of practice; medical education; collaboration
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Public Health; Education, Health; Health Sciences, Medicine and Surgery

Abstract

Background: Producing scholarship in education is essential to the career development of a clinician-educator. Challenges to scholarly production include a lack of resources, time, expertise, and collaborators. Objective: To develop communities of practice for education scholarship through an international society to increase community and academic productivity. Methods: We developed multi-institutional scholarship pods within the American Thoracic Society through the creation of a working group (2017-2019). Pods met virtually, and meetings were goal focused to advance education scholarship within their area of interest. To understand the impact of these scholarship pods, we surveyed pod leaders and members in 2021 and analyzed the academic productivity of each pod via a survey of pod leaders and a review of the PubMed index. Results: Nine pods were created, each with an assigned educational topic. The survey had a response rate of 76.6%. The perceived benefits were the opportunity to meet colleagues with similar interests at other institutions, production of scholarly work, and engagement in new experiences. The main challenges were difficulty finding times to meet because of competing clinical demands and aligning times among pod members. Regarding academic productivity, eight publications, four conference presentations, and one webinar/podcast were produced by six of the nine pods. Conclusion: The development of communities of practice resulted in increased multi-site collaboration, with boosted academic productivity as well as an enhanced sense of belonging. Multiple challenges remain but can likely be overcome with accountability, early discussion of roles and expectations, and clear delegation of tasks and authorship.