Characteristics and outcomes of communities of practice in allied health educators: rapid review.

Abstract

Allied health clinical educators (AHCEs) are vital to health professional student education and clinical education is often expected in a job role. Communities of practice (CoPs) may be a strategy to meet educator learning needs. A rapid review was conducted to determine the structures, purposes, and outcomes of AHCE CoPs, and barriers or enablers of participation in CoPs. A systematic electronic search of three peer-reviewed literature databases (1/1/1998 to 10/7/23) and gray literature search were conducted. Data were extracted using a purposively designed form and synthesized descriptively. One peer-reviewed paper and four unpublished reports were included. CoPs aimed to provide a platform for knowledge creation and resources. Most were single-discipline specific and conducted virtually with occasional face-to-face meetings. Evaluation of CoPs was limited: one paper reported the impact of a CoP on CE skills and confidence. Outputs included documentation and clinical reasoning tools, resource repositories and training packages. Enablers included having a facilitator, and an online platform for resource sharing. Lack of support by management limited participation. While published research on CoPs in AHCE is scarce, communities are growing informally within local health networks, predominantly online. Further research is indicated to evaluate effectiveness of CoPs and make the most of this opportunity for interprofessional collaboration and practice.