Annotated Bibliography

Annotated Bibliography
Brenda Campos
Chico State University
April 26, 2015

Annotated Bibliography

First Source:
Nemec, Patricia B., and Stephen LaMaster. "Education And Training Column:
Communities Of Practice." Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal 37.4
(2014): 336-338. PsycARTICLES. Web. 1 May 2015.
In this article, Education and Training Column: Communities of
Practice. The authors explain what a community of practice is and one way
of sharing, developing, implementing, and adapting knowledge and practice.
Also, they explain how a community of practice builds a subculture or
learning team within or across organizations that is focused on improving
practice in some particular area. Members do not need to be experts, but
they do need to work together to gain and share knowledge and expertise.
The group can be relatively small, within a local agency; have a geographic
boundary (such as being statewide) or be open to interested practitioners
within an entire field. A COP might be time-limited related to a very specific
practice issue, or ongoing with focus areas that evolve and change over time.
I believe that it does work for the most part for the community to get this
help for others.
Some focuses of a COP include the selection of topic areas for the
group, its values, and clear strategic goals provide both direction and
boundaries to a COP. Focus topics need to be important to the community
members and be relevant to the work itself. Finding a rhythm for a COP
requires a balance between too fast, where the community feels breathless,
and too slow, where the community feels sluggish. You need to balance the
work for the COP between academic semesters and its annual gatherings, but

Annotated Bibliography

is still working to find the right pace and methods for more regular
connections.
Overall, communities of practice are receiving increased attention for
workforce development, and guidelines do exist for making these
communities effective in achieving their goals. The development of learning
communities provides members with a chance of professional development,
but also the opportunity to develop greater overall capacity of the mental
health system by sharing knowledge and expertise across organizational
lines.

Second Source:
Killbride, C., Perry, L., Flatley M., Turner, E., & Meyer, J. (2011). Developing theory
and practice: Creation of Community of Practice through Action research
produced excellence in stroke care. Journal Of Interprofessional Care, 25(2), 9197. Doi: 10.31.09/13561820.2010.483024
In the article, Developing theory and practice: Creation of a Community
of Practice through Action Research produced excellence in stroke care, Killbride, Perry,
Flatley, Turner and Mayer discuss the worth of creating a Community of Practice as a
means to overcome evidence-based stroke guidelines, with insufficient attention paid to
processes required to translate this into delivery of everyday good care. This study took
place from 2000 to 2002 in a large UK London teaching hospital and explains how
excellence in stroke care was achieved by creating a community of practice. The Stroke
Unit demonstrated how successful the development of a new service was linked to a new
creation of a community of practice. In this quote, The study is an exemplar of how
practitioner researchers can capture learning from changing practice, thus
contributing to evidence-based healthcare with theoretical and practical
knowledge. The drive to improve stroke care came from a self-established group of

Annotated Bibliography

nursing; therapy and medical staff and the case study examined processes involved in
developing a new SU and identified key factors influencing outcomes.
There was three study phases: exploration, innovation and evaluation. The
growing profile of the SU and staff within the hospital supported stroke service
improvements. Opportunities to promote the SU were actively sought by the STEP team;
involvement in developing the SU and enthusiasm generated by being part of an
improvement initiative helped drive plans into action. This situation presented how a
community of practice group can be cohesive and successful if they work hard and
remain disciplined.